What's in Your Toolbox? 153
Embedded Geek asks: "I am a software developer with access to (conservatively) $100K worth of emulators, protocol analyzers, and debugging equipment at work. Nevertheless, as in every lab since Frankenstein's, I can never find a meter or screwdriver when I need one - and God help you if you need electrical tape! Over the years I have accumulated a personal toolkit to fill the gaps between what my employer provides and what I need to get my job done. In addition to the basics (a meter, screwdrivers, cable ties, boxcutter, extra power cables, duct tape) I have a number of oddball items that have come in handy (serial cable gender changers & converters, a dental mirror, dental picks). I'm curious what other items slashdotters doing hardware/software development have found useful that their bosses never provide. What about those in the IT/support world?"
stethoscope! (Score:5, Informative)
Other than that, a 9 lbs. hammer comes in handy for those machines that refuse to cooperate
a thousand uses! (Score:5, Informative)
I suppose one of those fancy-pancy ones targeted at IT workers would have some useful job-specific items, but just having an easily accessible assortment of quick-use generic tools (knife, pliers, tweezers, etc.) in a compact package has gotten me out of some spectacular jams in the past. You never know when you'll need something basic like a screwdriver, but you can't (for whatever reason) reach your normal box of goodies.
-A.
Re:a thousand uses! (Score:4, Informative)
Couldn't beat the price, and since I have a habit of forgetting where I left stuff...
All will be fine until a blade snaps off and flys across the room...
Re:a thousand uses! (Score:2)
The Leatherman, on the other hand, has the locking blades, has a bit of heft to it (I've used it as a hammer a few times), and 10 years later still cuts through anything.
As with most (physical) things you purchase, you get what you pay for. Most people here would buy the $50 mouse that lasts for years instead of the $5 mouse that lasts 6 months, yes?
Re:a thousand uses! (Score:2, Funny)
You must not have kids. I pick up a couple of cheap mice and keyboards at every computer show.
Hell, my boys have been known to break *HAMMERS*! As my eight year old says, "It's not that hard, you just have to whack it on concrete a few times".
Re:a thousand uses! (Score:2)
Re:a thousand uses! (Score:2)
Leatherman Wave. No substitutes. (Score:2)
(Helpful hint: if you have trouble opening the side with the three tools that include the phillips screwdriver, try keeping it in the case with the lanyard eye sticking out. There's enough friction that you can just slide the eye back and it'll pull out the inner tools.)
I don't recommend the older leatherman tools or any of the clones. The handles on the Wave are designed to let you really grip the pliers comfortably. The new blade lock mechanisms are very positive, I've never accidentally opened one or accidentally not-locked one, but they're easy to unlock when you need to. The only tool I miss from my Swiss Army knives of the past is the pair of tweezers.
Other miscellaneous tools I have in my desk that have proven handy:
Software developer needs electrical tape? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Software developer needs electrical tape? (Score:2)
Re:Software developer needs electrical tape? (Score:2)
really? i fFind electrical tape to be a lot more useful. fFor computer stuff, duct is a bit messy, and tends to lack in bonding strength.
also, 3M does make some very impressive double stick tape.
Re:Software developer needs electrical tape? (Score:2)
I've pulled 3M duct tape off of a window air conditioner after it'd been stuck there, exposed to the elements, for two years without leaving a mess behind.
That said, I still never use duct tape for electronics. I've found some of it to be slightly conductive, which spells bad news for most things electrical.
...needs electrical tape? Yes, I do. (Score:2)
If it clears up the matter, I originally trained as a tech before discovering the joys of coding.
Tie Wraps (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Tie Wraps (Score:5, Informative)
Better yet are the long strips you can cut with a scissors -- I buy 'em in the six foot length. Very useful!
-A.
Velcro (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Tie Wraps (Score:2)
Hell no (Score:2)
If you wanted to do ANYTHING internal with these computers, you had to get a scissors and cut about 5 twist ties (without cutting any wires!) before you were able to accomplish what you wanted, even if it was something simple like adding a memory chip - the wires were twist tied in the way.
