Martin, I just ran this by a local volunteer fireman with no results.
I wonder if Kevlar might work for this, if you can find gloves or if
nothing else material that could be sewn. My step sister is a
semi-professional seamstress so will check there as well.
###
BRETT WINCHESTER KD7JN
[log in to unmask]
208-639-8386
###
-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Martin McCormick
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 9:34 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Building Equipment
I like using perf board and wire-wrap for digital projects as
well aseven some RF projects. You must solder leads to components since
component leads are round and do not bite in to the wire-wrap wire.
I also have played around with PIC microcontrollers and the
Motorola 68HC11 which is another embedded controller.
The idea of a circuit description language is a very good one.
Things like PIC's and other microprocessors simplify the construction
details since more of the circuit is in firmware, but documenting a
circuit has been one of my biggest problems so one can come back to it
in months or years and tell what is what.
My favorite soldering tool for small parts is a Wahl cordless
soldering gun. I also have a bigger gun for the big stuff like coax
connectors and anything else that sucks the heat away too fast for a
little iron to work well.
I do have a question. I have occasionally used cotton work
gloves to shield my fingers when using a standard plug-in iron. you can
safely, but lightly touch the tip because the cotton insulates your
fingers but the cotton easily burns through and the glove is ruined as
soon as the hole burns in a finger.
Is there any heat-resistant fabric that feels about like cotton
but doesn't burn as easily?
If there was something like that , one could use a regular iron
more easily.
Guns, of course, can start cold so you can touch everything, but
guns also apply more heat as they warm up than an already-hot iron.
An already hot iron, however, can do lots of damage if you don't
watch where you put it on the work. A normal tip temperature is about
700 degrees F.
Another advantage of light gloves is that you really don't want
to get human finger prints on what you are soldering because the solder
flux isn't capable of cleaning the oil off that well.
I am 56 years old and have been building and tinkering since I
was in grade school so I am always looking for a new angle to try.
Martin McCormick WB5AGZ Stillwater, OK Systems Engineer OSU Information
Technology Department Network Operations Group
"John J. Boyer" writes:
>It's nice to see that there are several people interested in building
>equipment on the list, since what I want to do in ham radio is build
>and try out equipment. When I was younger I used to build quite a lot,
>including soldering. I built transistor circuits, but I used a modified
>version of a breadboard. Nowadays techniques are quite different.
>
>I wonder how many of you remember Bob Gunderson of the New York
>Institute for the Education of the blind. He was fand away my favorite
>teacher.
>
>The Braille Technical Press and later the Technical Files used to
>publish circuit diagrams. I'm thinking that a circuit-description
>language like Spice might be used to describe circuits for the blind.
>Another possibility would be to develop or find a language based on
xml.
>I have been working on transcribing xml to braille for several years.
>
>Let me know your ideas.
>
>Thanks,
>John
>
>--
>John J. boyer; President, Chief Software Developer JJB Software, Inc.
>http://www.jjb-software.com
>Madison, WI USA
>Developing software for people with disabilities
>
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