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Replica 1

mryon

Experienced Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2003
Messages
138
Location
Sunnyvale, CA
cool!

I got a Replica 1 kit for a late Christmas prezie last night.

I meant to make the fun last for several days but I put the whole thing together last night.

Only to realise that I've no AT power supply!

I guess I'll find out if it works after a trip to Weirdstuff Warehouse tonight for a power supply.
 
BeBox to the rescue

BeBox to the rescue

after borrowing the power supply from my old BeBox, I fired up the Replica 1.
Not literally thankfully.

Worked straight away.

thanks Vince, what cool kit!

From opening the box to wishing that I had a power supply took all of three hours.

Just when I've become jaded and sick of computers, they are fun again. ;)
 
kit

kit

you can (or could) get it pre-assembled.

I got a kit version that had to be soldered.
If you've done any soldering before it will be a breeze.

I spent about 90 minutes or so actualy doing the soldering.

It's really really cool! (not a paid endorsement) ;)
 
Re: kit

Re: kit

mryon said:
If you've done any soldering before it will be a breeze.
Dunno; I've tried to learn soldering for 15+ years, and while I can patch cables and alike in case of an emergency, I'm not very fluent. A poor iron doesn't help either - I have one of those referred to not being worthy to call soldering iron even.
 
Re: kit

Re: kit

carlsson said:
mryon said:
If you've done any soldering before it will be a breeze.
Dunno; I've tried to learn soldering for 15+ years, and while I can patch cables and alike in case of an emergency, I'm not very fluent. A poor iron doesn't help either - I have one of those referred to not being worthy to call soldering iron even.

You need to try dumpster diving! Used to be a medical electronics place just down the road and they were always chucking nice soldering pencils-- even packs of new tips.
 
Dunno; I've tried to learn soldering for 15+ years, and while I can patch cables and alike in case of an emergency, I'm not very fluent. A poor iron doesn't help either - I have one of those referred to not being worthy to call soldering iron even.

Two key things that I've learned after 25+ years are:

Keep the tip clean and tinned!

Use small diameter solder.

A damp sponge is an excellent tip cleaner. Also, at the shop where I used to work we kept a small jar of liquid acid flux (for brazing). Dip the tip in the flux every now and then and it comes out really shiny. Be sure to wipe off all traces of acid or your connections will corrode. Do this when the buildup on the tip can't be wiped off easily. Re-tin the tip and presto, ready for action.

The solder I currently use is 0.032 inches (sorry, the spool doesn't have metric markings). Very easy to control and it doesn't result in a huge blob when tinning the iron.

When the iron is up to temp and properly tinned, you should be able to (for example) solder the legs on an IC by just briefly touching each leg. Have your solder in position before you apply heat.

I know where you're coming from, I've been trying to learn to weld and the results are NOT pretty :roll:

Kent
 
I know where you're coming from, I've been trying to learn to weld and the results are NOT pretty Rolling Eyes

Kent

Try pushing the bead instead of pulling it. "Fast-fill" rods help sometimes too. I usually use sum'n like a 7014 for non-critical welds, unless hardness is really necessary. Just for practice/learning tho, the 7014 is a good choice. Oh yeah, your own advice sounds good too, try using smaller rods.

--T
 
Re: BeBox to the rescue

Re: BeBox to the rescue

mryon said:
Worked straight away.

thanks Vince, what cool kit!

From opening the box to wishing that I had a power supply took all of three hours.

Just when I've become jaded and sick of computers, they are fun again. ;)

Sure, glad you like it. The kits really are pretty easy to build. May I quote you on the replica site?

I'm hoping to have kits and assembled versions again before too long. Right now I just don't have the time to develop new products and build replica kits. A little patience means that more fun stuff should be on the way in a few months.

Cheers,

Vince
 
DimensionDude said:
Keep the tip clean and tinned!
Use small diameter solder.
soldertip.jpg


I'm currently using a 60/40 Rosin Core solder, 1.0 mm (0.039 inch) from Velleman. I also have some much thicker Radiolot, which I've learned is not useful for fine electronics, maybe rough cables.
 
Biggest beginner mistake is applying solder to iron. Here's a tip on how I build a replica in 30 min.

Heat iron. Get a sponge from your kitchen and rinse it out with water. Leave sponge damp. While iron is heating I add some resistors and bend them out so they stay in place. Once the iron is heated I apply a small amount of solder on the iron directly. Gently wipe off the iron leaving just a very very tiny amount on the iron. This helps transfer the solder over. Apply the iron to the post of the item you are soldering making sure to also contact the through hole. Heat it up for about 2 seconds then touch the solder to the post. If it is hot, it will melt and spred evenly over the post and the pad. Remove solder, remove iron. flip and cut excess lead from resistor. When you do your IC sockets, use tape to hold them down if you are a beginner to soldering. If you aren't, I flip and use the board to hold the socket in place, saves me time. The key to any kit is don't look past anything except what component you are soldering.

Was this info useful to anybody or am I rambling on? After a few hundred boards it gets easy.

Vince
 
good tips

good tips

yep, those are good tips. The kind of things I didn't even think to mention because I've been doing them for so long.

Oh by the way, I forgot to mention...

It looks like a couple of chips got replaced with work-a-likes or newer version as compared to the docs in the kit.

It could be confussing to someone.

I managed to figure it out though ;)


-m
 
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