| General > General Technical Chat |
| Tricks of the Trade - knowledge for every day life |
| << < (15/31) > >> |
| SilverSolder:
--- Quote from: thermistor-guy on March 22, 2021, 06:13:11 am --- --- Quote from: Kasper on October 28, 2020, 03:57:23 pm ---Hi Everyone, thought it'd be fun to share some tricks of the trade. What random things have you learned about electronics that help in every day life? ... --- End quote --- Found something recently. While removing some old thermal paste from a graphics card, the Arctic Clean (1 & 2) I was using also removed some permanent marker (Sharpie) lines. These were lines I'd drawn on a heat sink as an alignment aid. Next time I need to remove "permanent" marker from metalwork, I'll try the Arctic Clean again. --- End quote --- A product called "Goof Off" is pretty good for this - it is formulated pretty cleverly, strong enough to dissolve stuff, but mild enough to not be too destructive. I reach for it when IPA is just not working... |
| DrG:
I was thinking about heat shrink tubing today....here are two ways I use it without a heat gun. 1. Ever reach into the drawer (or manicure bag) and stab yourself with surgical scissors? I little bit of heat shrink tubing keeps the scissors safely closed until you want to open them. 2. I have a couple of those third hand thingies. On one, the alligator clip ends close very tightly...more than they need to when I am holding a piece of wire with softer insulation, for example. Sliding a couple of pieces of shrink tubing over the ends fixes this nicely. Still grips well, but not with the sharp points. I cut the tubing longer than needed so that they have handles for easy removal. No need to mess with electrical tape. |
| tpowell1830:
1.) When you drop a small component on the floor, use a flashlight to find said part by lying the flashlight/torch so that the beam is horizontal to the floor. if you place the flashlight directly on the floor in this manner, it causes large shadows that will allow easier spotting of any irregularities on the floor. This method, of course only works with smooth floors, and not for carpeted floors. 2.) This may be elementary to most experienced solderers, but always add a blob of fresh clean solder to your tip when done soldering. this keeps the tip from tarnishing and leaves a nice tinned coating to protect the tip. |
| DrG:
--- Quote from: tpowell1830 on May 04, 2021, 12:18:58 am ---1.) When you drop a small component on the floor, use a flashlight to find said part by lying the flashlight/torch so that the beam is horizontal to the floor. if you place the flashlight directly on the floor in this manner, it causes large shadows that will allow easier spotting of any irregularities on the floor. This method, of course only works with smooth floors, and not for carpeted floors. --- End quote --- I am reasonably certain that the carpet around my work area has a number of micro worm holes with an affinity to any smt components in the area. The vacuum cleaner, on the other hand, has the astounding capability to reverse the micro black holes, retrieve the part, only to have it disappear once again into a dust dimension. I believe that further investigation is warranted. |
| tpowell1830:
--- Quote from: DrG on May 04, 2021, 12:28:04 am --- --- Quote from: tpowell1830 on May 04, 2021, 12:18:58 am ---1.) When you drop a small component on the floor, use a flashlight to find said part by lying the flashlight/torch so that the beam is horizontal to the floor. if you place the flashlight directly on the floor in this manner, it causes large shadows that will allow easier spotting of any irregularities on the floor. This method, of course only works with smooth floors, and not for carpeted floors. --- End quote --- I am reasonably certain that the carpet around my work area has a number of micro worm holes with an affinity to any smt components in the area. The vacuum cleaner, on the other hand, has the astounding capability to reverse the micro black holes, retrieve the part, only to have it disappear once again into a dust dimension. I believe that further investigation is warranted. --- End quote --- I also had my workbench in a carpeted bedroom and can attest to this observation to be true, however, not to be thwarted, I found a thick vinyl mat and placed my work area and bench on said mat. However, the impact of said small components with the mat would also send the parts into a blackhole, never to be seen again... |
| Navigation |
| Message Index |
| Next page |
| Previous page |