USB microscopes for very small SMT

[Joerg]

Well, is not really the teachers, but i've only met only one or two analog
guys,
it's got a lot to do with the market, where i see everything going to
"software".
I'm convinced that analog skills are much more valuable, any EE can program,
but few can draw an analog circuit. And i find it very interesting, but i'm
afraid of serious circuits being too complicated.

The economy in the US is pretty bad right now. I've had several
SW/firmware/FPGA/uC guys call me. They all need contracts or jobs. None
of the analog guys ever called so far ...

Yes, that was the idea, please see my reply to JL for that.

Yes, the web is best for publishing these days. No censoring from peer
reviewers or editors and not much in cost. But right now I am using my
free time for other stuff, like ministry and tech help at church etc.
Some things are way more important than electronics can ever be ;-)

 

[krw]

The economy in the US is pretty bad right now. I've had several
SW/firmware/FPGA/uC guys call me. They all need contracts or jobs. None
of the analog guys ever called so far ...

I switched jobs (contact to different permanent position in a
another state) in August. I occasionally get calls, even though I
pulled my resume from the usual places. I've had a few for FPGA
work in the past couple weeks. The market isn't dead, at least if
one isn't tied to one area of the country.

Yes, the web is best for publishing these days. No censoring from peer
reviewers or editors and not much in cost.

Hard to make money though.

But right now I am using my
free time for other stuff, like ministry and tech help at church etc.
Some things are way more important than electronics can ever be ;-)

Bite your tongue! ;-) electronicss make other things possible.
;-)

 

[Joerg]

I switched jobs (contact to different permanent position in a
another state) in August. I occasionally get calls, even though I
pulled my resume from the usual places. I've had a few for FPGA
work in the past couple weeks. The market isn't dead, at least if
one isn't tied to one area of the country.

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.

Hard to make money though.

I wouldn't do that for the money.

Bite your tongue! ;-) electronicss make other things possible.
;-)

Yes, even at church. That's why the IT guy and I will do a major
re-design of the audio/video booth after Christmas. The payment for
those kinds of jobs is of spiritual nature

 

[krw]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.

I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

I wouldn't do that for the money.

Some are independently wealthy. Others aren't. ;-)

Yes, even at church. That's why the IT guy and I will do a major
re-design of the audio/video booth after Christmas. The payment for
those kinds of jobs is of spiritual nature

Having fun isn't the way to heaven. ;-)

 

[Joerg]

[email protected] says...>
[...]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.

I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

Got any hints there? Two requirements:

a. Property taxes <1.5%. That and other stuff capped by something
similar to Prop 13. I absolutely do not trust politicians in that
respect, I have seen folks get taxed out of their homes.

b. A nice share of global warming, no more winters. (sez my wife)

Some are independently wealthy. Others aren't. ;-)

I am not. Wealth is not the way to heaven. Or as the apostle Paul said
"You came onto the earth with nothing and you sure can't take anything
out of it".

Having fun isn't the way to heaven. ;-)

It can be

 

[krw]

[email protected] says...>
[...]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.

I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

Got any hints there? Two requirements:

Lots of places to stay away from, but yes.

a. Property taxes <1.5%. That and other stuff capped by something
similar to Prop 13. I absolutely do not trust politicians in that
respect, I have seen folks get taxed out of their homes.

Percentage is a poor measure of property tax. That said, mine is
about .5% (about 1% with a 50% homestead exemption).

b. A nice share of global warming, no more winters. (sez my wife)

It's been in the 70s all week. ;-) It's been kinda rainy lately,
but we seem to get about 6 days of sun a week.

I am not. Wealth is not the way to heaven. Or as the apostle Paul said
"You came onto the earth with nothing and you sure can't take anything
out of it".

Money isn't everything, unless the cupboards are bare. There are
so many things to do, an effort like that had better pay well on
the monetary scale. A couple of friends wrote a SOI text and paid
dearly for the effort with spousal grief. If they got paid it was
a minisule amount.

It can be

Do you have to pretend it isn't? ;-)

 

[Joerg]

[email protected] says...> [...]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.
I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

Got any hints there? Two requirements:

Lots of places to stay away from, but yes.

a. Property taxes <1.5%. That and other stuff capped by something
similar to Prop 13. I absolutely do not trust politicians in that
respect, I have seen folks get taxed out of their homes.

Percentage is a poor measure of property tax. That said, mine is
about .5% (about 1% with a 50% homestead exemption).

Where, where? <pant, pant ...>

Do you have a hard cap on that where politicos can't suddenly reach
deeper into your pockets?

It's been in the 70s all week. ;-) It's been kinda rainy lately,
but we seem to get about 6 days of sun a week.

Where?



Money isn't everything, unless the cupboards are bare. There are
so many things to do, an effort like that had better pay well on
the monetary scale. A couple of friends wrote a SOI text and paid
dearly for the effort with spousal grief. If they got paid it was
a minisule amount.

