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Re: Question to Albert

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On 9/18/2014 6:37 AM, Albert van der Horst wrote:
> In article <c7venqFigupU1@mid.individual.net>,
> Paul E Bennett  <Paul_E.Bennett@topmail.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Like Albert, I am also over 60. However, I do not see what the problem is
>> with the GA144 even for hand soldered prototype. It probably takes a
>> properly laid out PCB as your basis but the soldering in task is quite easy
>> to accomplish. My most recent experience with this was on a tiny IC package
>> (20 pins) with similarly close pin-spacing.  The technique is to flood
>> solder across all pins then use solder-wick to pull the excess away. I find
>> a decent angle-poise magnifier is handy when doing this sort of thing and
>> access to a microscope for final inspections.
>
> Good grieve. You're one of the most accomplished experts in the field
> of embedded programming, and you do it for a living. You can't expect
> that what you find easy, is easy for others. I've the solder-it-yourself-
> prototype board for GA144, and I dare not touch it, because I made
> such a mess of the example boards of the same type with twice the
> pin distance.
>
> By the way, I don't own a microscope.
>
> I can't agree with rickman. There is so much experimenting needed to
> get anything going with those boards that designing a circuit board
> around each experiment is out of the question. Moreover I for me would
> not manage to design such a board.
>
> "Prototyping by hand is virtually gone in the professional world"
> My argument was that only Forth enthusiast, mostly hobbyists, try
> those chips out.

Ah, that was what I misunderstood.  I thought you were implying that the 
package meant only the hobbyists would use the chip which of course 
makes no sense.  I understand now, but I don't think that is the point.

The chip was not designed with hobbyist in mind.  I think the push into 
the hobbyist market via Schmart Boards is an afterthought to make it a 
bit easier for the curious to try out the GA144.  The part was designed 
for commercial apps even though you would not think that by looking at 
the features on the die itself.  However *for commercial* uses, the 
package is a pretty good compromise (nearly everything in engineering is 
compromise) between size, cost and ease of use.

-- 

Rick

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Question to Albert rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2014-09-17 20:27 -0400
  Re: Question to Albert Paul E Bennett <Paul_E.Bennett@topmail.co.uk> - 2014-09-18 08:08 +0100
    Re: Question to Albert rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2014-09-18 03:55 -0400
    Re: Question to Albert albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2014-09-18 10:37 +0000
      Re: Question to Albert rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com> - 2014-09-18 16:30 -0400
      Re: Question to Albert Paul E Bennett <Paul_E.Bennett@topmail.co.uk> - 2014-09-19 01:11 +0100
    Re: Question to Albert Brad Eckert <hwfwguy@gmail.com> - 2014-09-27 17:10 -0700

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