Jon,
Yes, you solder them on the back. That is an acceptable way of mounting
components, and in some cases (not this instance) provides better RF
performance than thru-hole mounting - you will find an instance where
that mounting is used for better performance on the RF board in the PLL
area. This keying waveform change was introduced after the new board
layout at SN 3000.
Do not use a 'blob' of solder (as you stated), use a controlled amount
that has been properly heated. You are soldering two things to the
solder pad. It will hold securely if done right. If the component
drifts around, tack one lead with solder, then you can manipulate the
other lead and do a good solder connection - after that go back and work
with the first lead to get it well soldered.
Note: If your soldering already looks like blobs that are convex on the
surface, you are using too much solder and likely are not heating the
connections adequately. A good solder connection should have a convex
surface with the solder flowing to a thin, almost invisible edge at both
the component lead and the solder pad. Use of a small diameter solder
allows one to control the amount applied easily. I recommend .020 or
.015 for that reason. With large diameter solder, often by the time it
melts, there is already too much on the connection. If you do have
'blobs' of solder, I urge you to go back now and wick away the excess
and re-flow the solder to assure each connection has been properly
heated. The most common reason for failure is a bad solder connection,
so it is important.
73,
Don W3FPR
Jon Perelstein wrote:
My question de jour.
Page21 of the manual (rev G) is the Key Shaping Components.
How exactly do I mount them? The holes of the pads to which they are mounted are already filled with other components (Q8, R21 and U8). Do I just drop a blob of solder on the surface of each pad and hope that the components hold?
That seems kind of kludgy relative to the normal quality of Elecraft's engineering.
Jon
KB1QBZ
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