I miss Hero999

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giftiger_wunsch said:
I guess we'll see which is stronger: the addictive pull of the forums on him, or his dissatsifaction with the moderation.
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hi,
I'm willing to put a small wager on it that he will be back... say a pint.

We were in the middle of a LTspice info 7555 exercise when he started his 'sabbatical'.
 
No forum take crucial actions against members having great contributons to the forums.
I have studied it quite a lot. Mods take partiality usually. We miss them once they go like this.
 
ericgibbs said:
You dont still use Ferric, surely...
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Still? I'm a noob, have never made my own PCBs yet. I got the cheapest stuff I could find. Though I have heard there are much better solutions than ferric chloride. The bag I got recently turned into a wet slop in the heat so I need to get myself some more etchant.
 
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I am not sure how this post ended up in this thread.


If you have not tossed it out it is still good. Just add the slop to water. It is still the same chemical, it has just absorbed water.

3v0
 
3v0 said:
If you have not tossed it out it is still good. Just add the slop to water. It is still the same chemical, it has just absorbed water.
Click to expand...

I realised that, but according to the product information it's only good for about 48 hours after mixed with water, and the bag was enough for about 10 fills of my etching tray. I probably would only be able to get one PCB ready for etching within 2 days, so at the most I may have wasted 90% of it instead of all of it.

Unfortunately I threw it out once it turned to slop. I expected that the sealed bag would have had the moisture removed from the air inside to prevent this sort of thing happening, but clearly I was mistaken.
 
If it is Ferric Chloride it is not true.
It has just turned to liquid.
I would not buy that brand anyone.
I use Sodium Persulphate from MG Chemicals because
it does not make nasty fumes and stain everything.
But it will eat carpet

But the liquid Ferric Chloride sold by Radio Shack works well.

3v0

 
How does the price of sodium persulphate compare with ferric chloride? I have heard many people mention sodium persulphate and given what I know about the two chemicals I'm inclined to get the sodium persulphate next time.
 
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I think SP is about $30 a kilo. But a container of it should last most hobby people 2 years or more.

If you use more that that you can get it a swimming pool supply places in 50 lb bags.

3v0
 

If you want some Sodium Persulphate at a reasonable price I've got a 25Kg sack of it sat in the workshop ........
 
Let me guess, the condition is I have to be able to carry it out?

Thanks for the offer, but I'm only just starting to make my own PCBs so 25kg would be well and truly overkill. I'll have to see how much a smaller bag will cost
 
For future reference, Ferric Chloride lasts forever even after it's mixed with water. I am still using Ferric Chloride soluton that I purchased iin 1967.
 
Sodium Persulphate? I used to use Ammonium Persulphate.
What is the difference? Advantages of one over the other?

I had a plastic container of mixed ammonium persulphate on the concrete floor of my garage for a few years. The plastic container, an old gallon milk jug, aged and apparently cracked. The spilled etchant had damaged the concrete floor, on the surface. The top inch or so of concrete surface was cracked and pulverised in about a one square foot area.

How about sodium persulphate? Does it damage anything else besides carpet?

Funny thing about plastics, they weaken with age. With another years old empty milk jug, the hollow handle molded into the side just cracked off when I tried to lift it.
I had an approved plastic construction hard hat from ~1972. It had all kinds of safety certification stickers on the inside. After 20 years of sitting on the shelf, it crumbled in my hands. I could see that it was glass fibre reinforced.
But I digress.

Bob
 
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No idea. I can tell you that it is clear and needs a bit of heat to work. I do not etch in a tank. I use a small plastic tray and slosh the etchant. I like this because I only mix up a small bit of etchant and it dries up in the tray in a day or two. If it still good I add distilled water and etch with it again. If it is bad, you can tell by the crystal color, i put the spent crystal in a container and save them. Maybe I can sell it as stump killer

I use a small old food warmer to heat the etchant. From there it goes to a slosher made from an old CD drive like I found on youtube, but mine has a programmable movement. It is sort of fun.

3v0
 
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giftiger_wunsch said:
Let me guess, the condition is I have to be able to carry it out?

Thanks for the offer, but I'm only just starting to make my own PCBs so 25kg would be well and truly overkill. I'll have to see how much a smaller bag will cost
Click to expand...

Find out how much a smaller bag will cost you and I'll see if I can better the price - you're in the UK so it can go in the post.

I wasn't going to let you have my entire stash of Sodium Persulphate lmao - do you have any idea how much a 25Kg bag costs ?
 
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