Dummy Locomotive PCB

John,

  Thanks, Marty

.01 uF at say 100 vdc? 0402 smd?

Let’s see how close I got? I had one fly away but I found it!

@cjack posted:

.01 uF at say 100 vdc? 0402 smd?

Let’s see how close I got? I had one fly away but I found it!

It's a .01uf 50V size 0603.

Ah thanks. I measured one just now and I'm glad it wasn't 0402

I have a self-imposed limit of 0603 footprint caps and resistors, and .95mm lead spacing on any other part.  When they get smaller than that, they become vary hard for me to solder.  Occasionally, I've had to compromise for special parts, but normally I can stay within those parameters.

My kits arrived today, thanks John!  I agree that soldering the tiny caps will be a challenge.  I can always pass the job to my Ham Radio friend, he's handled fiddly solder jobs for me before. 

Yep, the caps are pretty small, I suppose I could have made them a larger part, but they needed to be small enough not to interfere with the R2LC being plugged in.

I've avoided SMD where I can, but I was surprised at how easy these went in with the tweezers on one end and pre tinned pad on the other.

Yep, that's the technique that I've found to work well with SMD parts.

Here's a new wrinkle on the dummy locomotive board.  I thought some folks might want to have connectors, and since I already had the spacing for .1" connectors, I though I'd build one up.

Which JST connectors did you use John?

@Ron_S posted:

Which JST connectors did you use John?

They're JST-EH connectors as that's the spacing of the holes.  I had that in mind when I designed the board, but it does make a bulkier package with the R2LC elevated.  Since there are no active components on the motherboard, I'm still thinking most folks will probably prefer just soldering to the MB holes.

JST-XH connectors fit the holes, though they're wider and would tend to cover up the silkscreened signal names.  In looking, I believe they interfere with the R2LC connector as well.  Since I had the JST-EH connectors in mind when I did the board, that's the logical choice.

Thanks John,

I have the JST-EH in hand. I always order double what I need for a project and pigeon hole them for times like this.

The well in the MTH frame will gobble up the height of the unit easily, and using the connectors makes for a much cleaner install.

@Ron_S posted:

Thanks John,

I have the JST-EH in hand. I always order double what I need for a project and pigeon hole them for times like this.

The well in the MTH frame will gobble up the height of the unit easily, and using the connectors makes for a much cleaner install.

Change horses and go for the long R2LC connector?

Which comes with the kit, standard height or long prong?

@Ron_S posted:

Which comes with the kit, standard height or long prong?

Your choice.

Then long prong please, I have a bunch of the standard height double strips from doing pickaxe boards.