EMRFD Message Archive 470

Message Date From Subject
470 2007-02-14 11:15:42 Ted Bruce KX4OM Inexpensive Homebrew Hot Air Pencil for SMD work
I found a site that describes an under-$20 homebrew hot-air pencil for
SMD work based on a RadioShack 40 Watt bulb-based solder sucker and
aquarium air pump. Here's the URL:

http://www.usbmicro.com/odn/index.html

Click on Misc Applications/Information, Hot-Air Pencil

I wonder about using steel wool in the chamber of the tip for heat
build-up, however. I just bought one of these devices ($10.95 at
RadioShack), and I believe I'll try it with some braid from coax cable
in the chamber, which should not tend to send undesired particles onto
the work like steel wool might, especially as it oxidizes.

Has anyone tried this? Does the pulsation from the air pump cause any
problems?

Ted kx4om
472 2007-02-14 15:48:23 Robert Cerreto Re: Inexpensive Homebrew Hot Air Pencil for SMD work
Ted,

I tried this about a year ago. Yes, it did work. But, it turned out to be kinda clumsy to use. So, I just broke down and smashed the piggie bank to buy a Hakko clone from a vender on EBAY. I am happy that I made this decision!!!!

72/73, Bob
WA!FXT


Ted Bruce KX4OM wrote:
I found a site that describes an under-$20 homebrew hot-air pencil for
SMD work based on a RadioShack 40 Watt bulb-based solder sucker and
aquarium air pump. Here's the URL:

http://www.usbmicro .com/odn/ index.html

Click on Misc Applications/ Information, Hot-Air Pencil

I wonder about using steel wool in the chamber of the tip for heat
build-up, however. I just bought one of these devices ($10.95 at
RadioShack), and I believe I'll try it with some braid from coax cable
in the chamber, which should not tend to send undesired particles onto
the work like steel wool might, especially as it oxidizes.

Has anyone tried this? Does the pulsation from the air pump cause any
problems?

Ted kx4om



Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta.

474 2007-02-14 16:22:14 jr_dakota Re: Inexpensive Homebrew Hot Air Pencil for SMD work
Interesting ... I've had one of those rigged up to a modified bicycle
tire foot pump for about 20 years now for desoldering purposes ... I
have an aquarium pump here (for etching PCB's), I'll have to pull the
filter, reverse the flow/check valve and hook the aquarium pump to it
and give it a shot ....

JR


475 2007-02-14 16:30:24 Ted Bruce KX4OM Re: Inexpensive Homebrew Hot Air Pencil for SMD work
Hmmm...any more details on the Hakko clone, Bob? I'll go over and
check the Kiesub site, where I bought my two 936ESD stations (the new
one, and the one I bought last year that exploded in a lightning
strike). I'm still on the original tip for the 1st one...15 months
and counting. I suppose I should have used the SMD tip for the X-Pad
tests, but I forgot about it. I bought one of the Mcount kits, and I
need to do plenty of practice before I mess that up!

By the way, the lightning came down the disconnected 450 Ohm ladder
line from an 80 m doublet, and the end was dangling about 3 inches
away from the from to the Hakko control station. It completely
destroyed the plastic case - top, back, and both sides made up the 4
major fragments - and evaporated the ground traces on the PC board.
It punctured a hole in the ground sleeve to the element inside on the
iron. Didn't blow the fuse on the PC board, though. Following the
ground path in the house, it took out 3 satellite receivers, two
garage door openers, and blew the housing off the switching wall wart
for the Velleman PC64Si oscilloscope/spectrum analyzer. Again, it
evaporated the ground traces on the PC scope's circuit board. It also
weakened an AC line ceramic bypass cap in my Heathkit IG-102 sig gen,
which I found out about about 3 months after the fact. I turned it
on, and it seemed like there was a magnesium flare set off inside the
sig gen! It kept going after I yanked the power plug out of the wall.
No permanent damage, though. I reworked it with a 3-prong cord, a
fuse, and four doubled-up $2.50 AC line-rated ceramic caps from
Mouser. The lightning EMP field also blew out the solar panel-and-
battery powered white LED path lights in the front yard. White LEDs
are very sensitive to ESD, I understand. I tried one I had
476 2007-02-14 17:13:39 Robert Cerreto Re: Inexpensive Homebrew Hot Air Pencil for SMD work
Ted,

Don't remember details. All I did was do an EBAY search for SMD soldering stations and came up with a $150 clone direct from Hong Kong. It is still going strong after about a year. You'll find the clones to have a number of different names.....Sunkko etc. Probably all made under the sam roof.

Maybe I just got lucky. I dunno, but, Iam happy with it.

Looks like you better do what I had to do after 35+ years of amatuer radio. Spend more money on a quality lightning protection scheme. Poly Phasor has all that you need for the design on their site. Ironically, part of my day job is quality inspecting grounding in Telco offices and cell sites. But, my shack was a insult to correct grounding schemes until I got hit. I bit the bullet spent some dollars and fixed that. My friends just toss their feedlines outside...if they are home when lightning strikes. That doesn't insure anything. I have seen many "loose ends" on commercial radio sites arc as much as three feet to radio equipment.

73,
Bob
WA!FXT


Ted Bruce KX4OM wrote:
Hmmm...any more details on the Hakko clone, Bob? I'll go over and
check the Kiesub site, where I bought my two 936ESD stations (the new
one, and the one I bought last year that exploded in a lightning
strike). I'm still on the original tip for the 1st one...15 months
and counting. I suppose I should have used the SMD tip for the X-Pad
tests, but I forgot about it. I bought one of the Mcount kits, and I
need to do plenty of practice before I mess that up!

By the way, the lightning came down the disconnected 450 Ohm ladder
line from an 80 m doublet, and the end was dangling about 3 inches
away from the from to the Hakko control station. It completely
destroyed the plastic case - top, back, and both sides made up the 4
major fragments - and evaporated the ground traces on the PC board.
It punctured a hole in the ground sleeve to the element inside on the
iron. Didn't blow the fuse on the PC board, though. Following the
ground path in the house, it took out 3 satellite receivers, two
garage door openers, and blew the housing off the switching wall wart
for the Velleman PC64Si oscilloscope/ spectrum analyzer. Again, it
evaporated the ground traces on the PC scope's circuit board. It also
weakened an AC line ceramic bypass cap in my Heathkit IG-102 sig gen,
which I found out about about 3 months after the fact. I turned it
on, and it seemed like there was a magnesium flare set off inside the
sig gen! It kept going after I yanked the power plug out of the wall.
No permanent damage, though. I reworked it with a 3-prong cord, a
fuse, and four doubled-up $2.50 AC line-rated ceramic caps from
Mouser. The lightning EMP field also blew out the solar panel-and-
battery powered white LED path lights in the front yard. White LEDs
are very sensitive to ESD, I understand. I tried one I had