On Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:06:53 -0600, "Irv Finkleman"
wrote:

After I retired from the Navy I worked for Sony as a tech for 14
years and became pretty handy with SMD.

I worked for Sony/Superscope in Sunland-Tujunga California for a short
while in the mid 1960's. Too far to drive from where I was living and
going to skool.

When I retired from Sony
I kept my tools which included a headband magnifier and a few
different tweezers only one of which I consistently used.

Does your former boss know about this? Is there a reward for turning
you in? If you're going to pilfer the tools, at least take something
expensive.

I left one company with my junk parts box, my collection of component
samples, a DVM, and my favorite screwdriver. I probably could have
taken a load of test equipment, as nobody seemed to care. I figured
the dumpster would be full of junk after the layoff/purge. I was
right and collected quite a pile of goodies from the dumpster. I also
suspected that my project notes would be thrown away, so I grabbed
those. Many years later, the company raised one project from the dead
and called asking if I had any history on the project. Like a fool, I
just gave it to them, instead of demanding payment.

Like all products, my ancient products eventually hit the surplus
market. Like all good surplus equipment, there were no manuals to be
found. So, like a complete fool, I scanned the manuals and posted
them to my web pile. I now waste far too much time answering
questions and helping with repairs. Lesson learned: Products tend to
rise from the dead and will haunt you like zombies.

I do
recall losing one or two of the smaller SMD components but
I eventually learned to take precautions to avoid doing so..

My standard precaution is to buy extra parts. The parts are cheap. My
time is not. I use metal egg trays for parts storage. However, I
also tend to tip those over or bury them in junk. My latest trick is
using semi-sticky window shelf paper to hold parts. That works great
after I remove the flies, bugs, and glue eating banana slugs.

With respect to taking things apart and then getting them
back together again I have to brag about my abilities. When
I had my first interview with Sony the asked me how much
of the work I considered electronic and how much was
mechanical. I estimated 90 percent mechanical (getting
the old part out and putting the new part in and then
the unit back together). I know now that it is more like
99.9%.

Agreed. When I started in engineering, it was 99.9% engineering and
0.01% politics. 15 years or so later, it was 99.9% politics and 0.01%
engineering. Productivity was about the same in both cases. Now that
I'm officially in the repair biz, my guess is about 33% repair, 33%
paper shuffling, and 33% customer ego support.

One nice thing about ham radio is that if I announce that I'm working
on a project, and I procrastinate enough, then one of the local hams
will eventually do it for me. See Tom Sawyer white washing a fence
for details on how it works.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to try and not blow
the diodes even though we both believe it will be
inevitable!

Not really. As I previously ranted, only certain people seem to blow
up the diodes. If you haven't blown any diodes by now, you're
probably safe. Just don't loan it to any of your friends, especially
on Field Day[1]. What seems to kill the analyzers is the act of
plugging in and unplugging a PL-259 to the unit. The PL-259 is unique
in that the center pin makes contact before the ground. This is
what's commonly known as a lousy idea. If you've built up a static
charge with your clothes and shoes, and are holding the shield, you'll
discharge yourself through the center pin and directly into the
diodes. That's my guess(tm) as to what's happening. I now make it a
habit of touching the center pin to case ground, before plugging in.
No clue if it helps, but it seems like a good idea. The N connector
on the MFJ-269B should not have this problem, but they seem to blow up
anyway, probably due to a different failure mechanism.

Irv VE6BP

[1] Hint: Measure the DC voltage on the traditional Field Day
balloon supported long wire antenna, especially if there's some wind.
If the DVM doesn't explode, you're still not safe.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558