Need "workspace" for PCB layout? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 05:04:01 pm
content: Hi,We have some workers who often come down to London on Sunday for us....there is often not enough room in the office...so do you know anywhere cheap in London where they can lay out a PCB on their 14 inch laptop? At the moment they just go to a local cafe and work there , but they are often too crowded.We are willing to pay. But want cheap...we dont need these posh workspaces with potted plants and marble floors etc.All the old internet cafes seem to have disappeared.

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 09:50:42 pm
content: Wouldn't it make more sense to get everyone working on 10 inch laptops so you can fit more people in the office?

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 10:44:38 pm
content: Thanks....Theyll be laying out on their phones soon...but seriously....some of the coffee shops.....understandably...dont like people on laptops for an hour or two in their coffee shop....even if they buy a coffee.....because they take up a seat for that time...so they sell less coffee.....and so these coffee shops are putting bleach into their coffee.....and when theyve drunk it....they only get the throat burn 30 mins or so after the beverage has gone down....so we are going to have to find somewhere. They are bleaching the coffee to keep out the laptoppers!........not massive bleach dose...but just enough to say "dont come into my shop with your damned laptop and take up a space for an hour or two".So we need a cheap workspace for laptop users...do you know of anywhere?...in London...on sundays.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 10:51:12 pm
content: Whereabouts in London?

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 11:52:33 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on August 12, 2023, 10:51:12 pmThe Thames?

author: AK6DN
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 12:20:24 am
content: Do you have public libraries in London?

author: jonpaul
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 01:48:52 am
content: Just another FTSS trool...In most cities there these open spaces called are parks, many are seen working away on a shaded park bench.Hyde park? St James Park?j

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 02:21:46 am
content: I think the best option is Linkin Park, because no matter whatever you suggest, in the end, it doesn't even matter.

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 06:26:46 am
content: Since it's apparently not mandatory for these workers to be in your office I don't understand why they have to "come down to London on a Sunday" in the first place. Can't they just work from anywhere, like from home then?

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 07:51:20 am
content: Working in 10" laptops? I hope it was irony lol(Or just get oompa-loompas)10yr ago I had to develop some software in Mplab (Thankfully not Java -based sh**) in a 12" Atom Netbook.The trauma still causes cold-sweating, shaking and Vietnam-like flashbacks

author: jc101
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 08:37:34 am
content: Quote from: Faringdon on August 12, 2023, 10:44:38 pmAnd that is where this thread, and the OP, loses what little integrity there was to start with.Perhaps the moderators should take a closer look at the OP's account...

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 09:00:57 am
content: I'm deeply confused by a lot of things in this thread but... why would they have to come to London if it'sto sit in a coffee shop. Stay home, work from there?Also: layout on a 14" laptop? Finding office space doesn't seem like your biggest problem.Also: potted plants? That indeed sounds insane. I'm sure you can find a damp and moldy basement somewhere that's much cheaper.

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 09:21:21 am
content: Quote from: H.O on August 13, 2023, 06:26:46 amYeah, what's the difference between working from a coffee shop (bleach-tainted beverages or not) using public wi-fi, and working from home? Why do they have to travel to a specific location?Let me guess, management doesn't trust them, so they require supervision?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 09:28:37 am
content: Quote from: Ice-Tea on August 13, 2023, 09:00:57 am14" laptop in Altium once you subtract all the side bars and are looking at a 1" square of your PCB."Right, lets get to work..."

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 09:37:16 am
content: Quote from: jc101 on August 13, 2023, 08:37:34 amGood catch. I stopped reading at the 5th ellipsis. Phenolphthalein would be a more sensible additive -- little taste, delayed action, less toxic. Maybe the TS should .....

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 09:38:13 am
content: Got a 14" monitor (16:9, so it's even worse than it sounds) on my bench for the microscope and bench PC. Use it for browsing Altium projects since the 43" on my desk isn't practical there. It's.. doable. I think it really depends on the screen resolution and how young your eyes are rather than physical dimension.

