<whitequark>
wpwrak: so I switched to ferric chloride
<whitequark>
as expected, it is *much* easier to work with than persulphate
<wpwrak>
well, it probably etches faster but it's a dirty mess
<wpwrak>
but now that you've mastered your fear of chloride, you can make the step to HCl. of course, you'll spend the rest of the week kicking yourself that you haven't chosen that from the start :)
<whitequark>
it's not a dirty mess
<whitequark>
I mean, why is it?
<whitequark>
I put the PCB into a polypropylene box (mildly hydrophobic), put stirring stick inside, close it, put it on top of my magnetic stirrer, turn it on.
<whitequark>
take it out 20 min later
<wpwrak>
you don't find FeCl messy ? all the black sludge and such ? and that you have to heat the whole mess ?
<whitequark>
heat?
<whitequark>
I don't heat it
<whitequark>
black sludge? um, where?
<wpwrak>
are you sure you got FeCl ? :)
<wpwrak>
a red-brown liquid
<whitequark>
FeCl3·6H2O
<whitequark>
yes
<wpwrak>
not very transparent
<whitequark>
I made a 50% solution
<wpwrak>
add copper and you get black sediment. after just a bit of etching, the black goo dominates and you can't see anything
<whitequark>
oh, I solve that simply
<whitequark>
the box is transparent. I illuminate it from the bottom
<whitequark>
when the copper etches away, traces are visible on the bright background
<wpwrak>
;-)
<wpwrak>
just try HCl and you'll finally know true happiness ;-)
<whitequark>
ha! now *that* is a mess, corroding everything in sight
<whitequark>
and I never feared chloride, I *started* with FeCl3
<whitequark>
and if I even wanted to switch, I'd spend the rest of the week trying to smuggle HCl somewhere
<wpwrak>
(corrode) you don't have to use it to mark your territory ;-)
<wpwrak>
and wasn't the reaction: 1 bottle vodka + some rubles = 1 bottle HCl ? :)
<whitequark>
I'm not good at bribing people
<whitequark>
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ what the fuck is up with this, I do not understand
<whitequark>
I can't *quite* combine the holes in the PCB and the printed negative
<whitequark>
either the CNC or the printer is broken
<whitequark>
it's within tolerances, i.e. the board will be fine, but it tickles my OCD
<wpwrak>
it's not a bribe. it's sharing vodka with a friend. a friend who does you a friendly favour.
<whitequark>
-_-'
<wpwrak>
if you bring two bottles, you can drink together. on your friendship :)
<whitequark>
hm, seems like I kinda overpowered my UV leds
<whitequark>
earlier I needed 180s of exposure, with the current I have set now it's 20...
* whitequark
shrugs
<whitequark>
it's even convenient.
<wpwrak>
how close to burning up are they ? :)
<whitequark>
well, in theory they're rated at 3W. I put in 5.6W
<whitequark>
and since I turn them on just for 20s it's not really bad
<whitequark>
wow, the solder mask not only doesn't develop, it's basically solid
<whitequark>
I belatedly admit this may have been a slight overkill
<whitequark>
I should rather expose it for like two seconds at this power
<whitequark>
I mean, it's solid enough on *non*exposed areas that it takes significant force to puncture it at the places where it simply covers a hole
<whitequark>
you could probably not take it off from exposed areas with a jackhammer
<whitequark>
... oh. no. I'm a moron
<whitequark>
I didn't take off the PTFE protective film on the top
<wpwrak>
;-))
<whitequark>
hrm. I think my tinning solution got bad
<whitequark>
seems too simple to fuck it up, but who knows
<whitequark>
hmm, I think I know what the unidentified "tin salt" is
<whitequark>
it contains sulphur, though I'm not sure in which oxidation state. there's also a reducing agent in the solution, so anything could go to H2S
<wpwrak>
hmm, shouldn't there be a diode across the relays ?
