On Mon, Jan 23, 2006 at 06:56:07AM -0500, Olin Lathrop wrote:
> Peter Todd wrote:
> > Good idea. So I would charge the cap up to maximum, disconect it from
> > the charger, blow my fuse, and measure how much more current is needed
> > to charge it again?
> 
> Or just measure the before and after voltage, compute the energy stored in
> the cap at each, and the difference is the energy used to blow the fuse.


> > Good idea. I'm not familiar with surface mount diodes, know any part
> > numbers I should buy to try experimenting with?
> 
> Search the DigiKey web site.

Which brings me to my #1 pet peeve about digikey...

Why the !@#$ can't I do a search based on price? I've been searching for
SMD diodes, and I've found hundreds of different types in the
low-current range, but almost none of those are cheap enough, even in
bulk, to work for me. Most of them cost about 50cents or higher each and
that price doesn't go down all that quickly.

Multiply by 4096 and you have a major problem.

The only cheap ones I've found are 1N4148's and the like, at 8cents or
less each.

Interestingly, though I should have expected this really, the glass
cased diodes are aparently tougher than plastic. The glass can
widthstand higher temperatures and higher power dissipations. Then again
when glass does fail it seems to do so more visibly.

What I may do is just use diodes as my "fusing" elements, but don't push
them until they fuse. Instead push them hard enough to heat up to over
120C and have irreversable thermochromatic paint on them so it's
possible to see that they have been heated.

The soldering of so many will still suck, but that's where I grunt and
say I'm a man, or something.

-- 
pete@petertodd.ca http://www.petertodd.ca
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