Agreed, you can't let that stuff take over your life. Especially not
family life.

Do you have to pretend it isn't? ;-)

No. Once I asked our pastor whether there would be beer in heaven. "I
sure hope so!"

 

[Joerg]

I wrote a book because (a) most of my optics colleagues were suddenly
gone, and (b) I'd seen the amount of waste and pain that resulted from
people making the same mistakes over and over again, and I thought I
could help.

The other two benefits are business development if you're a consultant
(see Howard Johnson) and job portability if you aren't. Anyway, you
guys should complain--there are at least 10 times more electronics folk
than optical ones, so your customer base won't be too shabby by
comparision.

So true. I am involved with optics stuff now. Five things I observed:

a. A lot of stuff is in the gray zone. You've got to know or be
surrounded by people who know. I guess some people feel about analog the
same way.

b. Many companies in the laser/fiber/optics world are rather
short-lived. Me, feeling like the hero of the hour: "Hey, I found a part
that might just be the ticket" ... "Oh, forget it, that company croaked
last year, it's probably a parking lot by now".

c. Even when high level experts of the trade say it can't be done, that
does not mean that it can't be done. I found a really nice saying on a
web site: Man who says it cannot be done must not slow down man who is
doing it.

d. Disconnect between electronics and optics engineering. I've seen
controller eval boards where I slapped my forehead. Stuff with large
heat sinks that us dudes would do with a handful of 3-cent transistors,
the el-cheapo TO-92 plastic variety. And then us dudes are completely
lost when they talk about nanometers and picometers and we must
frantically translate all that into the Hertzian domain. To many optics
engineers, except for line width Hertz must be a car rental place.

e. Optics folks love freaking expensive butterfly packages that are an
utter nightmare from an RF point of view. Gimmee a TO-package, any TO
package, and I'm happy.

 

[Joerg]

Great list. One of the things about starting out in electronics as a kid
and then doing physics and astronomy in university is that I picked up
the all the math I needed along the way, with the result that my
training centres on that gray area. There's a _lot_ of low-hanging
fruit still there.

And pretty soon we'll both be "senior gleaners" ;-)

I never liked math, only learned what I really needed. Sometimes that
still haunts me. I had to calculate an elliptic filter with a weird load
on there this morning. Boy, had that math stuff become rusty. Almost
took a pick-axe to get it going again.

 

[krw]

krw wrote:
[email protected] says...>
[...]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.
I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

Got any hints there? Two requirements:

Lots of places to stay away from, but yes.

a. Property taxes <1.5%. That and other stuff capped by something
similar to Prop 13. I absolutely do not trust politicians in that
respect, I have seen folks get taxed out of their homes.

Percentage is a poor measure of property tax. That said, mine is
about .5% (about 1% with a 50% homestead exemption).

Where, where? <pant, pant ...>

Pretty much anywhere the weenies are outnumbered. I now live in
Eastern Alabama.

Do you have a hard cap on that where politicos can't suddenly reach
deeper into your pockets?

Where there is a "hard" cap, 1) it's there for a reason, 2) it's
never "hard". You're seeing the results of this in CA now. It's
better to stay away from weenies so such things aren't needed.

Where?

<even more panting>

Auburn Alabama area. Auburn is a small college city (small city,
large college) so is more a bit more weenie-ish than the
surrounding area but still nothing like the Northeast or West. I
live in the next city so prices are lower and get more land for the
dollar (schools are quite as good but the brat is long past that).

There isn't much technology in the area but Atlanta is only 100mi
up I85. AIUI, Atlanta is pretty cheap too. Airport to everywhere
too.

Agreed, you can't let that stuff take over your life. Especially not
family life.

Writing books takes time. If one isn't a professional writer that
time tends to come from time the family also claims.

No. Once I asked our pastor whether there would be beer in heaven. "I
sure hope so!"

Obviously not Catholic. ;-)

 

[krw]

Nah, I just turned 49. Besides, I possess the fountain of youth--my
beloved wife is older than I am.

That works for me too. ;-)

 

[Joerg]

Joerg wrote:
[...]

And pretty soon we'll both be "senior gleaners" ;-)

I never liked math, only learned what I really needed. Sometimes that
still haunts me. I had to calculate an elliptic filter with a weird
load on there this morning. Boy, had that math stuff become rusty.
Almost took a pick-axe to get it going again.

Nah, I just turned 49. Besides, I possess the fountain of youth--my
beloved wife is older than I am.

Same here!

 

[Joerg]

[email protected] says...>
krw wrote:
[email protected] says...>
[...]

True. In CA there seems to be a wait-and-see effect, especially after
the major tax grab announcements by the dems here. If they really do the
source tax thing we might see some form of exodus and more biz closures.
I'm surprised there is anyone left. There are so many better
places to do business.

