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I have just finished replacing the coupling caps in my Jolida 302b with Hovland caps. I have little experience with soldering and am only using Radio Shack lead free silver bearing solder...don't laugh. Some of my joints finish shiny, most film over white when cooled. I know that this has to do with temperature and probably cleanliness of contacts. I am soldering to a PCB in this case though. The leads on the caps were pre-tinned and I sucked the old solder off of the junctions prior to soldering the new connections. I would appreciate some pointers here if any of you are experts. Thanks in advance.
I always use an ohmeter to check continuity after soldering. Just touch each end of the joint. For example the resistor or cap lead and an un-soldered portion of the the joint it's attached to. Or if two resistors
are attached to the same joint, touch each lead to make sure there is continuity. Naturally, do this with the power off. Also, make sure before you solder any components, you clean the leads with a bit of steel wool and wipe them after to remove any dust.
NT
I just received some Cardas solder in the mail that I had ordered from Welborne. As a comparison, I took too capacitors that I had replaced and twisted the two leads of each together to form a good mechanical connection. I then soldered one of the joints together with Rat Shack solder using the methods and recommendations suggested here:1)Tinned and cleaned the tip of the soldering iron
2)Heated the connection for several seconds
3)Applied solder to the junction of connection and solder point
4)Allowed enough solder to flow over the joint to cover it and removed the soldering iron.
5)Allowed joint to cool, undisturbed.I performed the same steps for two joints, one with Rat Shack solder and one withe the Cardas solder. Results?
Surprise, surprise, the Rat Shack joint immediately turned dull and white, but the Cardas joint was shiny and healthy looking. I used the exact same methods and had two entirely different results.
I am not feeling like such an inept solder slinger now...I am admittedly very much a rooky, but I now feel that with the proper solder, I can in fact make a good solder joint.
Thanks for all of your help and suggestions. I hope this helps other newby tweakers and modders out there...don't even think about using Radio Shack solder. I paid $3 for 30' of small gage Cardas Quad Eutectic solder...if I had only known. I still cannot say whether the type of solder actually affects the sound quality as I have no experience, but the quality of solder DEFINITELY affects the quality of the solder joint.
Dan
I have Been using both braid and solder extractors for years. I was Mil certified for flight hardware soldering. Nothing Wrong with Braid. Solder Sucker can infact be of more Danger. Most of them do not allow you to change Tip sizes or Heating range. and If you can not affored a Weller or Neutric Extraction system I would stick with braid.PCB can be made Cheap. It is up to manufacture if he wants to cut corners and use very thin copper or tin clad boards with poor laminates. this compounds itself when you start machining thin traces and plated through holes for Pads. Tin can wick into your solder joint. The traces and pads can lift easy with heat or they can tear. initial cleaning and pre tinning is a must. you need to have a very fast heat transfer. Start by using a clean surface, clean off all old flux and solder. be carefull! you might even want to consider using extra flux. Not only does it clean it provides fast heat exchange like a cooking oil. When you are ready to solder, Dab solder on tip of Iron and wipe it off with wet sponge. this will clean the tip. Place a small amount of fresh solder on tip of Iron. Initialy focus most of the heat of the Iron on the Component lead feed it solder and drift it towards the pad at the intersection point and to allow it to flow into PAD. DO NOT LEAVE HEAT ON PAD FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME AND DO NOT MOVE IRON ON PAD OR TRACE. Once it looks like Pad is filled lift up Iron. Do not let component move while solder is still hot. this will resort in a cold solder joint and will look dull and non shiny (also wicking other metals into solder gives same look) Soldering is an art and takes practice
It can get real nit picky. Just like with all welds but for most applications this above will work.
Dan, good solder and methodology aside, there is a better way to remove the solder on the PCB. Rat Shack used to sell something that looked like a soldering pencil that had a squeeze bulb attached. The idea is to heat the joint and suck the hot solder from the board. They called it a de solderer, I think. Similiar items are ofter called solder suckers. Works better than wicking. Part of the problem with wicking from a PCB is having heat on the foil too long, sometime the foil will lift from the board and it can not be put back. You can do it, it isn't rocket science. Regards, John
Thanks for the correction, I was only thinking about the Hovland...
First, to be soldering a HOVLAND cap with Radio Shack solder is a Federal crime in 19 states; I think they call it the Risch Act. Seriously, it's your money, but I wouldn't be in so much of a hurry. There has got to be a local electronics store that sells Kester or Multicore rosin-core solder. (Aren't you in Northern California? If so, there are a number of places that sell decent solder in your area). If not, North Creek Music sells Multicore by the foot (the Multi-core is pretty easy to work with). I highly suggest you get a Radio Shack desoldering wick and get that crap RS refers to as solder off your Hovland. As it is, you probably won't be able to get it all off. Sorry if I sound tough, but you're really flushing money down the toilet. I've heard people who don't believe in *any* kind of tweaking denouce Rat Shack solder. Enough of the soapbox.Get good solder, radio shack wire, and practice like crazy, because that's the only way you'll learn. Take my word for it, you can't practice enough. When you've made sure that your practice solders are perfect, that's trhe time to practice some more, grasshopper. Because different solders have different percentages of metals, all with varied purities, they'll each behave differently under the heat of your iron. In other words, each solder works differently, and better solders will be MUCH easier to use.
Go to Jon Risch's web site (the url is on the FAQ page of this site) and read what he has to say. The Kester he recommends is especially good for a newbie soldering artist because it is hard to make a cold joint with it (a cold joint is a bad solder joint). Make SURE you buy rosin core solder, acid core is for plumbing-- you don't want it. Also, go to Yahoo (or where ever) and search for "soldering techniques." Good luck!
Thanks for the 'scolding' and advice. I have heard the solder debates and am too inexperienced at this point to have an opinion. I do believe that it would be money well spent to get some better solder and I intend to. In fact, I had ordered some Cardas solder with my Hovelands, but Welborne Labs somehow forgot to send it, so I am awaiting a package from them. I was pretty impatient. The Hovelands sound great (even with Rat Shack solder) but would probably sound better with proper solder joints. I will take your advice, thanks. I am in Portland OR BTW. I will also check out Jon Risch's site and do a Hotbot search. Thanks,Dan
Dan,Sorry for the scolding, I get excited myself (I'm waiting on a Welborne care package as we speak). And, I should never go on a board when I'm feeling sick; I'm insanely grouchy at this time. Best of luck.
Robert
No problem, no offense taken. I have received my Cardas solder today from Welborne and will try working with it tonight. Thanks for everyone's input, much appreciated.Dan
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