Okay, readers, I get it! Some of us would rather not crawl around on the floor even when we have a foam cushion or some bubble wrap on which to sit or kneel.
David Brown is chief engineer for the Hubbard stations in West Palm Beach, Fla. Dave writes that his knees seriously object to his getting on the floor, and from readers’ comments, he’s not alone!
Dave found the mechanic’s stool shown here on Amazon for less than $40. It has a padded, comfortable seat that raises and lowers. The shelf on the bottom is a great place to keep screwdrivers, small parts or rack screws so you don’t have to keep getting up and down while working on something in the bottom of the rack.
The wheels let you scoot around from rack to rack. In fact, that’s where Dave uses his: primarily in the rack room. But this mechanic’s stool is just at home in the transmitter building.
Paul and Harold discuss soldering
Paul Sagi in Malaysia brings an interesting product to my attention. He and Harold Hallikainen were discussing iFixit, a company that advocates for a culture of repair and maintenance over throwing stuff away. Kyle Wiens and Luke Soules launched iFixit in 2003 when they needed to repair an iBook G3, and it has posted hundreds of tutorials to assist people in repairing consumer products. (The website bears the slogan “Never Take Broken for an Answer.”)
iFixit now has launched its own soldering iron tools, aimed at making soldering more convenient and portable. It offers several items under the new FixHub brand.
The Smart Soldering Iron can generate up to 100 watts of heat and is powered via USB-C, meaning it is compatible with many modern phone chargers. These aren’t cheap; the iron alone is about $80. But it has a nifty feature set. Safety aspects include sleep mode, a temperature indicator ring light and fall protection.
A heat-resistant magnetic cap covers the tip, even when it’s hot. This is a great idea, especially helpful for contract engineers who must visit multiple sites and may not have time to wait for a soldering iron to cool.
The company also offers a Portable Soldering Station kit that adds a dual-port battery power supply, allowing users to power two irons at once or charge a phone while working. iFixit says the portable supply will support at least eight hours of continuous soldering on a single charge. Included is a 100-watt USB-C power source. This kit costs around $250.
And there’s a top-end version of the above, with 13 tools including a cloth roll, wire strippers, flush cutters, solder, safety glasses, tweezers and other accessories; it goes for around $299.
The company’s website is www.ifixit.com.
Clinic musings
On a related note, I thought you’d enjoy the T-shirt shown here, which was spotted at the Midwest Regional Broadcasters Clinic. Yes, we engineers may void warranties; but as iFixit says, we never take broken for an answer.
BSW’s John Lynch was at the show.
If you’re on the phone with BSW, ask them about their five-pack of BSW Aircans for under $150. These are closed-back professional dynamic headphones, with a unique detachable, replaceable headphone cable. You can tell ’em you read about it in Radio World. John also was featuring the new VX Duo two hybrid/channel VoIP hybrid from Telos Alliance.
Technoguy reminisces
Broadcast engineer Michael Baldauf, aka Technoguy, remembers that every year around this time, Radio Shack would release its annual catalog, offering a glossy splashy look at their latest offerings. It featured everything from huge stereo receivers to CB radios, telephone answering machines to walkie-talkies, and so much more. This was the ultimate “wish book” for the electronics geeks of the era.
Now we can revisit those halcyon days by perusing those catalogs at www.radioshackcatalogs.com. It’s set up for turning the pages, just like the originals; it features catalogs from 1939 to 2011, as well as some other ads including sales fliers sent to customers who were, um, coerced into having their addresses handwritten onto receipts by Radio Shack employees whose jobs depended on collecting that information.
The site is not associated with Radio Shack Corp. but was authorized to display historical records. Even browsing the covers is a time-travelling pleasure. Bookmark the site and visit for a bit of escapism now and then.
Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify for SBE recertification credit. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com.
