I use these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38896

Also, I've soldered literally hundreds of fine-pitch SMD ICs using the
simplest method of all: just bridge all the pins with solder and wick off
the excess with solder-wick. Never had any problems with residual solder
bridging or whiskers of solder-wick. You folks have made a mountain out of a
molehill on this subject.

Joe
W3JDR

"amdx" wrote in message
...

"Ian White GM3SEK" wrote in message
...
Jim Barber wrote:
Now that has potential:

By pure coincidence, I already have a Sony HDR-SR1 high-def (1080i)
camcorder and a 21" 16:9 LCD display with HDMI input in the lab.

Putting those two devices together and adding an appropriate macro lens
would seem to be a natural thing for this kind of work.

Great idea, Ian!

Not my own idea, but a friend's. He particularly likes having the camera
a long way above the work, so the area in front of him is completely
clear.

Come to think, my dentist has very a similar system as part of his fancy
new workstation, which is styled like the bridge of the Starship
Enterprise.

Speaking of the dentist, I visited the dentist yesterday and quizzed the
hygienist
about her glasses with the special lenses mounted out front. She said the
had a
magnification of 2.5 and focus length around 18". Always thought I wanted
a
pair of those but 2.5 magnification doesn't seem like enough and she
reported
the cost as $800.00. The dentist had a flip down style that mounted to his
regular
glasses. They cost less but still expensive.
Mike