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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Record SMD Sprong
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| Andrew_G Guru  Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 842 |
I can now see the funny side so I thought I'd ask "What is the record distance that an SMD has spronged while trying to solder it"? Come on own up now . . . I've spent hours looking for Q1 (DMP2215L Mosfet) for a new LCD backpack. I head it land but can't find the bu##er. Any ideas where I can get a sensible number (RS sells 'em for 37c ea but a minimum of 50 (i.e. $18)). (Looks like I'm on the way to mastering soldering under a microscope as all the other SMDs have gone without a hitch - albeit a little slowly). Cheers, Andrew |
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| Phil23 Guru Joined: 27/03/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1664 |
Cut a few small pieces of brightly coloured plastic & try & Sprong them in a similar manner; take notice of where they land & and then look for the missing part in the complete opposite direction an about 4 times the suspected distance. On a completely different topic; I got to the bottom of an issue with the ongoing reliability of ESP-01's connected to the consoles of some of my Micromites. I'd experimented with Caps on the power rails; tried different firmware version; even swapped modules about, but still found I was prone to dropouts on 2 particular units, that were previously stable. The ones in question were even on a low usage AP, possible 3m away & with an RSSI of around -56db. (Yes, Swapped out that AP with an identical one & switched their config's about).  Cutting that bit out, (about 2m from the termination), did NOT restore the connection..... Grrrrrrr. Phil. Even on a low usage |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
Rodent or bird??? ontopic- I have lose dozens over the years- and my old work bench had a carpeted floor to boot (was in there when we moved in)- easiest way I found with them was empty vacuum cleaner and wipe it clean (one without the bag- we had a bagless shop vacuum cleaner) and just vacuum the area then inspect inside- most times the component lost (and a few others) turned up |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2294 |
this is just part of the joy of using SMD parts, and a good reason why any kit needs to have a few spares included! fortunately SMD resistors, capacitors, LEDs and transistors are usually worth just a few cents each and so one can afford to include these spares. and remember, if you liberally apply flux paste to the pads first, the chances of an escape bid are very much diminished. cheers, rob :-) |
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redrok Senior Member  Joined: 15/09/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 209 |
This sounds like Mark Twain's Huck Fin trying to find his prized shooter marble. As I recall he found it but lost several other marbles in the process. redrok |
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GoodToGo! Senior Member Joined: 23/04/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 188 |
I'm impressed you heard it land! I lost an SMD transistor while buiding one of those eBay electronic clock kits. I was peeling off the plastic packaging and it was literally there one second, gone the next. It now lives *somewhere* in my garage. Funny thing is, I know I'll never find it, but every now and then I still look.... Cheers! GTG!  ...... Don't worry mate, it'll be GoodToGo! |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 842 |
FOUND IT! It is a little dusty having been through my NZ Mike Tyson bag-less vacuum cleaner but I now have it, a spotless bench and floor. Thanks to all who commented. I'm still keen to know the world record sprong if anyone is game to fess up. Andrew |
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| kkoppert Newbie  Joined: 12/04/2017 Location: New ZealandPosts: 17 |
What's so special about a DMP2215L other than being a 20V P-channel mosfet in a sot23 package and silicon chip have a container full out the back? Why can't you use an AO3401 ($1.69 for 100) or something similar? |
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| GoodToGo! Senior Member Joined: 23/04/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 188 |
Well I'll be...... Top Job! Feel free to come around and look for the one I lost...... GTG! ...... Don't worry mate, it'll be GoodToGo! |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2870 |
Hi Andrew, I spent 30-40 minutes on my hands and knees looking for an 0805 100nf Cap (yeah a shekel and a quarter each) when I finally gave up I went to solder a new one I found the old one on my soldering iron tip.. (I didn't use it...) Why did I search so long? Well one reason I didn't have very many in those days (I since bought a 2000 reel of them..) and the second reason is ... I couldn't get back up from the floor (Joke)...  Age is the bane of my life..A friend from work dropped an 0805 device on a heavily patterned carpet floor and another bloke (near blind with coke bottle glasses) went looking for it... The bloke who dropped it said if he found it he would give him a B##%$#$ (you know what I mean). Well guess what, he found it.. (And NO he didn't get his B##%$#$ ) Kind Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| Boppa Guru Joined: 08/11/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 814 |
