|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
24.183.100.228
In Reply to: RE: I forgot to say posted by Awe-d-o-file on April 30, 2015 at 18:10:16
If you believe that "almost everything makes a difference," I cannot understand why you state putting a couple extra solder joints and pieces of crappy wire in a sensitive portion of a circuit will not matter much. Most people here obsess, sometimes foolishly, about eliminating whatever connection from their system that they possibly can, yet you're advising someone to add joints.
Regarding enlarging the holes, you are advising someone who doesn't seem to know much about what they're doing to do something of which you yourself are, and everyone else should be, wary. Do you know what a through-plated hole is? Any PCB with two or more layers has them. They're not all important, but if you drill out one that is, your component might not work until you add solder to bridge the gap. A lifted pad or broken trace is not the end of the world, but it adds complexity for anyone who doesn't have much experience. Once you've botched a board, it's that way forever. Ever wanna sell that gear?
Sorry to seem like a cop, but I'm just trying to point out what I believe to not be the best solution to the OP's problem. If he, or anyone else who reads this, wants to follow your advice, they should be aware of possible risks or drawbacks. Of course, it could all work out fine and sound wonderful.
Confused,
Tom E
Follow Ups:
Tom:
Thanks for all your replies. I'm getting something out of the thread which is good. I also want to say I in no way think you are wrong and/or I am right or offended in anyway as I've always enjoyed your posts. I feel I needed to say that because writing on a BBS does not allow physical interaction where one knows or can read the others "total" reaction.
I'll address some of your points in the last reply"
"""If you believe that "almost everything makes a difference," I cannot understand why you state putting a couple extra solder joints and pieces of crappy wire in a sensitive portion of a circuit will not matter much. Most people here obsess, sometimes foolishly, about eliminating whatever connection from their system that they possibly can, yet you're advising someone to add joints."""
As to the not understanding I see where you would feel that way. I almost said Everything not almost everything. But in this case both the OP and I have experiences where this method worked OK. Now perhaps mine did because we're talking low voltage and current and not a high resolving (op amp) circuit. But without a pic to perhaps find other methods like soldering to the components and not using the PC board (traces) this method of adding less than an inch of wire (as good a wire as you have not just crappy wire) is a viable alternative to the much tougher widening the hole method you address in your next paragraph. I know the negatives theoretically in the add a piece of wire method but the OP and myself have pointed out two scenarios where it was at least acceptable.
""Regarding enlarging the holes, you are advising someone who doesn't seem to know much about what they're doing to do something of which you yourself are, and everyone else should be, wary. Do you know what a through-plated hole is? Any PCB with two or more layers has them. They're not all important, but if you drill out one that is, your component might not work until you add solder to bridge the gap. A lifted pad or broken trace is not the end of the world, but it adds complexity for anyone who doesn't have much experience. Once you've botched a board, it's that way forever. Ever wanna sell that gear?"""
Again I hear you and I mentioned the need for experience and that it was risky in the first post where I mentioned it. When I was a bench tech I had to repair test equipment that was abused and often had to repair SMD and through hole boards. I don't think just mentioning the possibility of this method as I did with the warning I also added was wrong.
""Sorry to seem like a cop, but I'm just trying to point out what I believe to not be the best solution to the OP's problem. If he, or anyone else who reads this, wants to follow your advice, they should be aware of possible risks or drawbacks. Of course, it could all work out fine and sound wonderful."""
Not at all! You don't seem like a cop. This is and was a positive and thoughtful discussion from the beginning of an issue that will come up from time to time. If we stay around long enough it will likely happen again. What is most positive is we acted like adults, treated each other with respect and discussed the issues and our differences on the topic. When you compare that with some of the silliness and name calling that goes on here and other BBS we can be happy this thread will stay on forever for others to see.
Cheers!
E
T
Thanks for such a thoughtful reply. Very refreshing here. Obviously, you know a lot about this stuff, and that makes for a pleasant discussion and exchange of valid viewpoints.
There usually is not an absolute right or wrong way. It's good to examine all the approaches, even try a few, then make a choice. I hope the OP is successful and shares his findings. So many posters just bail out and are never heard from again.
I've had to fix more than few of my own blunders on through-hole boards. I once tried to repair an SMD board and junked a $3K TV. Perhaps I'm a bit overly cautious now, especially without knowing the level of experience involved.
Yeah, pics generally make everything easier to understand. There's gotta be a way to get those new caps in there!
Peace,
Tom E
You too! It was a great interaction. Believe me your more cautious approach is better than mine. I got a Telefunken console where the previous owner cut a bunch of wires. I connected a Minimus 7 to one pair thinking it was speaker out because I didn't have those DIN speaker plugs. I didn't have good light or a way to prop up this odd shaped chassis to look underneath well. So I decided I would plug it in after connected and be ready to quickly unplug it. Sure enough it was AC out for internal cabinet lighting not speaker out! Luckily I was quick enough unplugging it (I never let go of the plug) so the loud 60hz AC buzz didn't harm the driver!
That episode FINALLY made me buy a desk mounted magnifying lamp. It was long overdue and a great help. I also soldered SMD with a regular iron/ small tip using wick to clean the pads until recently. They have these cheap things now on eBay that have a heat gun w/adjustable temp/air flow and a soldering iron for $65 that make this much easier. Even when I was a tech that company was too cheap (and very unethical we were ISO 9000 and violated many aspects of that) to have rework stations so we used our irons and heat guns.
E
T
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: