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Lessons learned / Tips / Tricks of the trade

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KeepItSimpleStupid

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I'd like to start a thread for those to post life's lessons" or possibly tips that could help people.

Those 20/20 hindsight moments.

It doesn't have to be electronics related.
 
The first tip:

Mount DIN rail on rafters on small standoffs.

There was water nearby but far away from where it actually had to travel. Wires, pipes and beams are like highways to water/

From a upstairs bathroom water mishap, water found a 4' long piece of DIN rail I had mounted to the rafters in the basement ceiling.
The only piece of electronics on that rail was a $300.00 USD router acting as a repeater. Water found it's way in.

Lesson learned:

1) Use standoffs
2) Use drip loops, even in the basement.

So, the DIN rail now is mounted on 1/8" Nylon standoffs and I will start to evaluate drip loops.
 
Never trust work done late on the night shift.
 
When working with heavy machinery (e.g., attaching or removing parts) always wear gloves. It is easier to remove your hand from a pinched glove than it is from pinched skin.

John
 
John:
Gloves
I buy 500-600 PVC gloves at a time ans use them for nearly everything. Sometimes when preparing food, for dish washing (usually reuse them), painting, cleaning, changing oil. etc. I got so used to using them at work for preventing contamination to the equipment and to yourself. I have a couple of pair of Nitrile gloves when using lawn chemicals and also some neoprene gloves. I use the PVC gloves under snow gloves. I might use Neoprene sometimes in the snow, but I prefer Kevlar.
 
Working in a lumber yard when I was 18; a sawer building truss's. Also recieved cut orders from the main desk; plywood etc. On a saturday; I was working with a fully retarded idiot or a really shady guy.

Either might apply to this guy; trusting as I was and on the last cut on the table saw he pulled the wood and my thumb went into the blade. Luckily I was wearing 2 pairs of leather gloves that day. I only got 24 stitches but could have lost my thumb.

I knew better than to push it with out a push board.

Can't say enough about the proper protective layers and glasses. It only takes once to be reminded but; it might be the one time you loose something.

kv
 
Never trust just one other engineer to check your schematic/PCB/mechanical drawings. Always get two or more.

I had one of my coworkers check my drawings and he said it was fine. Sent it to the manufacturer and it took about 2 months to get all the problems solved (there were only that many problems because Purchasing was in too much of a hurry and wouldn't let me do the job right :p ).

The engineer who checked my work has a Masters in EE but apparently didn't know what he was doing.
 
At work, we claimed that the table saw and the 5 HP engine lathe were the most dangerous. The saw was outfitted with a nice rip fence. Constrain in two directions and you have problems. Usual cuts were polycarbonate with a carbide blade.

Aside: the Sawstop wont cut hotdog, finger or wet wood. Each mistake will cost you about $80.

The lathe has the potential of grabbing loose clothing.

The mill is easy to damage, but less dangerous to life or limb. Eyesight -yes
 
Battery operated devices that use CMOS and that have been hot by static can sometimes be repaired by removing the battery and shorting the battery terminals of the device.
I have at least three under my belt:

1) An HP calculator that was using commas as decimal points (not mine)
2) A bike computer that was dragged across a Nylon carpet in a car (Not mine)
3) A Car clock that when after the car was jumped had no display. That was a harder fix to do without removal, but it was successful and mine.

There is a physical reason on the semiconductor level why this can happen. It is non-destructive.
 
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