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Messages - v8rush
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DirtyPCBs support / Re: "Error: Unable to determine type" Do I have the right fi
You need to rename the files with the following extensions (quoted from that webpage)
Upload one or more PCBs on the order page. Gerber files should be inside a .zip archive with standard file extensions:
Gerber file extension Layer
GTO Top Silkscreen (text)
GTS Top Soldermask (the 'green' stuff)
GTL Top Copper (conducting layer)
GBL Bottom Copper
GBS Bottom Soldermask
GBO Bottom Silkscreen
GML/GKO/GBR* Board Outline*
TXT Routing and Drill (the holes and slots)
*Required
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DirtyPCBs support / Re: DirtyPCBs.com site upgrade - please help
My account /orders - Click on one, get a PHP error in a box below the picture of the PCB (Message: Undefined variable: display_edit_pcb, Filename: views/order.php, Line Number: 162)
Billing address on same page - err... ("Afghanistan Phone: (AF +93)") - I guess ut should be "same as shipping address" or some such.
My account /My PCBs - click on one, ooh, lovely. Is it expected that I can't change the large image to any of the side ones?
My account / My store dashboard - several PHP errors. I'm guessing because I have no store.
My account / Profile - the menu bar vanishes so "browser back" is the only way out
Rest all looks good. I thought this was supposed to be dirty, not better presented than half the websites out there...
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DirtyPCBs support / Re: Making Holes in a Board... Confusion
Ive seen some posts on here about panelizing and using the #20 layer to create the inner routing and drills for mousebites, and that seemed to go fine. but im not panelizing, just trying to cut a funky hole, or square, in the middle of a PCB.
-Joshua[/quote]
That's my thinking - panelizing uses routed holes, and you want a routed hole, so I'd guess they're one and the same way. Never tried it though.
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DirtyPCBs support / Re: Price hike coming! But boards are even cheaper for VDPs
I've used DP once so far, and I knew what I was getting into - my boards might or might not have worked, but due to having hung around here for a few years, I knew that if they were wrong, it would be entirely my fault (unlike other cheap board houses, where I'd be questioning whether it was me or them).
The (sometimes excessive!) level of support (and knowledge that it's being handled by a person with a Clue) is well worth paying for, and is a definite USP.
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General discussion / Re: DirtyPCBs.com updates
This information is missing from the capabilities on the about page.
...
Or do you have to "draw" the holes in the board outline Gerber layer to get NPT holes?
Both questions are about the 2 layer protopacks.[/quote]
I submitted a board with an internal cutout last week. Based on http://dirtypcbs.com/about.php, I took "min internal slot 23mil (0.8mm)" to be the minimum routing bit diameter. I put the internal cutout on the milling layer, and it shows up on the preview gerbers @dirtypcbs.
...
When the boards come back (assuming they fab ok), it should be clear whether it worked or not[/quote]
And back they are - they look superb, and having the cutout (50mil dia iirc, so >1mm) on the milling layer worked fine.
I also got 14 boards rather than 10. Bonus!
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General discussion / Re: DirtyPCBs.com updates
This information is missing from the capabilities on the about page.
Does DirtyPCBs accept a second TXT (Excellon) drill file for non-plated through holes (NPTH)? A lot of the more expensive board houses do this. I got curious about that because they are mentioned on the about page: "Tolerance of finished hole size NPTH: +/- 2mil".
Or do you have to "draw" the holes in the board outline Gerber layer to get NPT holes?
Both questions are about the 2 layer protopacks.[/quote]
I submitted a board with an internal cutout last week. Based on http://dirtypcbs.com/about.php, I took "min internal slot 23mil (0.8mm)" to be the minimum routing bit diameter. I put the internal cutout on the milling layer, and it shows up on the preview gerbers @dirtypcbs.
However, my gerbers apparently upset Ian's autoforwarding script, so he manually forwarded them to the fab house. Whether this was the reason (should it have been on the dimension layer too?), I don't know, but everything else should've been pretty routine.
When the boards come back (assuming they fab ok), it should be clear whether it worked or not... If it didn't, I'll know better next time :-)
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: Cheap Nokia 1202 B/W LCDs
Looking at the init code, I had 0xA0 and 0xC8, and my graphics origin in the top left. The font was LSB=lowest pixel (so ' was 0x00, 0x60, 0x00).
Don't know whether that helps or whether I just wrote everything to work in that single orientation...
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: Cheap Nokia 1202 B/W LCDs
Then I placed the LCD on the board aligned with the pads and put two drops of super glue to hold it in place.
To make my life easier I snipped off about 1mm from the end of the flex, this exposed a little more of the PCB pads for me to heat with the iron. A revision of the board will have longer pads to facilitate hand soldering.
Once the glue was dry I dolloped a bit more flux and just dabbed the iron on the end of each PCB pad whilst aplying a little bit of presure to the flex with a toothpick. The solder just wicks up under the pad. Easy, took two minutes.
Here's a better photo. Sorry I don't have a high rez version here at work...
[/quote]
Looks good, and explains it nicely - thanks.
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: Cheap Nokia 1202 B/W LCDs
I meant the connector end of the flexi cable. Previously this was discussed and it was thought that solder-side-to-board would be the most successful - this is the other way up, so I'm intrigued
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: Cheap Nokia 1202 B/W LCDs
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: Cheap Nokia 1202 B/W LCDs
Oops... Here's a link to make up for it - and it seems dirty rectangles is an easier and safer search :-)
http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?DirtyRectangles
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Project development, ideas, and suggestions / Re: question?
i want to set pixels individually so i think i have to read a byte of data and change that pixel and write it again.[/quote]
There's no read capability at all on these LCDs - you'll have to keep a local copy of the display, and just push the updated area over to the LCD. Such things are generally called 'dirty regions' in graphics library land, so googling for that may help give you ideas.
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General discussion / Re: Best way to solder with magnification ?
Quote
Of course, the ideal is a proper binocular microscope intended for soldering, but they're vastly more expensive...
Any model just for my information ?
[/quote]
I'm afraid not - I'm just speaking from experience of using one at a previous employer. I think when I looked for similar ones on ebay, they were in the hundreds of pounds territory, whereas a no-name desk magnifier cost me < 20 pounds.
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General discussion / Re: Best way to solder with magnification ?
Magnifier lamps are way more useful - the illumination alone makes things much better, and even the modest ~1.3x magnification of cheap ones (often with an embedded higher-magnification lens for examination use) is sufficient to make a huge difference.
Of course, the ideal is a proper binocular microscope intended for soldering, but they're vastly more expensive...