Tech tip of the day...

modessitt

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Ever have a hard time taking board-stacks apart because of those standoffs?

584_1_fs_pb.jpg


There is a specific tool for removing them that looks like a plastic tube with a slightly smaller diameter than a Bic pen (which is too big). You just push it down on the standoff and lift the PCB off. Sometimes you'll find them inside a cab or in a manual bag.

A lot of people don't have this tool, and either pinch it together with a pair of needle-nose pliers, their fingers, or just pull hard until it pops off (and sometimes breaks the standoff).

Well, if you don't have the proper tool, you can use a normal sodapult (see below) just as well.

1012689_3944257_290.jpg


The tip is the right diameter. Just push it over the top of the standoff, and the PCB will lift right off.

install-3c.jpg
 
A free version of this tool is available at any cheapie shoe store. Like a Payless. They use a plastic stick in some shoes (mostly women's) that fits these standoffs perfectly. I caught this tip on RGP back in the day. Now I snag one of these if the wife ever drags me into one of these stores.
 
Based on the thread title, is this to be a series...? :D



(I hope so)
 
Mine is to put heatshrink on your multimeter probes so that only the tip is exposed. One day this will save you shorting something out with those barge poles, especially in artificial light when the glare off them makes it hard to see how much clearance you have.
 
That's a Zaxxon PCB, bet the sound doesn't work...


Ever have a hard time taking board-stacks apart because of those standoffs?

584_1_fs_pb.jpg


There is a specific tool for removing them that looks like a plastic tube with a slightly smaller diameter than a Bic pen (which is too big). You just push it down on the standoff and lift the PCB off. Sometimes you'll find them inside a cab or in a manual bag.

A lot of people don't have this tool, and either pinch it together with a pair of needle-nose pliers, their fingers, or just pull hard until it pops off (and sometimes breaks the standoff).

Well, if you don't have the proper tool, you can use a normal sodapult (see below) just as well.

1012689_3944257_290.jpg


The tip is the right diameter. Just push it over the top of the standoff, and the PCB will lift right off.

install-3c.jpg
 
Thanks for the tip.

For PCBs I'm going to keep, I tend to use a technique I call "break-those-little-f***ers-off-and-install-better-standoffs."

Now I'm starting to work on more and more PCBs I'm not going to keep, so this may be handy. I really haven't had an issue with using needle-nose pliers, though. My solder-sucker tool looks a little different... I check to see if it fits as well as the one pictured.
 
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