a K2 thought?

[Robert-223]

The URL got screwed up so here it is again:


 http://images.andale.com/f2/115/123/10264406/1102451745722_Solderstation.jpgRobert VE3RPF


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[Robert-223]

Ok so this time I won't put my name it.  Something strange is happening
here.
Here's the URL for hopefully the last time:



 http://images.andale.com/f2/115/123/10264406/1102451745722_Solderstation.jpg


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[Don Ehrlich-2]

About rechargable lithium batteries in general ....

Many folks do not know this and I had to find it out the hard way when I
bought some rechargable lithium batteries for my camera.

Rechargable (Lithium ion) batteries decline in quality with age.  It does
not matter how much they are used.  Beginning when they are manufactured
they gradually develop an increase in internal impedance until eventually
the terminal voltage under load falls to an unusable level.  This may not be
serious for applications that do not pull high peak current.  It is
important, though, if you are really drawing a fair ammount of current (at
the one hour rate, for instance).  You can quickly 'google' quite a bit of
information on this.

Just be careful not to spend a lot of money on 'new' batteries that have
been on the store shelves for a couple of years.  You may see lithiums on
sale just for that reason.

Don  K7FJ

> Here are some 4V AA Lithium batteries.
>
> Although they have about half of the energy the Energizer drugstore
> Lithium batteries provide, it is at a higher voltage.
>
> Uses inside the KX1, six of these series-parallelled (not series as in the
> current KX1 internal battery circuit!) would provide ~12V at about 900
> mAh.
>
> http://www.tadiranbat.com/hipower.php

[Bob - W5BIG]

Hi Robert,

This looks very interesting!

Do you have any details available on how you constructed this station?
Are you interested in making more of them to sell?  With the proliferation
of SMDs now,
I bet a lot of people could use something like this.

73/ Bob - W5BIG


----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert" <[hidden email]>
To: "Mike Markowski" <[hidden email]>; <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 3:19 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Magnifiers (was: a K2 thought?)


> Mike and all I built this unit to solder and identify components.  I put
in
> a small TFT screen so I can monitor what I'm doing while sitting
> straight-up.  I get great magnification and can put in a vise to hold a
> board while soldering.
>
> My eyes got sore and I had headaches due to wearing magnifiers for too
long
> so I build this machine.  I've since changed the lighting set-up and use a
> round fluorescent bulb around the lens.  It's great to use.
>
>
http://images.andale.com/f2/115/123/10264406/1102451745722_Solderstation.jpg
Robert VE3RPFThe Mad Scientist
>


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[Mark J. Schreiner]

Ditto that!  On Sunday morning I put on some nice relaxing classical and
boy did the solder flow nicely.  One other think I've noticed is that
putting too many components on at once results in leads getting in the
way of soldering iron tip and feeding the solder.  I have caught a
couple of leads that were not soldered as I was trimming them.  It has
been easy for me to catch because as I grab ahold of the lead end that
is sticking up in the air and am getting ready to snip it off with the
other hand it actually felt loose.  I also inspect the solder joints on
both sides of the board after snipping off the extra wire.  The
components that I pre-trimmed were individually soldered every time just
to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I should be pretty well finished with my K2 S/N 4786 either tonight or
tomorrow night and hope to make my first QSO with it shortly thereafter!

Mark, NK8Q
Allentown, PA

Margaret Leber wrote:

> [hidden email] wrote:
>
>> I can't watch TV or listen to a radio while working.
>
>
> Neither can I, but I've discovered that having the MP3 player in my
> computer on shufflle-play is plesant. No commercials thus no
> distractions...
>
>  73 de Maggie K3XS
>

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[Robert-223]

I am writing an article for QST on construction of one of my magnifier.  I
have 2 versions so need to decide which one to write on.  It QST publishes
it then those who are interested can build one.  I built it mainly for
component ID and SMD soldering.

Robert VE3RPF


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob - W5BIG" <[hidden email]>
To: "Robert" <[hidden email]>; "Mike Markowski" <[hidden email]>;
<[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 5:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Magnifiers (was: a K2 thought?)

