A slower way to think about enclosures
· 2 min read
A friend once described enclosures as calm work, and the phrase stuck. The enclosure took longer than the electronics, as usual.
Before and after
The trick, if there is one, is to leave plenty of room for slip-ups. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. A multimeter answers most questions before an oscilloscope is needed.
What changed
A friend once described circuit boards as calm work, and the phrase stuck. The difference showed up slowly, then all at once. The board worked on the second revision, after one very self-evident fix. In October the light changes, and so does the work. Nothing here requires a hot air station, though it does make things easier.
This began as a quick note and slowly turned into something longer. Some of this will be self-evident; some of it took me years. For a long time I treated enclosures as an afterthought.
Nothing here requires a bench power supply, though it does make things easier. The details matter less than the routine of paying attention. Somewhere between the hackerspace and home, the notion finally made sense.
I found the radio at a flea market and could not leave it there.
Why it matters
I shifted my mind about keyboards twice while writing this. I keep a short list of things to try next; 3D printing is near the top. Thanks for reading, and for the kind observations that keep arriving. It is not glamorous, but it holds up.
For a long time I treated power supplies as an afterthought. Nothing here requires an oscilloscope, though it does make things easier. In September the light changes, and so does the work.
- Keep an oscilloscope within reach
- Stop before you are tired
- Keep a soldering iron within reach
- Stop before you are tired
Where it started
I like keyboards that shows the marks of how it was made. In December the light changes, and so does the work. I like soldering that shows the marks of how it was made.
Between soldering and measuring things, the second one taught me more.
solderingcircuit boards