Tim
What I Carry (Score:5, Informative)
* network crimper, punchtool, striper, and cable tester
* forceps (surgical locking neadle nose plyers)
* laptop to 40pin ide adaptor
* flashlight
* pen +pencil + cd marker
* dental mirror
* Antec ATX Power supply Tester
* Multimeter
* spare mouse
* digital camera (occasionally to remember really fubared stuff)
frs 2 way radios come in handy, as does a cordless drill, bandaids, and your whits.
Re:What I Carry (Score:2, Interesting)
1 15' ethernet cable
1 3' crossover cable
1 ethernet linker
1 $5 generic telephone with phone line
a small CD binder with:
A Dos boot disk
A Tom's root boot disk
An imaging floppy (ghost or whatever)
A win2k cd
A Linux cd of choice
A cd full of network drivers
A MS Office cd
A cd of sun freeware
Re:What I Carry (Score:2)
Re:What I Carry (Score:2)
yah.
thats it..
it was late i was tired i goofed. wont happen again.
As a software developer, and general networker... (Score:1)
Forceps (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Forceps (Score:5, Funny)
...delivering the occasional baby...
Re:Forceps (Score:5, Funny)
A boxcutter? (Score:3, Funny)
What i ALWAYS have: (Score:3, Interesting)
Victornox(accept no substitutes)swiss army knife.
Leatherman
Paper clips.
I have rarely ever found myself needing more.
Re:What i ALWAYS have: (Score:3, Informative)
Rock on!
Tim
For H/W debugging I sincerely recommend (Score:2, Informative)
Re:For H/W debugging I sincerely recommend (Score:2)
Wow, gender changers... (Score:2, Funny)
Reminds me a little bit of a Neil Gaiman short story. Guy develops a pill to cure some disease but it has an odd side effect, it can change your sex. Society began to use the drug recreationally.
All I do (Score:2, Interesting)
There's this guy who responded to this question (Score:2, Informative)
http://primates.ximian.com/~jbz/vest.html
Headlight (Score:3, Interesting)
Dental tools? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Dental tools? (Score:2)
Re:Dental tools? (Score:2)
Re:Dental tools? (Score:2)
The mirror is worth its weight in gold. I have admit, the pick has only come in handy a few times but it's small and I get a big kick pulling my "Is it safe?" shtick on anyone who's seen Marathon Man.
Not being funny (Score:3, Informative)
If you deal with anything that accumulates a great amount of corrosion, a toothbrush is perfect to remove it.
Re:Not being funny (Score:2)
hasn't changed.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:hasn't changed.... (Score:3, Funny)
Like this:
- A screwdriver with #2 Phillips, flat and assorted Torx bits
- A small set of little-tiny screw drivers for laptops
- A penlight
- A telescoping mirror
- A telescoping magnetic pickup or grabber
- A big (40+) CD case to carry all your utility software
- A couple of blank floppies
- A '98 boot diskette (for machines that won't boot off CD-ROM for whatever reason)
- Spare IDE/FDD cables
- Spare SCSI cables and terminators
- Spare Cat-5 cables of various lengths including one short cross-over and a couple of inline couplers so you can daisy-chain them
And if you still have room: a mini-hub, spare NIC, spare video-card, HDD for imaging, laptop with PCMCIA nic and modem
Enjoy!
Re:hasn't changed.... (Score:2)
What utility software? (Score:5, Informative)
Spinrite
MemCheck
CheckIt/QAPlus
pcAnywhe
VNC
WinZip
Acrobat
DOS version of PKZip
Collection of common nic/video/printer/etc drivers
Copies of major OS's (Win2K, 98 OSR2 etc.)