I think I would have the record easily I lost a (at the time) very expensive mosfet smd in northern qld after a plane trip to brisbane, to perth, to port headland I found it stuck to my shoe (in plain sight mind you, right on the upper near the top of the tongue- we used superglue to hold the smds down, and it was literally glued to my shoe) so the distance between being lost and being found would be probably about 5000km.... |
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palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1805 |
I sourced substitutes from RS but why use SOT23 when the rest of the circuit is through hole. Surely the Mosfets would be available in TO-92 package. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9083 |
We have all had sessions of prayer, down on our knees looking at the floor, feeling around or looking at every square inch of the floor with a strong light. The problem is they are so damn light, that you only need to exhale too fast, and you will blow them off the board. I too like flux-paste for this reason - it is sticky, and holds the part on the board, whereas the liquid flux seems to evaporate faster then you can apply the bloody stuff.  ...but that is just my 2c. If you need to hold them down while soldering one end, I find that a small flat-blade screwdriver used to press the part onto the board works well. There are also SMD tweezers from the likes of eBay here. These ones are a little more expensive then cheap ones, but they are very good - dangerous to your fingers, actually, if you mishandle the pointed ones!  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| kkoppert Newbie Joined: 12/04/2017 Location: New ZealandPosts: 17 |
The new version uses sot23. Strangely everything else is tht. The dmp2215L no longer seems to be available in to-92 although silicon chip still sells them (I think). |
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| paceman Guru Joined: 07/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1329 |
I thought I was the only one to have done that Mick - I found my 'lost' 0805 resistor on the tip of my iron after losing it, setting another one in place, then peering though the microscope with the iron ready to 'dab'. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or not but I find that trying to hold 0805's in place by being gentle, just leads to more 'spronging'. I hold the tweezers against the board quite firmly now but try not to squeeze them together too tightly. The flux is mandatory. Greg |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1805 |
I always use normally closed tweezers, around the edge of the board you can even use them under and over the board to hold a component in place. However my Microscope has spring loaded clips that I usually use. Paul. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 842 |
Hi all - I've been missing in action for a few days - but now back to the contest. Boppa - looks like you win the non-prize for the longest sprong (but late entries are accepted) Paul - sorry I didn't explain that it was a MM Plus LCD Backpack so it only had SMDs (I wanted to finish it off 'as supplied'). kkoppert - strange as it may seem not everyone on here is an expert (I am a complete novice and am happy to ask silly questions to learn (if TBS members can put up with that?) - I can now solder 64 pin MMs and other SMDs and can get by programming MMBasic). When I was at Uni (Civil Eng.) we learnt about valves and the unit of force was a Kip. Sure; Silicon Chip has lots of 'em but I'm not inclined to pay $10 postage for a $0.37 component. Thanks though for pointing out the equivalent (that was one of the objectives of my question - the other was to have a bit of fun). Mick - is the B##%$#$ still on offer? (As an update the MM+ worked straight out of the box but I am still getting used to the differences between it and the MM170.) Cheers, Andrew |
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crez Senior Member Joined: 24/10/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 152 |
Hi All, I have assembled lots of surface mount down to 0603 as part of my job and have a bit of hand tremor. I find that you can hold the part with a lump of blue-tack between your finger and thumb while soldering one end. After a couple of days work the blue-tack gets a bit soft so you start with a fresh blob. There is no danger of sprong with this method, but occasionally the part can get mostly embedded in the blob if you don't get it in position straight away. David |
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