Re: NEOTEK: Soldering Issues (was Panning Issues)

[Ike Zimbel]

Hi Monte,     Well, I think what you say does apply to the Molex connectors, especially since they are subjected to stress and bending when being fitted in the motherboard. The pots, on the other hand, are mechanically mounted to the front panel of the module. I found it very rare to see a pot lead with a good conical solder joint on the S-2. Where there was one, the others would be not as good, which says to me that the good one was done 1st while the iron was hot, with the others being done immediately afterwards, before the iron could recover to its full temperature.     The single-sided vs. double-sided point raises another issue, which I have been meaning to mention here for a while: It seems to me that for a long time, this list was primarily populated by Series I and II (maybe III, I don't know much about them) owners, most, if not all, real hands-on DIY guys. The Series boards are GREAT for that, particularly because they have single-sided circuit boards with very large traces, big pads and widely spaced parts (and relatively few of them). They are very forgiving PCB's for people who are learning their way around. De-soldering and removing parts is a fairly straightforward task of wicking or sucking the visible solder around a lead and gently pulling the part out. Ditto for putting parts back in.     The newer boards, Elite, Elan, Essence, Esprit and Etcetera ;-) , all have double sided circuit boards (mostly). This makes them much less likely to have cold solder joints (although not immune to "no solder joints" were one end of a lead was simply never soldered...I've seen lots). But, DIY'ers take note: It makes it MUCH harder to get the parts out of the board. As Monte described, a part in a double sided board is soldered on the "solder side" of the board with the usual conical joint, but, in addition to that, it is also soldered along the length of the lead through the board, and if all went well, should also have a conical joint on  the "parts" side of the board. This requires much better de-soldering equipment and also has more serious consequences if it's not done properly.     What can go wrong? Two things, mainly: 1) The pad on the solder side of the board become detached, leaving nothing to solder the new part to, and 2) The "plate-through" gets pulled out with the lead. What is a plate-through? On a double sided board (one with copper traces on both sides) the holes for the leads are 1st drilled out after etching, and then new copper is plated on to the walls of the hole. These points serve to carry the signal (audio, DC, logic, ground, whatever) from one side of the board to the other. If you pull the plate-through out when you remove a part, you are breaking the circuit. Putting in the new part and soldering it on the solder side of the board does not cure this problem. If you know that you pulled the plate through, you can sometimes solder the lead on both sides of the board, and that will correct the problem (but doesn't help the next guy who replaces that part!).     How do you prevent this from happening? Each lead has to be completely de-soldered and should come out of the board with no force whatsoever (the parts should literally fall out of the board). If there is any doubt at all, inspect each lead when you take it out. If you can see a band of copper around the lead, right were it went through the board, you have pulled the plate-through and must take steps to correct the problem, as mentioned above. I have had some Elite modules through the shop that had some or all of their switches replaced. Unfortunately, the new switches don't make up for the fact that some plate-throughs were pulled when the work was done. These modules exhibit symptoms like "no Left side when stereo solo pressed" etc.. So, my point, finally: If you are an owner of an "E" series console, please, make sure that you have a proper de-soldering station before going the DIY route, or, hire a pro to do the work. Best, Ike Monte McGuire wrote: On Oct 10, 2008, at 6:28 PM, Ike Zimbel wrote: I would just add to this that in my experience with the Series II's that I have worked on, many of the physically larger contacts appear to have questionable soldering. This would apply mainly to the pots and male Molex headers. My read on this is that the soldering irons that were used to manufacture the boards were a bit on the small side. This would have made them okay for soldering resistors, caps, IC sockets etc. but not so good for the big stuff. I totally agree, but I attribute this to a single sided PCB, which cannot have plated through holes.  A single layer of copper laminate is not going to be very strong (the glue strength is it...) compared to a copper pad on each side and a plated through hole, probably filled with solder, to connect them. So... soldering quality IMHO is not a problem, it's the mechanical design of the board. Regards, Monte McGuire [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------ You can unsubscribe at anytime by sending an email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe neotek" in the message body. If you have any difficulties, or questions --please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]. The Neotek list is lovingly hosted by Catapult Web Development. Remember that any message or reply sent to the list will be automatically forwarded to all subscribers.                  Vive Le Neotek ! Thanks. -- Ike Zimbel Zimbel Audio Productions Ltd. Toronto 416-720-0887 "Studio House Calls" - Repairs and upgrades to analog audio equipment including: Amek, Allen & Heath, Neve, Neotek, MCI, Soundcraft and more. ------ You can unsubscribe at anytime by sending an email to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe neotek" in the message body. If you have any difficulties, or questions --please send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The Neotek list is lovingly hosted by Catapult Web Development. Remember that any message or reply sent to the list will be automatically forwarded to all subscribers. Vive Le Neotek ! Thanks.