Copies of Office
Copies of SP's and patches
Copies of browsers (IE, Netscape, Opera)
L0pht Crack
Your favorite IP scanner and other IP tools (e.g. Putty)
Other tools depending on OS's you work with (e.g. JCMD for Netware, Upromote for NT, the Win2K/NT resource kits, 'Nix boot disk and utils and hundreds of other favorite need-specific utils
Re:What utility software? (Score:2)
Guess I'm lucky (Score:3, Informative)
Basically it's all the tools and accessories that are used at our site.
Tools(Everything we need), clips, zip-ties, batteries(About 15 different types), IC chips, blank eeproms, blank CD's, labels, surface mount components (Resistors, Caps,etc), and on and on and on....
Works great, we have a person whose job it is to re-order stuff thats used, if you take the last item, you put the tag on his desk, he re-stocks the bin.
The only problem is people pilfering for personal use (The AA batteries fly out of there like nobodies business).
Adding a security camera and posting a notice that it was there drastically reduced the pilfering.
Re:Guess I'm lucky (Score:2)
Tools (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Tools (Score:3, Funny)
Traditional, eh? That does mean out of the back of the telephone company truck, right?
Re:Tools (Score:1)
Another incredibly useful tool is.... (Score:4, Informative)
At a previous job (Score:2, Funny)
bits (Score:3, Funny)
I have no use for bytes or words, they just take up too much room in my special carryng case (my bit bucket). Besides I can assemble any byte or word that I desire with just a little work and it really cuts down on inventory.
My tools (Score:2, Funny)
A very large mallet (Score:2, Funny)
Re:A very large mallet (Score:2)
My eyes are bugging out from debugging memory-leaking code...
toolkit... (Score:1)
Electrical Tape Should Be Banned (Score:1)
Just say no when someone asks for electrical tape. Unless they're wearing coveralls and look like they're wiring outlets.
My toolbox (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My toolbox (Score:2)
Tools (Score:4, Informative)
All of this is housed in an old NCR Cash register repair suitcase a friend gave me. The mere sight of a 42 Watt non-temperature controlled iron is enough to convince most people I'm crazy, but it's darn good for doing SMC repairs, gets everything up to temperature in no time, saving the parts.
--Mike--
Plenty of Software tools.. (Score:2)
As a software engineer, ... (Score:5, Funny)
Since I work with some embedded stuff as well, it has happened that my pocket knife have come in handy (some people actually fasten those screws at the end of the com-ports I need access to in order to speak to the equipment).. But it depends on what you do (well, I have also used a multimeter once, but only because I had no lightbulb and two pieces of wire handy).
If you need more tools than that, you can't possibly call yourself a software developer.
Besides, the ultimate toolchest has been discussed at slashdot before. But anyway, here is my suggestion (but for software developers):
Re:As a software engineer, ... (Score:3, Funny)
Obviously, you're not truly dedicated, otherwise you would have memorized that flier.
Re:As a software engineer, ... (Score:2)
If you need more tools than that, you can't possibly call yourself a software developer.
You must be one of those rare lucky bastards who works for a company that has people a) to take care of the hardware, and b) are actually competent to do so, and c) are around when you need them.
Back here in the real world, my primary job function is most certainly "software developer", and that's what I call myself, but somebody has to re-arrange the test lab, replace harddrives and memory, etc. etc. etc. And no, it wouldn't be cheaper/more efficient to hire an additional person to take care of that kind of stuff -- it's not a full time job, but it still has to be done.
Re:As a software engineer, ... (Score:3, Funny)
As a software engineer you should not have overlooked the importance of "cluestik" tools to deal with lusers of your software.
In particular, the baseball bat and the pen knife can be used to eliminate a lot of reported trouble tickets right at the source of the complaint.
In case those portable and multipurpose tools don't work, I recommend drinking a couple of pots of coffee and walking into the office that was the source of the complaint with nunchuks and whacking the desk real hard with some irritated expression like
You'll substantially reduce the number of complaints and trouble tickets with not only the right tools, but also the right attitude.Re:As a software engineer, ... (Score:2)
Yes, in deed!
chemicals in my toolbox (Score:3, Interesting)
isopropanol for cleaning various surfaces
good thermal grease (for changing coolers)
instant and epoxy glue
ballistol (for saving fans, great lubricant, not only for weapons)
sea water spray (for my poor nose if i must work in dusty environment)
Blank CD's! (Score:1)
We support about 12 sites around the US. Between distributing large software packages like Oracle, and copying 500+ meg
I've learned to keep my own private stash locked in my desk. They become quite a commodity.