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 10:36:16 am
content: Thanks, we need them down here with us, because we do "On call" for failed car parking lights in u'ground car parks in london...sometimes , they may have to go and see at short notice...but meanwhile, they can lay out.Anybody know anywhere?, our office is near London Bridge station, but anywhere in London's fine, as we have oyster cards.QuoteThanks...laptop would get pinched though.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 10:59:10 am
content: Where are you living, so that there isn't enough room to use a 14 inch laptop?Even a prison cell (if allowed access to a laptop), or sleeping rough, would have room?Even if you were sleeping in your car, there would be room to use a laptop, with just about any car.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 11:08:04 am
content: The British Library in Kings Cross has plenty of desks, often full of students but they should be on holiday atm.Any library that opens on Sun would be worth a look

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 11:10:24 am
content: Yet again I guessed the op right

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 11:23:08 am
content: Quote from: jc101 on August 13, 2023, 08:37:34 amYou are far too generous. Integrity was never really on the table here.QuoteAdmin, moderators and a great many members are already WELL aware of the OP and their (ahem) "style". Just take note and you'll soon see what many of us have come to understand.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 11:28:53 am
content: Maybe you could use your soldering workspace (for which you received a lot of advice just last year). It would be an easier proposition for PCB layout because there would be no need to spray water on the floor...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/need-to-rent-work-space-for-electronics-soldering/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/spraying-wooden-floor-with-water-to-reduce-esd-damage/P.S. I assume you are looking for space in the Ilford area.

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 11:39:56 am
content: Quote from: Faringdon on August 12, 2023, 05:04:01 pmIf you must supervise or watch over them - just get them to share their screen using MS Teams or Zoom or something from wherever they are, instead of dragging them into town.

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 12:45:52 pm
content: QuoteThanks, been there done that, its always crammed.....and you cant go on the seats that have the "literature search computers".Its not open for long on sunday either.Also, i got reported for typing too loudly there in the past.....any , even quiet, typing noise is deeply frowned upon.QuoteThanks, but that was £650 per month

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 04:06:19 pm
content: QuoteThe 'us' of which you speak doesn't include the 'you' posting this rubbish.QuoteIf that's true, and I wonder how you know because I can't imagine your inbox overflowing with gratitude emails when actual experts get zero to none, it's probably because they are astounded that normally rational engineers play along to your games and treat your requests for info with a straight face as if you were a professional of longstanding, ignoring that you can't hold a job for more than half an hour or do a search in a product's help system.

author: djsb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 06:07:45 pm
content: Is "Faringdon" an AI ChatBot?

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 06:21:21 pm
content: Quote from: djsb on August 13, 2023, 06:07:45 pmYes, once I got curious and backtraced their communications.All their various accounts and massive number of topics, are from an AI Chatbot machine, called theTroll-Botic 3,000 Inane topic Generator - Pre-Alpha level v0.00000000000001

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 06:56:33 pm
content: Quote from: djsb on August 13, 2023, 06:07:45 pmTalking to a chatbot is typically more productive...

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 07:12:58 pm
content: From founder of a '4x cheaper' Chinese EV import empire to looking for somewhere free to use laptops in one week. How the mighty have fallen.

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2023, 11:48:09 am
content: Thanks, any ideas for cheap laptop workspace in London on sundays much appreciated.Also, if there is "background noise" of a thousand typists clicking away on their keyboards then that would be superb....because otherwise most of London goes mad if they even hear a single , quiet, key press on a keyboard....so the background noise would hide the key press sounds.

author: mzzj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2023, 01:52:49 pm
content: Quote from: Faringdon on August 13, 2023, 10:36:16 amSo "your" pcb layout guys mostly run around london replacing parking lights and in the free time they are doing pcb layout on 14" laptop in public cafe?I'm guessing you can't send them to work at home since these HAVE to be illegal immigrants that you got cheaply from Crapnistan-tan or Chinese uighur "re-education centers"?Can you keep the workers in the sea container they arrived? Maybe add 2.nd floor so you can fit more seats and 14" laptops on one sea container?You could even provide mobile on-site pcb layout service, just get the sea container delivered to customer parking place and off we go!If you select low-power 14" laptops they consume only about 20W each and one of your off-duty rickshaw driver on mobile generator can power at least 10 laptops.As an added benefit you can claim tax refund since you provide sports&activity opportunities for your workers.

