New Heathkit GC-1006 Build Pt3 - Finishing The Circuit Board - Really!!

That is my take. The manual shows an attempt with the layout of the text and spiral construction, but as Fran pointed out there are things missing like additional diagrams or pictures. Yeah, I like things the way they used to be and don't like change, but to me this falls too short. I sense that Fran is pretty disappointed with what she has found. Sadly, quality is down in various quarters - consider kitchen appliances that now last an average of SEVEN years. My 25 year old appliances are all still working fine. But our cars go 200,00 miles and more.

This is Heathkit in name only. It's almost like taking a kit from Aliexpress and slapping a Heathkit badge on it.

Bruce Davis

The manufacturers spend a considerable amount of money dealing with ESD in their factories and in the storage and packaging of components so it clearly is an issue and we shouldn't ignore it. The problem is that a chip that experiences a static discharge through it, even a small one doesn't usually die there and then, but it introduces a weakness. This can give rise to hard to fix random problems later or early failure. Modern CMOS chips are so susceptible to ESD that they usually come with built in ESD protection on the pins, this is why we often think it is unnecessary to take precautions as we mostly get away with it. The Atmel controllers for example have static protection diodes on all the pins except the reset pin (it isn't on the reset pin as it interferes with in circuit programming), so it is vulnerable on that pin whilst handling. For the sake of a few dollars for an anti-static wrist strap it just isn't worth taking the chance surely? It’s like saying I don’t wear a seat belt because I’ve never had a crash and I was surprised to hear Fran saying she didn't worry about it. I’ve built dozens of PCs over the years and never once had a faulty CPU or motherboard or other peripheral, they’ve always worked, yet I’ve had countless calls asking for help from friends who have self-built a PC but then had random blue-screen errors or worse, and when I ask about what ESD precautions they’ve taken its always, “I don’t bother with that I’ve never had a problem before”.

Leigh

You should have trimmed the light pipes before you installed them. I half expected you to do so since you are anal like I am. I thought you might show us what one of the finished light pipes looks like illuminated. You also should have taken a minute and enlarged the heat sink hole - with that being threaded it creates a problem for proper tightening between the device and the sink, as you found. Never saw a heat sink like that with solder tabs. I am not impressed at all with the quality of this kit. As far as ESD, I keep something large and metal nearby, and periodically touch it - I have no idea if this works but I never blew anything up either. I think you aren't tired as much as frustrated with the quality of this thing. The resistor/capacitor color-coded ribbon cable brings back memories from decades ago. As soon as I saw the wood block I knew you would try a chisel. What a flaming piece of junk this is. Pathetic. Not hobbyist friendly at all.

I'm loving this series! I was expecting a build series but I'm totally digging all of the pauses while you process your nostalgia for Heathkits and the WTFs you're encountering with this rebooted one. You're absolutely right. Making choices and alterations as you build is a big part of "ownership" of something.

Andy Ihnatko

I thought the light pipes were probably the toughest part when I built my GC-1006. Wish I'd had your helping hand gadget. Glad to see you got the 4 switches on the back side of the board the first time. I screwed up and put them on the top side. I think my PCBs were a little hard to break apart, too. But I don't think it was as bad as yours. Looks like there's been some updates in the manual. My manual didn't have shrink tubing on the LDR. Doubt if that will make much difference though. Looking forward to part 4. Thanks for sharing Fran.

David Blake

Jeez fran.... SO grumpy! (But strangely entertaining)

Mark Wilkes