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Re:The Agon light is the fastest 8-bit microcomputer by jameshart on Saturday February 04, 2023 @08:17PM (#34660514)
You can mount SMT parts on breakout boards - although they're designed for breadboarding, in theory you can make those breakout boards compatible with through-hole sockets, so that bridges you to those wire-wrap if that's where you want to go.
Re:The Agon light is the fastest 8-bit microcomputer by dragontamer on Saturday February 04, 2023 @09:31PM (#34661086)
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/sullins-connector...

If you do use those breakout boards, try to put on these extra-long (.31" + or longer) pins on them. The extra length allows you to wirewrap a bit easier.

All square-posts wire-wrap excellently. The standard pin length is 0.23", barely fitting two wirewraps per pin. Typical wirewrap is 3x per pin, so .31" really helps (and you probably have the extra depth since you're wirewrapping anyway. Its not like these taller pins are much more expensive than the standard pin).

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I think what bothers me about soldering + wire-wrap is that I end up needing to buy Wirewrap tools _AND_ soldering tools. Wirewrap isn't too expensive, but fewer people do it (even fewer than normal through-hole prototypes). There just seems to be far more tools / boards / etc. etc. available that assume soldering.

I think I prefer wirewrap over breadboards or breadboard-like prototypes though. Having the extra height and 3x wire ties per pin "vertically" saves space (at least, board-space), since you're building vertically. Things are definitely more compact than breadboards / breadboard-like protoboards.

But you'll absolutely have to whip out the soldering iron and even use a few specialty tools for a good wirewrapping experience.

T46 pins from Vector Electronics (https://www.vectorelect.com/terminals-wire-wrap.html) and T68 forked-pins pressfit in a "standard hole" (0.042") and also provide more opportunity to wirewrap.

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I guess I've been thinking about my lab recently. I think I've decided (for now) that "wirewrap / DIP" prototyping is for simple one-off projects where 5V uC (aka: Arduino Uno or AVR / PIC chips in general) is fine.

Really, through hole is more than usable at 5V, very pleasant to do even. Yeah, you use up a lot more power than the 3V or lower power parts, but its not that big of a deal.

IMO, prototype at 5V, switch to 3.3V or lower if you need a "better 2nd pass" or something. MCP6002 OpAmps (LM358 if you're going higher voltage), AVR DD is a modern uC still in DIP-28 format, jellybeans like 2N2222 and 2N7000 are boring but they absolutely work. Besides, 5V is USB power and absurdly common in practice.

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If I'm trying to make some project fit inside of 5mW or 0.5mW envelope with a CR2032 battery for power? Okay, sure, I'll build a custom PCB and order those nice and fancy, superior, SMT parts.

If I'm trying to make a microamp meter, and a 1.000mA +/- 0.001mA constant current source one-off project to help me measure the above CR2032 project? Yeah, that's wirewrapping a few MCP6002 OpAmps together + ATTiny.

My damn Fluke 107 has 4.000 Amp +/- 0.001mA measurement. It can't read this other thing I'm doing, lol.