> Hi Robert,
>
> This looks very interesting!
>
> Do you have any details available on how you constructed this station?
> Are you interested in making more of them to sell?  With the proliferation
> of SMDs now,
> I bet a lot of people could use something like this.
>
> 73/ Bob - W5BIG

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[Leigh L. Klotz Jr WA5ZNU]

Don,
Good points!  I should have been clear, though, that these are primary
cells, non-rechargeable.  They the same AA size but have less energy
(watt hours) than the 1.5v*3aH=4.5WH ones that give the KX1 6*1.5=9v
nominal, but give it higher voltage of 3*4=12v nominal, for a shorter
time.

Summary (with apologies to Emily Dickinson): the candle burns at both
ends, and it might or might not last the night.

Leigh / WA5ZNU

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 1:27 pm, Don wrote:
> About rechargable lithium batteries in general ....
> Rechargable (Lithium ion) batteries decline in quality with age.
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[David A. Belsley]

On Mar 21, 2005, at 4:27 PM, Don wrote:

> About rechargable lithium batteries in general ....
>
> Many folks do not know this and I had to find it out the hard way when
> I bought some rechargable lithium batteries for my camera.
>
> Rechargable (Lithium ion) batteries decline in quality with age.  It
> does not matter how much they are used.  Beginning when they are
> manufactured they gradually develop an increase in internal impedance
> until eventually the terminal voltage under load falls to an unusable
> level.  This may not be serious for applications that do not pull high
> peak current.  It is important, though, if you are really drawing a
> fair ammount of current (at the one hour rate, for instance).  You can
> quickly 'google' quite a bit of information on this.

It is my understanding that this crystaline layer forms most rapidly
when the Li batteries are kept fully charged for a long time (or kept
on the charger for prolonged periods).  I've read a figure that they
store best at about 40% charge.  The report I read (I, unfortunately,
did not keep the URL) also indicated that the layer can be broken up
with a deep (but by no means complete) discharge and full recharging.  
The batteries are apparently not really dead, but the high internal
resistance causes the effective voltage to be sufficiently low to cause
the camera's low-battery voltage sensor to think the battery is
drained.  If you still have your "dead" Li-Ion batteries, you might try
giving them a good discharge across, say, a 10 ohm, 10w resistor.  
Monitor the voltage with a meter, and stop the process when the voltage
starts dropping noticeably while you watch.  You'll likely notice at
the start that the voltage remains fairly constant, dropping only very,
very slowly, indicating that the "dead" battery does indeed still have
a charge.

It was these notions that prompted me to post a question to this
reflector the other day: specifically, which is better for Li-Ion
batteries, to be kept on the charger so as to reduce the number of
charge/discharge cycles or to be allowed to charge and discharge so as
to reduce the problems that arise when the battery is "stored" at full
charge?  The two actions appear to be in conflict.

I got no answer.  I would surely like to hear from any of those out
there who really know about Li-Ion batteries.  There appears to be a
lot of misinformation about them on the web (I hope I haven't added to
it with the above), much of which seems to arise over confusions of
old-wives'-tales borrowed from Ni-Cd and Nimh batteries.  I think it is
going to take years for a proper set of facts about Li batteries to
emerge and become established.

best wishes,

dave belsley, w1euy
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[N2EY]

In a message dated 3/21/05 12:13:31 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[hidden email] writes:


> Member of TURTLE team myself.

Is anyone else here a turtle today?

73 de Jim, N2EY
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[Rick Dettinger-2]

One reason I like to solder in groups is that I think the components  stay
cooler if I solder one lead on each one before going back and doing the
other lead(s).  I check for solder before clipping the leads.  I find that a
small fillet makes it easier to spot a missed joint.  Its eaiser to spot a
missed solder joint than to find a heat damaged component.    73 - Rick -
K7MW

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[Mike Markowski]

Wow, Robert, *that* is fantastic!  I'm looking forward to your QST
article - I can't imagine them not printing it there or in QEX.  You
justly deserve your Mad Scientist title.  :-)

Thanks,
Mike  AB3AP
Avondale, PA

Robert wrote on 03/21/05 16:19 ET:

> Mike and all I built this unit to solder and identify components.  I put
> in a small TFT screen so I can monitor what I'm doing while sitting
> straight-up.  I get great magnification and can put in a vise to hold a
> board while soldering.
>
> My eyes got sore and I had headaches due to wearing magnifiers for too
> long so I build this machine.  I've since changed the lighting set-up
> and use a round fluorescent bulb around the lens.  It's great to use.
>
> http://images.andale.com/f2/115/123/10264406/1102451745722_Solderstation.jpg
> Robert
> VE3RPF The Mad Scientist

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