This is awesome

[Doc B.]

I learned a couple new things myself. And I love the space age vibe.

[AB2KH]

Doc,
Every one who purchases one of your kits should be required to watch this video!
Good stuff.
Yes, I learned a couple of things also, and this is from someone who was born with a 400 deg soldering iron in one hand and a roll of kester 60/40 in the other. Thanks for posting.

Chris/AB2KH

[Doc B.]

Plus I love Harry's socks, 19:12

[AB2KH]

Doc,
If you look very closely at those socks there is a vertical silver looking strip from the arch up the ankle.  I'm wondering if those were not some sort of ESD equipments that they were required to wear ?
I'm only familiar with wrist strap static devices but in those types of environments there may be "special" requirements, perhaps there are individuals here on the forum who have experience with that type of work place.
I mean really,  NO ONE wears orange socks!!
Chris/AB2KH

[Thermioniclife]

Excellent video. Periscope films has a ton of cool stuff. Harry's socks are quite fashionable.

[AB2KH]

It's too bad the camera did not pan a little more to the left to see if Mac had the same socks as well. I'll bet there is a sign on the entrance to that lab that says "WARNING" No entrance to this area without orange socks.

Chris/AB2KH

[Tubegopher]

Excellent teaching video. I learned some things and enjoyed watching. 

[maryc27182]

Doc,
If you look very closely at those socks there is a vertical silver looking strip from the arch up the ankle.  I'm wondering if those were not some sort of ESD equipments that they were required to wear ?
I'm only familiar with wrist strap static devices but in those types of environments there may be "special" requirements, perhaps there are individuals here on the forum who have experience with that type of work place.
I mean really,  NO ONE wears orange socks!!
Chris/AB2KH

Chris, I think you are correct. I can't yet find any documentation going back to that era, but here's something from a 2003 JPL ESD Control Standard:

2.3.12 Groundable Footwear-OPTIONAL
For personnel grounding, the use of groundable footwear in conjunction with a grounded conductive, or static dissipative, flooring system is an optional alternative to the wrist strap in situations where wrist straps are inappropriate or unsafe for use.

Groundable footwear consisting of heel or toe grounders, shoes or shoe covers are acceptable for personnel grounding. A user is grounded only when direct contact exists between the user’s footwear device and a grounded flooring system. The resistance from the person through the footwear device and flooring system to ground shall be greater than 750 kilo ohm and less than 100 megohm. Dirt buildup on the footwear device can affect conductivity to the floors or mats, so they shall be kept acceptably clean. In conditions where groundable footwear is worn footwear grounding devices must be worn on both feet.

Footwear shall not be used as the primary ground for seated personnel.

Each person handling ESDS items shall be capable of, and responsible for, electrically testing their groundable footwear device at the start of each work shift. Groundable footwear shall be tested while being worn, with each foot tested separately. Only JPL calibrated “go/no-go” footwear testers that check for a total system resistance shall be used. Footwear devices that do not satisfy this resistance range shall be discarded. A footwear test log (see Appendix F for template) shall be used to indicate that the footwear strap was checked each day that they are used. The footwear test log shall contain the wearer’s name, building/room location, date, and a check mark for each day’s test.

From https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/11307/03-1553.pdf?sequence=1

[johnsonad]

I learned to solder from a EE who attended to the NASA soldering school in the 70's.  Not that I'm any good, but man, what a cool course

[AB2KH]

maryc27182,

Thank you very much for that information. Those socks were probably that color so that the assembly supervisor knew that you were in compliance with the safety requirements.
Doc would be well advised to include an addendum in all Bottlehead assembly manuals admonishing builders that to insure a successful build that it is imperative before beginning the electronic assembly of your kit that you must be wearing orange socks.

Chris/AB2KH

[maryc27182]

I wish I could find some documentation that could tell us it wasn't just the bold sock patterns of the 1950s... I even looked at late 1950s sock patterns, which did include quite a bit of orange. (Socks had gone completely dull by the 1960s.)

I found stuff that said static control measures were used in certain industries (particularly paper mills) in the mid 19th century, but nothing about late 1950s static safety guidelines for space vehicle circuitry fabrication.

However, for those interested in the NASA soldering stuff, here's the 1963 Handbook on Reliable Electrical Connections:

http://www.aeroelectric.com/Reference_Docs//NASA/NSP-5002_Electrical_Connections_Circa_1963.pdf

I saw some physical copies for sale on Abebooks for about $30.

[mcandmar]

Very interesting, a lot i didnt know, like the lower melting point than Tin or Lead.  Also suprised that NASA doesnt know how to pronouce solder properly

[2wo]

I think it's pronounced differently as you move north and south 

[hryc111]

This really is awesome. Thank you for posting.