Got any hints there? Two requirements:
Lots of places to stay away from, but yes.

a. Property taxes <1.5%. That and other stuff capped by something
similar to Prop 13. I absolutely do not trust politicians in that
respect, I have seen folks get taxed out of their homes.
Percentage is a poor measure of property tax. That said, mine is
about .5% (about 1% with a 50% homestead exemption).

Where, where? <pant, pant ...>

Pretty much anywhere the weenies are outnumbered. I now live in
Eastern Alabama.

Thanks. It's mentally bookmarked. I've also thought about SW Arkansas
since it is very close to Texas where stuff happens in electronics.

Where there is a "hard" cap, 1) it's there for a reason, ...

Oh yes, there sure was.

... 2) it's
never "hard". You're seeing the results of this in CA now. It's
better to stay away from weenies so such things aren't needed.

Yep, they are at it again. They already suckered people into 55% for
school tax increases so prop taxes are creeping up via the back door.

Auburn Alabama area. Auburn is a small college city (small city,
large college) so is more a bit more weenie-ish than the
surrounding area but still nothing like the Northeast or West. I
live in the next city so prices are lower and get more land for the
dollar (schools are quite as good but the brat is long past that).

There isn't much technology in the area but Atlanta is only 100mi
up I85. AIUI, Atlanta is pretty cheap too. Airport to everywhere
too.

Got to learn a new language though. Like the correct pronounciation of
jaw-jah.

Writing books takes time. If one isn't a professional writer that
time tends to come from time the family also claims.


Obviously not Catholic. ;-)

Lutheran. Catholics would probably have requested Syrah or Merlot.

 

[Joerg]

So do RF people. They sell boxes with feedthru leads or caps scattered
everywhere along various sides, and expect you to solder wires to them
all.

But those aren't the industrial designers among them. The telco optics
guys truly think the butterfly is the ultimate cat's meouw. I'll never
understand.

Sometimes in RF you don't have much of a choice. If you want all the
wires coming out one side you end up with more cavities in the tin box.
Mucho dolares.

 

[krw]

Thanks. It's mentally bookmarked. I've also thought about SW Arkansas
since it is very close to Texas where stuff happens in electronics.

Arkansas may be close to Texas, but it's still a *long* way from
anything.

Oh yes, there sure was.




Yep, they are at it again. They already suckered people into 55% for
school tax increases so prop taxes are creeping up via the back door.

Typical. "For the children."

Got to learn a new language though. Like the correct pronounciation of
jaw-jah.

Not so much. Of course the locals have an accent but many here do
not. The hardness of the accent is inversely proportinal to the
education. I found that in the Mid-West, also.

Lutheran. Catholics would probably have requested Syrah or Merlot.

Lutheran? I thought they were all in Minnie-ZO-ta. I had you
pegged as an evangelical, of some variety.

 

[krw]

Youngster! Our oldest _child_ turns 47 in January.

I'm just 2.5 months short of the magical 69 ;-)

Didn't you just have your 17th birthday?

 

[Joerg]

[...]

Lutheran. Catholics would probably have requested Syrah or Merlot.

Lutheran? I thought they were all in Minnie-ZO-ta. I had you
pegged as an evangelical, of some variety.

Nope, it's the Missouri Synod. But a lot of our members are from up north.

 

[krw]

Joerg wrote:
[...]

And pretty soon we'll both be "senior gleaners" ;-)

I never liked math, only learned what I really needed. Sometimes that
still haunts me. I had to calculate an elliptic filter with a weird
load on there this morning. Boy, had that math stuff become rusty.
Almost took a pick-axe to get it going again.

Nah, I just turned 49. Besides, I possess the fountain of youth--my
beloved wife is older than I am.

Same here!

....and she gets the AARP junk mail. ;-)

 

[krw]

Who can say that Joerg wasn't put here specifically to write books on
electronics so as to indirectly bring people closer to God.

Back in the '80s there was a guy with a small company selling Commodore 64
software with all of two products: Big Blue Reader, which let you read PC
format floppries on your C-64, and a bible search program. I always kinda
wondered which he sold more of... Oh, hey, he's still around! Michael
Miller, http://www.sogwap.net/sogwap/ , "Son of God With All Power."

That's an easy one. Count the number of people with C-64s and the
number of people with bibles. ;-)

Did any hotel rooms have C-64s? ;-)

 

[Joerg]

Joerg wrote: [...]

And pretty soon we'll both be "senior gleaners" ;-)

I never liked math, only learned what I really needed. Sometimes that
still haunts me. I had to calculate an elliptic filter with a weird
load on there this morning. Boy, had that math stuff become rusty.
Almost took a pick-axe to get it going again.

Nah, I just turned 49. Besides, I possess the fountain of youth--my
beloved wife is older than I am.

Same here!

...and she gets the AARP junk mail. ;-)

Out here they bombarded with several membership offers and then it
stopped. Is there much of an advantage to become a member? I've heard
from people that they received lots of junk mail afterwards.