<wpwrak>
"simple and quick" ... a CNC machine :)
<whitequark>
quick? sure
<whitequark>
simple? depends on your definition of "simple"
<wpwrak>
what, no silk screen ? and where's the stencil ? :)
xiangfu has joined #qi-hardware
<whitequark>
stencil? I have a process for stencils, but this is through-hole
xiangfu has quit [Remote host closed the connection]
<whitequark>
and no, no silk-screen yet. I even have the UV paint ready, but not the mesh yet
jekhor has joined #qi-hardware
<wpwrak>
and i hope you have either a few spare transistors or are adding that diode :)
<whitequark>
oh, crap, diodes on relay coils
<whitequark>
grmbl, wonder whether I have some spare diodes
<whitequark>
I have so many curious things stashed under the ceiling. for example, handcuffs
<wpwrak>
the mistress will be pleased
<whitequark>
they appear to be the sex shop kind, yes
<whitequark>
I wonder why the hell do I have them
<wpwrak>
maybe it has something to do with that night you don't quite remember, but after you somehow got out off the cuffs, you stepped on an empty vodka bottle on the floor and almost broke your neck ?
<whitequark>
grmbl. no diodes. I swear I had some 1n4148's
<whitequark>
well but I do have a dozen of transistors, so... let's plug it in and see what happens :]
wolfspraul has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHalsak has joined #qi-hardware
wolfspraul has quit [Ping timeout: 245 seconds]
<whitequark>
ugh, doesn't work at all
wolfspraul has joined #qi-hardware
<whitequark>
*facedesk*
<whitequark>
I used a conveniently placed 24V tap on the board
<whitequark>
however it turns out that the chinese used *one* halfperiod of input 18Vac to power the control board and *other* halfperiod to power the fan (which is what the tap was for)
<whitequark>
since I no longer power it with ac... yeah
michael_lee has quit [Remote host closed the connection]
<whitequark>
wpwrak: uhhh, wtf
<whitequark>
it kind of works now, by which I mean... it switches on and stays on
<whitequark>
until I power cycle it
<whitequark>
why
<whitequark>
...
<whitequark>
the BE voltage is .6V somehow (the base is floating in air) and the CE voltage is 8V
<whitequark>
why
<whitequark>
it's almost exactly BC547's BE on voltage. no wonder it remains in some indefinite state
<whitequark>
hm, if I short base to ground, the CE voltage actually rises. wat?
jekhor has quit [Ping timeout: 260 seconds]
jekhor has joined #qi-hardware
pcercuei has joined #qi-hardware
wolfspraul has quit [Quit: leaving]
dandon has quit [Ping timeout: 245 seconds]
wolfspraul has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHalsak has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BerryHalsak has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHallsack has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHalsak has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BerryHalsak has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHallsack has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BerryHallsack has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHalsak has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BarryHalsak has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHallsack has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BarryHalsak has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BerryHallsack has joined #qi-hardware
BerryHallsack has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
BarryHalsak has joined #qi-hardware
BarryHalsak has quit [Ping timeout: 240 seconds]
nicksydney has quit [Read error: Connection reset by peer]
rz2k has joined #qi-hardware
jekhor has quit [Ping timeout: 260 seconds]
lamrz has joined #qi-hardware
lamrz has quit [Quit: Leaving]
pcercuei has quit [Ping timeout: 265 seconds]
pcercuei has joined #qi-hardware
kanzure has quit [Ping timeout: 265 seconds]
kanzure has joined #qi-hardware
pcercuei_ has joined #qi-hardware
pcercuei has quit [Ping timeout: 265 seconds]
jekhor has joined #qi-hardware
sb0 has joined #qi-hardware
lamrz has joined #qi-hardware
zrafa has joined #qi-hardware
porchaso0 has joined #qi-hardware
markus_ has joined #qi-hardware
markus_ has left #qi-hardware ["Konversation terminated!"]