The Famous Eggtimer Rocketry Holiday Sale - 2019

[Greg Furtman]

Doing reflow with a template is even better... the solder paste coverage is more even. I published templates for the Proton, the other SMT boards will be posted in early 2020... I was supposed to do them this year but never got around to it. Oshstencils.com is a good place to get the Gerber cream files made into templates, they're cheap and the polyimide stencils work just fine with the relatively large pads that we use. You don't really NEED an oven controller... if you set your toaster oven to 350F or so they'll come out just fine, put the board in with the door open for about a minute, close the door and leave the board in for about 2 minutes, turn it off for about a minute or so with the door open for a cool-down cycle then remove the board to cool at room temperature.

Cris, thanks for the link to OSH Stencils. Pretty reasonable pricing. Maybe you should put the stencil files on your website and people could download them & order them from OSH.

 

[curtisheisey]

Yeah, stencils are definitely better than dabbing.

Thanks for the tip that they are available.

Here are Proton. Two bridges to fix. A few pins are a bit light on solder, but I think they are ok (if you look up really close).

 

[cerving]

Today is Cyber Monday, so it's the last day of the sale. After this, you're going to have to wait another 50 weeks to get these deals again... so if you haven't already taken advantage of the sale (and still have some money left in your rocketry budget after everybody else's sales...) then you need to get your order in by 11:59 pm tonight.

 

[caveduck]

One thing about solder stencils - it's only easy on the first side of the board. Once there are components on one side, you need some kind of a fixture to hold the board and provide a flat surface around it to hold the stencil.

 

[Kelly]

I've not done much SMT yet, so I'll need to ramp up my skills as I just received a box full of projects from Chris. I definitely need better gear; I was planning on buying this:
https://amazon.com/X-Tronic-3020-XTS-Digital-Display-Soldering/dp/B01DGZFSNE
It seems like a good compromise between capabilities and price. Is this a decent unit, or do I need to splurge on a Hakko? Or, would I be better off going with hot air and paste?

 

[tim cubbedge]

I've not done much SMT yet, so I'll need to ramp up my skills as I just received a box full of projects from Chris. I definitely need better gear; I was planning on buying this:
https://amazon.com/X-Tronic-3020-XTS-Digital-Display-Soldering/dp/B01DGZFSNE
It seems like a good compromise between capabilities and price. Is this a decent unit, or do I need to splurge on a Hakko? Or, would I be better off going with hot air and paste?

That should be fine. I have used a 10 year old Weller WLC100 for all my eggtimer products. The key is using the right amount of heat & the right size tip.

 

[Greg Furtman]

I've not done much SMT yet, so I'll need to ramp up my skills as I just received a box full of projects from Chris. I definitely need better gear; I was planning on buying this:
https://amazon.com/X-Tronic-3020-XTS-Digital-Display-Soldering/dp/B01DGZFSNE
It seems like a good compromise between capabilities and price. Is this a decent unit, or do I need to splurge on a Hakko? Or, would I be better off going with hot air and paste?

If you get this get the different sized tips.

 

[Jmhepworth]

https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888D...1575330530&s=hi&sprefix=Haak,tools,191&sr=1-4

This is the one I have.

 

[Greg Furtman]

I have a decent soldering station and I'm thinking about getting once of these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R7KJPX...olid=28MCO3MULBK62&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[rharshberger]

I use one of these soldering stations.
https://www.amazon.com/X-Tronic-4010-XTS-2-Quick-Temp-Gen/dp/B07NJ27Q19

With the exception of a wire on the heating element breaking shortly after I got it (super easy to fix), it has served me very well on my Eggthing builds. iirc when I purchased it about 2 years ago they were $40 or so, now $69.

 

[conman13]

I've used this $30 Weller to solder a couple hundred of Cris's kits and I've never had any issues with it. It's been going strong for close to 6 years now...

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=SM6W4OU6QLI0&keywords=weller+soldering+iron&qid=1575339805&sprefix=weller,aps,177&sr=8-6

With these tips you'll be set to go for quite awhile:

https://www.amazon.com/Baitaihem-Re...words=Weller+WLC100+tip&qid=1575339999&sr=8-4

 

[Kelly]

I've used this $30 Weller to solder a couple hundred of Cris's kits

Well, that recommendation carries considerable weight, coming from you. I had looked at that, but disregarded it as some of the reviews say it's not good for SMT. What setting do you normally use?

