I am truly glad that Alex showed up on the scene, he has alleviated me as Frogmans primary fix-it-guy :-) Just joined, thought I would throw a few things out.... Some things I have that I find indispensable.... Tek/Sony 308 Data analyzer, does parallel timing & state, serial state & timing and signature, very compact, no bigger than a small o-scope. Wico XY Pattern Generator: Makes fixing monitors on the bench so much easier. Atari Auto Ram/Rom Tester: Love it for the older B&W 6800 games. Tenma Semiconductor tester: works in circuit, saves a ton of time by not having to unsolder components to test them. Fluke 9010 with the z80, 6502 and 6809 pods, just got the probe a couple weeks ago, a real breeze on vectors w/o the vid ram to get in the way.... EMUP-A programmer, does just about every prom (except 2708s) and most prog. logic, also tests logic ICs and RAMs, it's nice to just pull out a 2114 out of a Pac board and do a go/no-go test. "One Shot" desoldering iron, much better than those Ripoff Shack squeeze bulb things.... James -----Original Message----- From: ayeckley [mailto:ayeckley@neo.rr.com] Sent: Monday, November 15, 1999 1:19 PM To: TechToolsList@flippers.com Subject: Re: Tools (and my stuff- long) Hi Mike, welcome! (Isn't that how they do it at AA meetings?)
what is next? A desoldering Iron? an ICE?
Well, if you are like me (and it looks like you might be - sorry) here is what will be happening to you soon. Looking in the crystal ball, I see: 1)You *will* be purchasing a desoldering station (not just a better iron). 2)You *will* be purchasing three Fluke 9010s, in separate transactions. 3) You *will* acquire a Pat 9000. 4) You *will* convert your spare bedroom to a repair shop (you probably already did that one, eh?) because the garage is too cold in winter. 5) You *will* acquire two HP logic analyzers in separate transactions. 6) In addition to your Data I/O 29B, you will also acquire a 29A. 7) You *will* begin getting "preferred customer" discounts from Jameco, Newark and others. 8) You will buy dead test equipment, and use your other test equipment to fix them (giving you a nice sense of "closure"). 9) You *will* become --very-- popular with collectors in your area. 10) They *will* call you at all hours of the day and night. 11) You *will* gain a reputation as being "an awsome dude", even though you don't consider yourself a dude. 12) Your repair backlog *will* grow beyond 4 weeks even though you don't advertise on RGVAC. 13) People at your day job *will* assume you are an electrical engineer even if you aren't. 14) People 100 miles away *will* cold-call you asking if you can fix their Space Invaders. 15) They *will* assume that this is your day job. 16) They *will not* understand when you explain it isn't your day job. 17) They will not understand why you won't fix their pinball also. 18) You will quote what you think is an outrageous price, and they will eagerly accept it. This results in you having steak for dinner and buying something on eBay. 19) You *will* not have time to fix your own games. 20) You will use vacation days to fix games for other people. 21) You will begin to think seriously about doing this stuff full time... All of this is pre-ordained. Don't fight it. *********************************************************** For anyone that's interested, here's my tool portfolio. None of this stuff was bought new. These are just the working ones. Anybody want a dead HP Spectrum Analyzer or Gould Logic Analyzer (free)? Tek 7633 scope (100MHz) HP 1610A logic analyzer HP1615A logic analyzer Data I/O 29B Data I/O 29A Eprom eraser Pat 9000 (a mixed blessing) Pace MBT201 Solder/Desolder station (well worth it) Fluke 8020A DMM Fluke 9010A Microsystem Troubleshooter (two more soon) Alex http://home.neo.lrun.com/ayeckle/ ayeckley@neo.lrun.com (Play) yecklea@diebold.com (Work)