Re:Blank CD's! (Score:2)
>locations (yes, I really need EVERY email I've sent
>AND received during the last 3 years, even the
>Powerpoint-attachment birthday announcements)
LOL.
We had a guy who had several 1GB+ PST files, including messages that were migrated from the old mainframe email system All Those Years Ago.
Just one single tool. (Score:4, Funny)
Rather then carry around one tool to solve each problem, it's much simpler to carry around a hammer and treat all problems as nails.
Anthony's Law of Force : (Score:3, Funny)
Don't force it, get a bigger hammer.
My Little Black Book (Score:2)
Serial Numbers and CD Keys (What!, you lost your Win2K Serial, Bad Monkey!)
Usernames and Passwords (like lusers ever remember their "saved" passwords)
Various ISP information
Miscellanious esoteric commands
Other random tibbits I might need (like how to make a modem dial fast, etc.)
A Laptop (Score:4, Insightful)
A laptop running:
- Windows XP Pro or 2000 Server. Gives me drivers for everything. I can plug in floppies, my Jazz drive or portable burners or whatever I need to get Data and backups around. Good luck using the NT4 the client gives me.
- MS Office Suite w Access - this gets used for everything, from tracking meetings in Outlook to calculations in Excel.
- IDE: JBuilder, Netbeans, Eclipse, Visual Studio, Emacs, EditPad, JEdit, etc, etc.
- Database: As if I want to twiddle my thumbs for a week while Systems dept creats a table and gives me access. I can have half the prototype done by then. Access ships with a stripped down version of SQL Server - great for getting started on the basic SQL no matter what DB it's eventually targetted for.
- Photophop/Corel Graphics Suite: Handy for creating icons for your UI - or at least sensible place holders till graphic artist can get around to it - and gives them an idea what you need too.
- Steinberg Wavelab: same as previous, sounds for your app, etc.
- Cygwin! Bash. Never leave home without it. Perl, Python, XFree86, GCC, Make, and and endless list of every reason I love Linux all available for your convenience. Great for connectivity with Unix systems too.
- Mozilla, IE6, etc: Current browsers for testing web sites. God knows what the client has installed. I always code for the latest and most bug free platform I can find, and then backport and fix later - that way I know it's the software that's broken rather than some error in my coding which could kill time looking for. Can throw on SP - JC's SGML/XML parser for validation. Mozilla includes javascript debugger and DOM viewer tools as well!
- Latest JDK from Sun, WSFTP, JBoss, PHP, Apache - HTTP server, Ant, Xalan, Xerces, Tomcat, etc, etc, Boost, ACE, Loki, etc C++ libraries.
- A Documentation folder with EVERYTHING - from RFC's and JavaDoc to most all the latest W3C Rec's, to MSDN stuff, to whatever.
Loads of other stuff I forget, but you get the idea, the Swiss Army Knife laptop. I would die without it. Or at least be 1/5 as productive.
Hearing protection (Score:3, Informative)
When purchased in bulk, foam ear plugs are reasonably affordable. NoiseBuster headphones are helpful, too, for cutting down machine noise -- but the earplugs are best.
I find myself tiring easily when constantly exposed to machine noise from loud PC's, routers, etc.
What for? (Score:2)
What on earth do you need electrical tape, screwdriver, etc. for? It sounds like a HARDWARE problem.
I'd love to blame hardware, but... (Score:2)
You got it - management blamed software.
