Introduction to working with Surface Mount
Components
This section isn't meant to be a definitive guide to working with surface mount technologies. You'll
find plenty of tutorials online for that. This is intended to provide some tips as to how to approach
building this kit.
Many surface mount components are supplied in tape packaging. For passive components such as
resistors and capacitors, the tape is usually made of cardboard, whilst semiconductors, such as ICs,
transistors, diodes etc will be in a anti-ESD plastic. The tape will probably have a layer of clear
plastic film over one side. To remove the device, the easiest way is to carefully peel away the plastic
film with a pair of tweezers or fine nosed pliers. Take care when you remove this film. These
components are small, and it's easy to lose them if you jolt the tape once the film is removed. It's a
good idea to remove them from the packaging & place them into a bowl or other similarly shaped
container, then pick them from there as you place them onto the PCB.
MTM SimpleEQ 1206 build doc v1.3
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Illustration 1: SMD resistors supplied in tape