 

[conman13]

Well, that recommendation carries considerable weight, coming from you. I had looked at that, but disregarded it as some of the reviews say it's not good for SMT. What setting do you normally use?

I keep it at 3.5. Its likely the reviews about not being good for SMT are due to the fact that it comes with a large blunt tip, however with the tips I included a link for it'll tackle anything you can throw at it.

 

[tOD]

I think there are quite a few choices with regard to solder irons. I've had good results with this one.
https://www.hakkousa.com/products/soldering/hakko-fx-650-soldering-iron.html

 

[cerving]

Thanks to all of our customers for making this a great 2019 holiday sale! As usual, we had a late flurry of orders, there's a lot to ship but we're working on getting everything out as soon as we can. We expect most orders to go out in the next few days. The only exception would be for Eggtimer Classics, we had a big school order that cleaned us out of them so we're having to reorder boards, which takes about two weeks.

Cris Erving
Eggtimer Rocketry

 

[Jmhepworth]

Thanks to all of our customers for making this a great 2019 holiday sale! As usual, we had a late flurry of orders, there's a lot to ship but we're working on getting everything out as soon as we can. We expect most orders to go out in the next few days. The only exception would be for Eggtimer Classics, we had a big school order that cleaned us out of them so we're having to reorder boards, which takes about two weeks.

Cris Erving
Eggtimer Rocketry

Well done, Cris. You make such a great contribution to the hobby. Innovative products at a great price. And you encourage us to learn new skills. Thanks.

Joe

 

[Kelly]

I think there are quite a few choices with regard to solder irons. I've had good results with this one.
https://www.hakkousa.com/products/soldering/hakko-fx-650-soldering-iron.html

Wow, not even temperature or power control? Maybe I'm overthinking this.

 

[rharshberger]

Wow, not even temperature or power control? Maybe I'm overthinking this.

I did all of my first 5 or six Eggthings with a old Radio Shack pencil iron including a TRS.

 

[cerving]

I soldered all of my early stuff with a little Weller SP12 pencil iron, it's fine but you can't beat a real soldering station.

 

[tOD]

I initially bought the Hakko iron because it was cheap. I really didn't think I could build one of these devices successfully and didn't want to lay out a pile of money on a solder station. Just received a Quark and a WiFi Switch which will be my sixth and seventh Eggs. Maybe it's time to consider something a little more versatile

 

[PatD]

So, having old guy eyes I don't know if one of these will work for me doing SMT. https://www.amazon.com/Beileshi-Mag...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CC3Q4SN6P9W484C7WZ9Y

Anybody tried something like these? https://www.amazon.com/Microscope-S...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TKD2XR6ZC1TXF740WSG6

I know some use the professional versions of the stereo microscope but they are out of my price range.

 

[cerving]

I don't use either one, but I know of people that have used both of them. I think it's a matter of personal preference... I prefer a lighted ring magnifier.

 

[caveduck]

In optics you get what you pay for. Especially in optics. I'm jumping in on this because I've previously been professionally involved with optics, and it's so crucial for a happy experience assembling Eggtimer (or any other) SMD kits. For electronics work you really need two kinds of magnifier:

• Assembly work: 3-5x wide field
  • Lighted 3-5x ring magnifier
  • Low power (2-3x) dual loupes
  • Clip-on 3-5 diopter magnifiers for your eyeglasses
• Close inspection: 10-30x
  • Single 15-20x loupe
  • Stereo microscope
  • USB microscope (needs to go down to 20x or lower)

Like Cris I use an LED illuminated ring magnifier quite a bit for assembly, but it's not strong enough for serious inspection. If you want a stereo microscope be sure to get one with angled ocular tubes...if you have the straight ones you'll probably have to stand up to use it even if it's on your desk. In a stereo scope there are 3 critical optical elements - the objective lens and two oculars. For $20-25 build cost in a scope retailing at $50 there is no way those optics are going to be very decent. Also beware of misleading language...it says "20-40x" but that's *not* a zoom unit, it's 20x or 40x, that's it. There are no zoom elements in the objective. In a nice unit with zoom and angled tubes there's a lot more optics.

