Anybody using chip caps! How?

[Bluesgeetar]

Anyone trying to figure out how to start using chip caps in their pedals?  Man chip caps are cheaper!  Price difference between Tants with leads and tants chip is pretty impressive.  Could'nt you just solder the wiring in a perfboard fashion right onto the contacts on the chip caps.  Coarse you wouldn't be able to easily breadboard them or socket them but it would be cheaper.  Chips come also in a better variety of values.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Yeah just run the traces/pads close enough together, and solder the chip cap right there. You need to work out how to hold it in place as you solder, otherwise it moves around or "tombstones" (slang in the trade for standing on end).

[PB Wilson]

Has anyone seen the Distortion+ circuit (I think) made with chip caps? It was only about the size of a postage stamp, but I can't remember which website it was on. You could probably put the whole circuit in an Altoids tin.

[downweverything]

i used super mini surface mount opamps on a theremin circuit once, get a nice soldering iron with a small tip and its a piece of cake

[Bluesgeetar]

Yeah these are good things to start on.  Face it, components with leads are one their way out.  It make take a few years more but they'll be gone.  We gotta figure out how to work with the new stuff.  Many a many source suppliers have told me the manufacturers could care less about us little nich market guys.  They've all told me they make whatever the biggest customers want.  SO we gotta get on board full swing with these chip things.  It won't really matter to us but to our kids and grandkids who may want to build it will be an issue in the future.  The resistor part scares me.  Them chip resistors are so small I can barely see them.

[Peter Snowberg]

If you use double sided perf with plated throughs it's pretty easy.

Put some solder on one of the pads you'll be using... just enough to make a little dome. Set the SMD in place with a little pressure on it and touch the iron to the little dome of solder to reflow that side, and then solder the other normally. After a little bit of practice it gets really easy.

I can build with SMDs quite a bit faster than leaded components. It almost gets fun, but you need to have long fingernails on one hand to make it really easy.

The future is already here. Better prepare now.

Take care,
-Peter