Leatherman (Score:3, Informative)
For IT, I'd recommend the Super Tool [amazon.com]. With one little device you get:
-- needlenose pliers
-- regular pliers
-- wire cutters
-- hard-wirte cutters
-- clip-point knife
-- serrated knife
-- wood/bone saw
-- metal/wood file
-- ruler
-- can/boottle opener
-- screwdriver
-- philps screwdriver
-- electric crimper
-- write stripper
-- awl punch
Okay, so I never really found a use for the awl. But having the pliers, both kinds of screwdrivers, the stripper and crimper all together was really handy. And having the bottle opener for when the day is over is not bad either.
-Bill
Re:Leatherman (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Leatherman (Score:2)
-Bill
Re:Leatherman (Score:2)
The knives are openable with one hand.
The locking mechanism is sane.
The pliers are comfortable so I can grip as hard as I want, rather than being limited by my threshold of pain.
It has scisors.
Unfortunately the Wave doesn't have a ruler, which did come in handy. Although it would be interupted by the plires, it could be put on the (streight) side of the base.
I havn't seen any multi-tool I would rather have. (Though if you see one, let me know.)
--Ben
my less obvious stuff (Score:2)
cryptographic keys and commonly used crypto software on a business card CDR-- being able to work securely from almost anywhere on the net comes in handy.
small, powerful flashlight-- the one I'm using uses a set of three of the newish super-bright LEDs. It puts out a lot of light, and lasts hundreds of hours on some AAs, so I never have to worry about it being sapped of power when I need it.
my Palm-- it has about a billion field uses. In particular, with the right set of adapters, it can be a good emergency console terminal for headless servers.
cell phone
Linuxcar boot toolkit on a business card CDR-- I really should roll my own, but this thing has most of the good stuff on it. There are times when "dd" is the perfect tool. If I rolled my own, I would probably add the Coroner's toolkit.
Keeping it all together (Score:2)
Metal nibbler (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.jdr.com/interact/item.asp?itemno=NIB
You forgot... (Score:2)
"Hey Mike! I can't fix this piece of !@)$#*@#$, come down here and help me!"
obligatory tom's hardware link... (Score:2)
How To Assemble The Ultimate Toolbox
Summary:
Finding the correct tool for the job can sometimes be a chore. We look at some of the tools that should be in the Ultimate Toolbox and take a look at some ideas on what goes into having the right tool for the right job.
I use (Score:2, Informative)
The most essential thing... (Score:3, Funny)
Carry it around everywhere at work. Converse with it regularly. Get its opinion on other peoples' technical problems. Make your co-workers greet the rabbit whenever they greet you.
This should keep people from calling you unless it's REALLY an emergency.
Survival Kit Contents (Score:2)
* two boxes of ammunition
* four days' concentrated emergency rations
* one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills
* one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible
* one hundred dollars in rubles
* one hundred dollars in gold
* nine packs of chewing gum
* one issue of prophylactics
* three lipsticks
* three pair of nylon stockings
Re:Survival Kit Contents (Score:2)
shoot, a fellah could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff....
lol I was about to post that myself. If anyone has not yet seen it, check out "Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb." It is one of the funniest movies I have seen, with such great quotes as "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"
Tools CD (Score:2, Informative)
I burn about 125MB of network tools (packet sniffers, traceroute and ping tools, hex editor, etc), system diag tools, boot disk images for every windows version from 95 to 2k, various 'toys' like tweakui, winzip, pkzip, and things I install a lot like Pegasus mail onto a 3.5" bootable CD (it boots to a dos prompt where I have over 3MB of dos diag tools available). It also detects/loads CD drives on booting. The final product is small enough to drop into my shirt pocket.
Then, in whatever leftover space I have, I put a few Mp3 files and winamp so I have some music to work by no matter WHOSE office I'm in.
This CD has been a lifesaver on dozens of jobs. Whenever I find better tools, I create a new version and burn about 10 copies (some for friends, 1 for the toolbox, 1 for the office, 1 for home, and 1 each for the glove compartments of my wife's care and mine so I NEVER am without it).
So far, I am up to verison 1.4 and finding new things to put on in every day.