Another possibility is the dual-loupe systems used by dental hygienists etc. They come in versions that can be used with or without eyeglasses. Typically they are 2.5 to 3.5x with a working distance of 420mm. Not strong enough for close inspection but might be great for general assembly work instead of the ring mag, which can get in the way. There are some cheap Chinese ones under $35. Have a look at https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers...al-Surgical-Loupes/zgbs/industrial/9060268011

A simple 15x monocular loupe can be had for $20-50. You get more bang for the buck with these because a loupe is just a single optical lens stack in a really trivial housing. There are also eyeglass mounted variants. Look around maxiaids.com to get some idea of mostly inexpensive things. See for example: https://www.maxiaids.com/hands-free-magnifiers?pagenumber=2

 

[PatD]

Thanks for the info Dave, always good to have alternatives. I'll take a look.

 

[John Kemker]

Thanks to all of our customers for making this a great 2019 holiday sale! As usual, we had a late flurry of orders, there's a lot to ship but we're working on getting everything out as soon as we can. We expect most orders to go out in the next few days. The only exception would be for Eggtimer Classics, we had a big school order that cleaned us out of them so we're having to reorder boards, which takes about two weeks.

Cris Erving
Eggtimer Rocketry

Cris, thank YOU for the sale! I have plenty of goodies to burn myse..errr..assemble for a bit.

(The 70cm stuff is right up my alley. Both ham radio AND rocketry!)

 

[KilroySmith]

I'll second Dave's recommendations.

I have a number of magnifying devices that I use when soldering. All are really cheap, because that's who I am:
https://www.amazon.com/Ultraoptix-Inc-Magnifier-Pocket-Lighted/dp/B006MW8JBW - great for high-power handheld magnification.
A head-mounted magnifier similar to what you posted. Brings my old eyes back to 20 year old eyes, and can be used for SMT soldering with a bit of care.
A cheap monocular 20x microscope that I bought from a surplus site many years ago, looks kinda like: https://www.amazon.com/AmScope-K102-Elementary-Dissecting-Magnification/dp/B005OASVJ8 but I never would have spent that much on it. Great for inspection, and very small SMT work.

We have some very nice Bausch and Lomb stereo microscopes with ring lighting, variable zoom, and a dozen different adjustments for soldering at work; I use them on occasion, and would certainly be looking for that quality of optics and ergonomics if I was a technician using them all day long, but these days I solder a couple of times a year so I just can't justify the cost and space needed for those at home (besides being, by nature, a cheap bastard).

 

[Greg Furtman]

I have another Quantum on the way. I've been watching YouTube videos on hot air reflow soldering SMD components and found it amazing. So I bought an inexpensive hot air gun, some solder paste, and a practice SMD kit on Amazon.

This is the hot air gun.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H4RHZ21/ref=dp_cerb_1

The practice kit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VWB8F8K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the solder paste.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017RSZFQQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So today I put the board together with the paste & hot air tool. All I can say is that it is so much easier than using a soldering iron. I plan on using this system to do my Quantum.

Cris, I plan on doing all the surface mount device on each side of the PCB first, & then the through hole components. See any problem with this?

 

[John Kemker]

Worked on my Eggfinder LCD Receiver today. Got it all soldered when I realized that I forgot to mark the case for holes before assembling the PCBs. Now I need to figure out how to mark the case afterwards.

 

[Greg Furtman]

Worked on my Eggfinder LCD Receiver today. Got it all soldered when I realized that I forgot to mark the case for holes before assembling the PCBs. Now I need to figure out how to mark the case afterwards.

John, attached is a CAD drawing converted to PDF I did for my LCD cover. If you print it out at scale on letter size paper you can cut it out & tape it to the cover and use it as a drilling guide.

 

[John Kemker]

John, attached is a CAD drawing converted to PDF I did for my LCD cover. If you print it out at scale on letter size paper you can cut it out & tape it to the cover and use it as a drilling guide.

Thanks, Greg! You're a lifesaver!