Here is a video on SMD (Surface Mount Device) soldering. In this video I show how to solder some SMD components on to a little board with an ATtiny85V, switch, LED, and resistor. The short version of this video just shows the resistor and LED (size 603) being soldered, the long version of this video shows everything being soldered. It’s really neat to open up the world of SMD. You can make really tiny (and cheap!) widgets! Continue reading
Category Archives: Tools / Equipment
Yamaha AG Stomp Mod
I wanted to do a quick post on a mod I did to a Yamaha AG Stomp. An AG Stomp is a acoustic guitar effects pedal that was made in 1994, but no longer available.
The need was this: to gain more real estate space under a keyboard that was full of pedals, controllers, and switches. So the need to switch banks without taking up the whole size of the pedal was the goal. The answer was to build a small (3.64″L x 1.52″W x 1.22″D) pedal that had a single switch, had an easy way to tell witch bank you were on, have a signal indicator, and be road tough. The end result made the customer very happy, and he requested that I share, so here it is. 🙂
You can check out Austin Biel at austinbiel.com, an awesome musician (including the best keyboard player I have heard), and an outstanding friend.
SMD iPad Charger
I had mentioned this device in a post about DorkboxPDX PCB’s, and didn’t do a post on it, but had some request to. This is the same as my other iPad charger, but this one includes an LDO regulator as well as a barrel jack. I have had a few request for the files, so here is all the info. Happy charging. 🙂
You can find the files at my Github page.
DorkbotPDX PCB’s
So I picked up a new good habit, ordering PCB boards. I know it might sound odd, but it really has become a habit. It started with an iPad charger I made, and now it is much more, and often.
It’s quite a simple process, dream up some neat little board, design it in Eagle, and order it via DorkbotPDX. There are even .dru and .cam jobs for you to use with Eagle, or you can just send the Eagle .brd file if you’d like. About 2 weeks later, you get 3 copies of what you ordered. It’s a fantastic way to get a few PCB’s made to test before ordering a big quantity, or just get a few for a personal project. It only cost $5 per square inch, with no setup fees and free shipping! It’s a great way to get boards made for the first time without the fear of losing a large amount of money involved with minimum quantities or setup fees. I have placed 7 orders and all have been perfect. So what are you waiting for? Give it a go! You can find all of the info on the DorkbotPDX PCB Order page.
For larger boards (150 square inches or more), or 4 layer boards ($10 per square inch), there is also a service. Details on the DorkbotPDX PCB Order page.
Below are some pictures of the boards I have ordered. Click for full res images. Continue reading
i Get a charge out of this!
I had a post a while back on charging an iDevice (iPhone, iPad, iPod) and talked about and showed a schematic for the charging circuit. This design is based (and the schematic is almost exact!) off of Ladyada’s Reverse engineering Apple’s secret charging methods. (video link, it’s good, you should watch it!) I give her full credit for the circuit. Now, the boards I whipped up in a few hours, and had it made from DorkbotPDX service. I sent off the files and 2 weeks later, I got three perfect purple PCB’s. The boards cost a total of $4.69. Shipped. You can’t beat that with a stick! Now, I have a nice little iDevice charger that accepts standard 5 volt power from any standard power supply. Although I do tend to favor 5V 2A supplies from Adafruit.
I used the same circuit I had in the old post, just added an LED and resistor for a power indicator. I had an old cell phone from 2006, and saved the keypad because it lit up blue. (Can you blame me?) Now, 6 years later those tiny 603 blue LED’s come in handy. I got the 603 resistor from an old PC motherboard. Motherboards have a slew of SMD things on them. So I fired up the hot air rework station, grabbed my tweezers, and voila! SMD parts! (I did order some reels of 603 resistors and LED for use in future kits, sorry peeps, no old motherboard parts for you!) I use a good pair of tweezers, and a viewfinder from an old camcorder to inspect my work. “But Jeremy? Where do you keep all of those SMD parts?” you ask? Good question, I use these awesome Modular Snap SMD component storage boxes from Adafruit. They have spring loaded tops, and they are modular, you can form them in any configuration you want! How cool is that?!