Share tips you have come across

[JohnRob]

I like many have fallen in love with silicone wire.

I recently purchased a low cost Logic Analyzer (which works great). The inputs were a simple set of 10 male pins.

I wanted to make silicone leads but didn't want the difficult to insert standard duPont connectors.

So I took #28 silicone wire, laid then in what I think is a pretty standard color/channel pattern.
I taped the wires together (temporarily).
Then I inserted them into a good quality amp IDC 10 pin connector. Squeezed it shut in a vice, tested and viola I have a very flexible set of logic test leads.

[LarryD]

Love that wire too.

28AWG has 16 strands, Mmmmmmmm

On my logic analyzer and Arduino headers, I follow the resistor colour code.

Bk 0
Bn 1
R  2
Or 3
Y  4
. . .
Sl  8
W  GND

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Hint

Prewire Arduino I/O pins to colour coded Breadboard headers.

• BK 0, BN 1, R 2, O 3, Y 4, GN 5, BE 6, V 7, SL 8, W 9

[JohnRob]

These colors match Saleae color "code" as I also have an old Saleae Logic.

What made me happy was how well they work in the IDC connector

It may only be 16 strands but its as limp as cooked pasta (al dente). And its much better than the duPont jumper wires. I use the #28 for everything but power, then I go to #26 (or maybe #24). All my runs are relatively short so the wire resistance is trivial and I can leave a small PCB on the bench without the wire taking "it away".

IMHO PVC wire is so "yesterday"

UPDATE: The IDC connector I used was a TE (aka AMP) 1658620-1 (10 position)

[LarryD]

The best price I’ve found, 500 feet for $28.50

BNTECHGO 28 Gauge Silicone Wire Kit 10 Color Each 50 ft Flexible 28 AWG Stranded Tinned Copper Wire

BNTECHGO 16 Gauge Silicone Wire Kit 10 Color Each 25 ft Flexible 16 AWG Stranded...

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$37.00 for 26AWG (30 strand ), 500 feet.

Another chart:

Another chart:

[JohnRob]

This is a great find. I don't need any more wire at the moment but I'll remember to look on Amazon next time. I had been purchasing silicone wire from ebay vendors.

[JohnRob]

@LarryD

Hi, I'm looking for a suggestion on soldering 7 SOT-223 Fets. I have a "hot plate" that I've used in the past but my issue was getting the solder on the pad area. I was thinking of spreading the solder past on a flat surface at some thickness. Then using the Fet like an ink stamp to pick up some solder.

Thoughts?

[LarryD]

@JohnRob

Then using the Fet like an ink stamp . . .

Using it as a stamp kind of works but moving the package soon spreads the paste around on the pads.

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I use a syringe, these are small and easy to use; I like my paste fairly thin.

Share tips you have come across

Lately, I have been using a 1 ml Borosilicate glass syringe for depositing solder paste to PCB pads. I fill these to the .4 ml point. The smaller shape makes it easier to control where the paste goes, and it seems to give better flow control. The syringe’s shorter length and screwable plunger make for easy storage. The plunger's 4 rubber seals are much better than the 2 on plastic syringes. These glass syringes will be my go to for hand solder paste application. My thumb joint hurts less t…

[racpi]

inspired by Larry's holding device but not having any big magnets on hand
i made these on the 3d printer for 10mm and or 3mm magnets
with a m5 thread up the middle and a 2mm spoke hole

pity i can't upload the stl

[6v6gt]

@racpi

pity i can't upload the stl

If the problem is the file extension name, wrap the file in a zip file to be able to upload it.

[racpi]

too easy, the stl zipped
larry.zip (969.1 KB)

[madmark2150]

You can post and maybe earn a few pennies from your 3d .stl files over on

Cults・Download free 3D printer models・STL, OBJ, 3MF, CAD

[JohnRob]

Simple serial logging to file with Windows.

I have a HX711 load cell board. As I monitor it with no weight I see the value varying nearly every reading. So to get a better feel of what is going on I wanted to capture the serial output over a long time.

• The IDE 2 serial monitor is not so good for a lot of readings.
• Putty seems to hold all data until you close then writes to a file. I haven't looked into the actual operation of putty logging but it was enough to make me uncomfortable.

So I looked into the old MS-DOS command line commands. Now usable in the command prompt window. It tuned out to be exceedingly simple.

>c:\windows\system32\ type com3: >> data.log

It must be run from the system32 folder else the type command can't find the com port.

Now if your like me you have used many serial ports with different Arduino's etc and you are in the com10 and above. It seems the old DOS commands don't like 2 digit com ports. For that I found "ComNameArbiterTool.zip". It allows you to "reset" the com port numbers so they can be reused.

[LarryD]

Was this meant for a different thread ?

[LarryD]

Got to get a 3D printer some day .

I’ve used these, they are a bit expensive.

DIYMAG Neodymium Round Base Cup Magnet,100LBS Strong Rare Earth Magnets with...

[JohnRob]

I don't know.... it is a tip. I couldn't decide on what category might be better. If you have a suggestion please let me know and I'll ask the moderator to move it

[LarryD]

It’s fine here, just checking.

[sterretje]

You know that there is life outside putty Plenty of choices.

Appreciate the old way of doing it

[westfw]

BTW, rogue versions of PUTTY have recently appeared, containing a malware payload.
Download from trusted sites, and check for signed!

Hackers trojanize PuTTY SSH client to backdoor media company

(Hmm. Maybe not such a new attack. Also: Attackers Use Trojanized Version of PuTTY to Steal SSH Credentials | SecurityWeek.Com )

[er_name_not_found]

I remember the type command.

I had to use it to transfer my files from my brother electronic typewriter after it stopped working correctly.

[LarryD]

Mounting Hardware on Panels, Chassis, etc.

It is almost inevitable that when you measure and drill holes in surfaces to mount motors etc., you never get things perfect.

The following procedure should give great results to get holes in the correct position.

• Measure the hole locations needed for your motor, transfer these to a graph paper template

• Use this template to make a rough pattern on a piece of scrap material

• Make the holes in this pattern oversized with the motor still being able to be positioned as needed

• Put the best fitting washers over motor mounting setscrews

• Glue these washers in place with CA glue, use accelerator

• Place the pattern on the final surface which the motor is to be mounted

• Use transfer punches to mark the perfect centers of the washers

• Drill holes in the final mounting surface

• Attach the motor with washer and nuts

Edit: you can also use UV glue to temporarily attach the washers.

Collect washers of different dimensions to be used in situations like this to aid in component mounting.