🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec21.152708.11873@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov> stephens@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (mark stephens) writes:
>Are these useful?  They are the "pencils" which wrap a wire around a post
>and you then solder it.  I'm trying to determine what system to use for
>creating circuits for this new (to me)  hobby.  Etching seems to be a tad
>much for (probably) one shot boards and wire wrapping might be overkill. 
>With the pencil, do you need special posts for inserting into a perf
>board?

	Yes, the solder-wrap things are VERY useful.  I've used them
for years (actually, I made my own tools, after the Vector one broke
or was lost).  The wire requires a HOT soldering iron (800 degree
tip on a WTCP-type regulated iron), to burn through the insulation,
but otherwise it's as simple as any other soldering.

	No special tools needed; the leads of a resistor can be staked
with a pair of needlenose pliers into a wrappable state.  What
IS useful is the little 'wiring loom' plastic strips, to keep the
wiring neat (though with practice, one can route around
corners so that the wire stays put).  Always get the heavier of
the two gauges of wire offered (it is easier to see, and holds
a bend better).  Bulk wire for this purpose is Beldsol magnet
wire (you don't have to buy it from Vector), available from
Belden distributors. (Belden type 8056)

	Direct wrapping to IC pins works well, as does wrapping to 
soldertail socket pins; wirewrap sockets are OK, but the extra pin
length is not needed.

	An end-cutting scalpel and narrow-nose forceps are useful
for wire routing and snipping.  Since the wire needn't be cut to
length and stripped, one can daisy-chain a large number of connections,
solder them, and cut out the extra bits afterward (which is where
the end-cutting scalpel is handy: use it like a chisel).

	John Whitmore