shop and tool tips & tricks

[greaser_au]

( who would like to see a photo of me as a pike man, period mojo correct, an all, anyone? )

can I join in?

david

[Kipper4]

I'm up for it. Go ahead DA post the pic.

[deadastronaut]

+1

[vigilante397]

I love this place.   

Also 

[tubegeek]

I like to think I have some Photoshop skillz.

Post 1. the pike man and 2. your phiz, and Iwillhookyouup!

[Focalized]

Holding your stripboard (vero) up to a light makes it very easy to see solder bridges or mis-cuts. Just hold a flashlight up to the component side and the light will shine through between the copper strips.

I keep painting my boards now so this doesn't actually work for me anymore. But using a flashlight to look close is a good idea.

[vigilante397]

I keep painting my boards now so this doesn't actually work for me anymore.

Any particular reason you paint the boards?

[armdnrdy]

Time permitting...I often paint my boards as well. I think it adds a nice touch!

Here's one of my latest works. 

[peterg]

+1.

Larry - very cool board

[armdnrdy]

Thanks man!

you should see what I can do on a pinhead! 

[Focalized]

I paint them because the brown is ugly. I liked the way Basic Audio boards looked and found myself painting mine while I did a box. Except the green Velleman boards which are a proper pcb green. Those boards are the best I think.

[davent]

To make it easy to find & mark vero cuts i printed out a correctly sized grid of co-ordinates so it's simple to transfer the layout strip cuts from the art to the piece of board. Mark the cuts with a Sharpie drill them with a bit, a bit bigger then the holes then flip and cut strips. Stuck the printout to a piece of boxboard. Have a pdf of the grid but not sure where to post.


dave

[deadastronaut]

i just got one of these tiny little buggers £1.49 from china...its brilliant for quickly measuring v on breadboard.....

without a big old DMM...might have to attach it to my breadboard setup..

+ - and blue to measure..

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Mini+0V-9.99V+Digital+Red+LED+Voltmeter+Volt+Voltage+Meter+Panel&client=opera&hs=vQ3&tbm=isch&imgil=2r1zDn79jv9YsM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcRq59Wm9ycVlgP0lG3joyS6DlZdkOs1FH1450s0M2KCHeWeD3DTew%253B300%253B300%253BzhCF-TDWTxU1KM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.amazon.com%25252F0V-9-99V-Digital-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter%25252Fdp%25252FB00GSR85TM&source=iu&usg=__8ZP342NO5Hoto2-JQTy9PouqbEQ%3D&sa=X&ei=-I-2U7TEDImO7AaenoHQCA&ved=0CFAQ9QEwBA&biw=1920&bih=975#facrc=_&imgrc=2r1zDn79jv9YsM%253A%3BzhCF-TDWTxU1KM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fecx.images-amazon.com%252Fimages%252FI%252F51GHkTv89qL._SY300_.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.amazon.com%252F0V-9-99V-Digital-Voltmeter-Voltage-Meter%252Fdp%252FB00GSR85TM%3B300%3B300

[bluebunny]

That URL is bigger than the meter!    Handy tip, Rob.  Might have to splash some cash...

[deadastronaut]

  yeah...

nifty little meter, came quick too, i ordered it on my birthday 28th june...thought i'd splash out big time and treat myself

came today from china..

[bluebunny]

. . . thought i'd splash out big time and treat myself

Wreckless you are, Rob, wreckless!      Belated happy birthday, btw...

[Jdansti]

Belated happy birthday here too!

Let us know if you can power it from the same supply as your breadboard while you're measuring the same power supply voltage and have it operate correctly. I had a problem doing this with mine and had to use a separate 9V battery to power the meter.

[deadastronaut]

Seems correct john..running off breadboard supply,

i compared with a dmm too...bang on. 

[Beo]

Time permitting...I often paint my boards as well. I think it adds a nice touch!

Here's one of my latest works. 

What is your technique for doing this? Especially the white lettering?

[armdnrdy]

The technique is called "messing around" and it was brought to realization in the Windows Visio program....but you can do the same sort of thing in Photoshop.

It was a gag! I copied an image of a circuit board from the net and superimposed a "ghosted" image of the da Vinci classic on top.  

Disclaimer: No priceless masterpieces were damaged during the commission of this gag!