Re:Tools CD (Score:2, Informative)
So while it may be free, I may not have the right to distribute it in a package like this CD.
If I decide to make a version I can distribute, I'll have to spend some time first looking into all the licenses and/or getting permission from some of the developers to include their software on the CD.
(There are also a few commercial programs I put on MY version that I'd have to take off before distribution.)
In the meantime, I've uploaded the listing of all the software that fits on the CD to this page:
http://gallery.scanline.com/UtilityDisk/
so you can get a headstart making your own version. All program names and descriptions are listed, so you should be able to do a google search and find downloads of most of the things I use.
Blu-tak tip (Score:2)
Does everyone do this? Will I get down-moderated 'obvious'?
Baz
Ethernet Port Tester (Score:2)
A little different... (Score:2)
We're pretty well stocked (Gender changers? There are at least two labs with ample stock of any kind of coaxial RF adapter you can think of...), but occasionally something is hard to find. (It's usually somewhere, but when the lab manager or whoever normally has the equipment is out of office - uhoh...)
For those emergencies, I have in my car (Note: I try to keep it away from work, so I don't actually bring anything in unless needed.)
Full repair toolkit (Wrenches, socket set, etc.) - It's always in my car anyway since it's primarily for automotive repair. I've occasionally needed to grab the odd wrench size when someone has borrowed the driver we need.
Precision screwdriver set w/small pliers, wirecutters, etc. - Haven't needed it at work, nice to know it's a short trip out to the car
Dremel tool - I expected to need this, but never did need it.
Heat gun - Actually, now back at home permanently. Needed to briefly work with LARGE chunks of heatshrink and Murphy hit - The guy who keeps track of our heat gun was out for the week.
I know the feeling though... One piece of test equipment I work with (Rohde & Schwarz FSIQ spectrum analyzer) is *alone* worth $115k new.
In every toolbox.... (Score:2)
Cookies are also useful as bribes. Just toss one a good distance away and over-curious dogs and small children will leave you alone for a while (until they come back for more...can't win). Never keep dog biscuits for the dogs, you'll throw one to a kid sooner or later. And that will be the time someone sees you doing it.
I always (Score:2, Informative)
and solder
spare butane,
heat shrink,
tie-wraps,
toothbrush,
needles
lighter, matches,
mirror,
vice-grips(snubnose and needle nose),
hemo-stats(multi-purpose(work/break)),
A cable tester,
a few paperclips ,
2 ethernet cables and a crossover box,
wire strippers & crimpers
multimeter
a cigarette lighter to 110 inverter
Mini Mag light
Straight edge(steel 18" ruler, it just fits)
set of wrenches,(English & metric & Alen)
Channel Locks small and tiny
a whistle
CD Book with justabout all you need
fishing string & weight
pully
a folded up coathanger
Gender benders null modems
teflon tape
jb-weld(this stuff is awesome)
magnifing glass
tweesers
and a Rifle bullet(no Idea)
All you need is love... (Score:2)
With those, I can do (or get) anything else I need.
#1 most useful tool (Score:2)
Those who have a miner's light (or similar) in their toolbox are just nerds. Get a flashlight that doesn't attach to your forehead and you can step up to geek.
The #2 most useful thing has typically been tweezers.
On the software side, if you're talking about PC support, the three floppies everyone should have are the Windows 98 boot floppy, and disks 1 and 2 (both of them) of a partition magic rescue set. Dos partition magic does everything windows partition magic does (when you think about it, partition magic doesn't do anything THAT complicated, but no one else has bothered to write the same thing yet that I'm aware of). I actually keep a CD with rawrite, rawritewin, dos 6.22 floppy images, and a win98 boot floppy image, so I can make new ones wherever I go. The dos floppies aren't worth much, admittedly.
Now the ObDisclaimer: If you have a magnetized screwdriver, keep it away from magnetic media as much as possible. I've yet to screw up a hard disk by installing or removing its screws with mine, your mileage may vary.