Bottlehead Forum

Welcome! Need support, you got it. Or share you ideas and experiences.

Return to Bottlehead Forum

Bottlehead Forum

soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow)

80.218.23.249

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Thread: Display Email Next ] [ Bottlehead Forum ] [ FAQ ]

I have the impression that my soldering technique is less than ideal. (Maybe the hum in my paraglow amp is due to cold joints?) In the manual it says:
"When you read the word "attach" in this manual, it means to insert a wire lead through a terminal strip hole, and wrap it around the outside of the terminal, inserting the end back through the hole". Makes sense. However, I find this quite difficult with the Jena lab wire. First of all, the holes in the terminals are not that much bigger than the diameter of the wire, especially if several leads end up at the same terminal. Secondly, I feel that bending the wire gives quite ugly results, with gauges in all directions. What is the best solution here? Related question: is it possible to heat up the entire wire, or is it sufficient to heat those gauges that are close to the terminal? (of course the solder will flow everywhere, but I wonder whether that gives me a good connection)
Second problem: I use magnet wire for the ground buss. When I remove the insulation material with my soldering iron, I get a dirty tip. Somehow this dirt seems to stick - many of my joints have traces of black stuff at the surface. Could I solve that problem by cleaning the tip more effectively (I use a wet sponge at the moment)? Or could that be a result of rapid cooling? (in which case I don�t really know what to do about that, since I let the joints cool unassisted)
Finally, concerning hum: in the manual it says "make sure the signal carrying wires are well away from the twisted AC carrying wires": Which wires carry AC in the paraglow?

Thanks for any hints!
Holger

Follow Ups:

Re: soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow) - LouD 10:14:58 09/26/02 (3)
Hate to say it, but I think the magnet wire may be the only weak component in the Foreplay, at least for beginners. As you note,it is extremely difficult to clean, and crud gets on your soldering iron when you do. I've scraped, sanded and heated the stuff, and still had marginally bad ground connections on occasion, even when my meter beeps to show a complete ground.
The worst case of this occurred this past weekend when I installed the Sweet Whispers upgrade. I must have reheated, dissassembled, cleaned the attenuator a couple times and still had a dead channel. Finally, I noticed that one of the ground ledes to the rca connectors was sliding free! It was probably barely soldered originally, since my Foreplay worked fine before the upgrade, but I probably knocked the connection loose when I added the attenuators. Next time out, I'm going to use good old Radio Shack insulated solid core.
Griping aside, the Sweet Whispers is wonderful. My 14-year-old daughter walked in the door, listened for a few minutes, and asked "Well, now what did you do to it?" I showed her how to solder, and she built the Anticipation boards for me this weekend. Such solder joints! A lot to be said for 14 year old ears, eyes and nerves...

'
to
- Re: soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow) - Holger H-R 00:47:05 09/27/02 (0)
  I agree that the magnet wire is not very suitable for beginners. In any case, after what you wrote, I am looking forward to installing my foreplay upgrades!
  Holger
- Soldering Iron - KGW 10:30:12 09/26/02 (1)
  I finally decided to spend $100 on a nice Weller WES50 soldering station. It strips magnet wire almost instantly. Now I wish I bought it a long time ago.
  
  KGW
  
  My DIY Page
  - Re: Soldering Iron - Holger H-R 00:45:46 09/27/02 (0)
    Good idea. I had a similar thought yesterday. I think part of my problems is related to a really cheap soldering iron...
    Holger
Re: soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow) - KGW 10:13:07 09/26/02 (2)
My comments follow...
> I have the impression that my soldering technique is less than
> ideal. (Maybe the hum in my paraglow amp is due to cold joints?) In > the manual it says:
> "When you read the word "attach" in this manual, it means to insert
> a wire lead through a terminal strip hole, and wrap it around the
> outside of the terminal, inserting the end back through the hole".
> Makes sense. However, I find this quite difficult with the Jena lab
> wire. First of all, the holes in the terminals are not that much
> bigger than the diameter of the wire, especially if several leads
> end up at the same terminal. Secondly, I feel that bending the wire
> gives quite ugly results, with gauges in all directions. What is
> the best solution here? Related question: is it possible to heat up
> the entire wire, or is it sufficient to heat those gauges that are
> close to the terminal? (of course the solder will flow everywhere,
> but I wonder whether that gives me a good connection)
You'll need to tin the Jena wire before you attach it. Twist the end of the wire, heat it and apply solder. Small needle nose pliers will help you bend the tinned wire to make a good connection. When you finally solder the connection, the pre-tinned wire will be much easier to solder.
> Second problem: I use magnet wire for the ground buss. When I
> remove the insulation material with my soldering iron, I get a
> dirty tip. Somehow this dirt seems to stick - many of my joints
> have traces of black stuff at the surface. Could I solve that
> problem by cleaning the tip more effectively (I use a wet sponge at
> the moment)? Or could that be a result of rapid cooling? (in which
> case I don�t really know what to do about that, since I let the
> joints cool unassisted)
You definitely want to clean your iron and the wire. Pre tin the magnet wire after you remove the insulation.
> Finally, concerning hum: in the manual it says "make sure the
> signal carrying wires are well away from the twisted AC carrying
> wires": Which wires carry AC in the paraglow?
The wires to and from the power transformer. In other words, the mains (power cord), the filament wires, and the wires going to the diodes.
It is best to take your time and do things neat and clean.

KGW

My DIY Page
- Re: soldering technique for Jena labs wire (paraglow) - Holger H-R 00:43:11 09/27/02 (1)
  Dear Kevin
  Thanks for your hints - that will help!
  Holger
  - Re: soldering technique for Jena labs wire (nt) - Me 06:39:29 10/01/02 (0)
    nt
    - http://members12.clubphoto.com/steve633736/guest-1.phtml

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

The Cable Cooker

You can not post to an archived thread.