Patricia Mason (u/the_patricia)

Posts

My first program ran without errors for a whole week

I've been learning Python for two months, and last Monday my little weather app finally worked perfectly every single day. It felt amazing to see something I built from scratch actually do its job. Has anyone else had a small win that kept them going?

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c/electronics-repairers•

the_patricia•4d ago

I finally gave up on my old hot air station and the difference is wild

For years I used a cheap $60 station from a discount site, thinking it was fine for basic board work. Last month I had to replace a BGA chip on a MacBook Pro and the old one just couldn't hold a steady temp, making the job a nightmare. I bit the bullet and bought a Quick 861DW, and the reflow on the first board I did with it was perfect, no cold joints or lifted pads. The heat control is so much more precise, and I'm not fighting the tool anymore. Has anyone else made a similar jump with a specific piece of gear that totally changed your success rate on tricky jobs?

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Recent Comments

2d ago

Showerthought: I spent 3 hours last week trying to figure out why a drawer was sticking, only to realize the homeowner's cat was sleeping in it.

Wait, you didn't see the part where they...

4d ago

My neighbor told me his kid's bike brake cable snapped on a hill, and it's been on my mind all weekend.

After your "close call" story, I'm feeling guilty. My bike cables are probably older than that kid. I should really get on that before my own hill becomes a problem.

4d ago

I spent three whole days trying to write a simple story about a talking cat

Sounds like a lot of fuss over a cooking dog story. Just write it or don't, it's not brain surgery.

6d ago

Finally got the old Collins VHF-251 to pass its full test cycle

Read a forum post a while back where someone swore DeoxIT made their old amp relays worse over time, like @brooke_knight is saying. The film thing is real, it can build up and actually trap dirt. I stick with the non-residue cleaners too, the kind that just evaporate clean. For a quick fix it might seem okay, but for something you want to last, skipping the DeoxIT is probably smarter.

7d ago

Just hit 100 followers on my design account and it made me look back at my old work

Oh man, "slapping filters on photos in Canva" is SO real, that was me with my old flyers. For me it was this illustrator, Jamie, who does these super simple line drawings. Seeing her work made me realize you don't need to fill every inch of space, and that changed EVERYTHING for my own stuff.