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2023, 02:55:32 pm
content: Quote...Thanks.....tell the truth, i worked in an RF company once that did actually shovel four RF engineers into a make-shift office in the grounds....which was literally a metal sea container.Maybe they were trying to get rid of them, i dont know.

author: Kim Christensen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2023, 03:18:10 pm
content: Quote from: Faringdon on August 20, 2023, 11:48:09 amJust download some "office ambience sound effects" and have them on a playback loop. Scammer 101.

author: Momchilo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2023, 05:20:40 pm
content: This is a troll post, right?Right?

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2023, 06:53:04 pm
content: Thanks, but no, we really do need laptop workspace in London on sunday, and are willing to pay for it...do you know of any?

author: DimitriP
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2023, 07:24:43 pm
content: Doing a search would have been faster, less keystrokes and would not have annoyed as many people!

author: Faringdon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 05:51:05 am
content: Thanks, wide searching reveals almost nothing available on sundays.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 05:59:38 am
content: https://startups.co.uk/premises/offices/cheap-coworking-space-london/

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 06:23:02 am
content: You should set up as Global Estate Agent, speciality immovable engineers.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 06:48:09 am
content: There is so much in this sentence alone, it's amazing.Quote- come down to London / lay out a PCB = work from home?- on Sunday?- cheap in London?- lay out a PCB on their 14 inch laptop?

author: John B
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 07:56:17 am
content: Doesn't London offer a congestion charge exemption for electric vehicles? Couldn't you do laps around the CBD with a few guys in the back of one of these?The music has to play while you drive as well.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 08:45:54 am
content: If these items, are still for sale next week, I might buy a couple, from the OP (no sarcasm, on where this 'discussion' thread has been posted).

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 08:46:59 am
content: Quote from: John B on August 23, 2023, 07:56:17 amNo need for laps - you can park on-street pretty much anywhere in the City ( What we call the CBD) on a Sunday for free

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 09:08:05 am
content: Are they a person that has a compulsion, to create troll story threads?If so, do they need help (Psychologists etc)?

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 11:49:18 am
content: Quote from: MK14 on August 23, 2023, 09:08:05 amDave could create a new sub-forum. "Post your mental breakdown here".It would be write only.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 23, 2023, 05:49:46 pm
content: Quote from: Faringdon on August 12, 2023, 05:04:01 pmThat sounds rather weird.Where exactly are they coming from?If you need to create threads for the slightest problem, how come they are asking your advise?This doesn't really make sense.Is at least that part of the 'story' true?If there is no room, why the heck are they coming down in the first place?What on earth is the point?

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2023, 01:21:56 pm
content: And how come the office is full on a Sunday? Aren't most people, at least usually, free on Sundays?And if the office really is full on Sundays, when most people aren't working, how does that work during normal working hours Mon-Fri?No, I don't get it but I suppose that's the whole point of it all.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2023, 01:30:15 pm
content: Quote from: H.O on August 24, 2023, 01:21:56 pmEven if there is a huge workload, requiring overtime. Many people still won't regularly turn up on a Sunday, in the UK. So, you have raised a very good point.Their (possibly, I don't know with 100% certainty) factitious story, seems to be unravelling.I can't really see an office being 'full up' as such, anyway. That sounds crazy. A laptop, could be setup almost anywhere, such as near a printer or something.I don't think they (OP) are very good at telling stories, despite their apparently long history of doing so.(Typical, but not necessarily exact/correct example) One day they are being sacked, the next day they are doing an urgent job (part of the work), then the next, they want to know where the nearest internet cafe is.

author: abeyer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2023, 04:52:09 pm
content: Quote from: John B on August 23, 2023, 07:56:17 amI'd pay money to see a mini electric food truck full of pcb designers toiling away drive down the street.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2023, 05:32:24 pm
content: I don't want to appear, that I'm trying to make fun of the OP.But, I decided to quickly try and research, what was really going on.I think I might have found the answer.There is about to be a new game, released in 4 days (the steam edition) from now, called:QuoteSo, I'm wondering if that game came up in their news feeds, youtube video lists, or whatever, recently. Giving them the idea of this thread.Or another similar:

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2023, 02:40:18 pm
content: There is some workspace in the Samsung store at Coal Drops Yard Kings Cross, open til 5 on Sun.

author: jc101
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 17, 2023, 02:52:12 pm
content: Nice place. I remember it well.I was involved in designing how all the AV was distributed around the store and the huge curved video wall. Around 160 4k HDR endpoints from memory, all over 10Gbit fibre networking. Any content can be sent to any display.