Any tips on soldering the Dual sided WOB Control boards? and back pane board?
and Tips on checking the Top Side for good solder Joint?
What temp is recommended and what Temp do you use?
I also use the Kester No clean .031 1.1% and Kester Rosin .031 3.3%
I will have to try the 959T flux. I rarely use my paste.
I also use the 91% Isopropyl Alcohol sold at Walgreens w a tooth brush to clean afterwards and than a rag.
or / and if the boards are old and full of old flux and what ever that sticky old stuff is lol (I do this before and after soldering) I will spread (or spill) or spray the Isopropyl Alcohol over the board and use the toothbrush to clean it, than I clean it up w a rag. (and also inspecting the board for looses parts)
Than I will do it again until it somewhat clean than I spay it again but this time I put a Clean Rag over it and use the Tooth Bruch to clean it But the rag will catch the pins but I keep brushing it (best rags are the thinner ones, I have tried Paper Towels but that just made a big mesh)
If the old board are still dirty and not smooth yet , I will do it again, than just in the Dirty area , It's Amazing how good the boards look afterword's (like smooth again).
Any tips on soldering the Dual sided WOB Control boards? and back pane board?
Too many variables, i.e tip size, wattage of iron, the persons experience soldering etc..... The tip size, should match the pad width, too much heat will F%$# up some boards. 80 watt iron MINIMUM for doing back planes..... Using 800 degrees is needed for the Pem nuts. And remember, those old PL boards were junk BEFORE they were brazed together by the old ladies at the factory. Get a piggy bank and save for your WOPL upgrades boys..... Take your time and be methodical. They also make practice solder boards, that's where you want to hone your skills and also using the correct materials makes the job easier. I soldered about 1000 boards before they turned me loose on fighter jet stuff. You just can't hurry it.
Don't worry about the component side of the board. If you are getting good flow, a proper meniscus/fillet, nice shiny joints on the solder side, skip the added heat required to get perfect joints on both sides. Technically, when soldering, the leads should be trimmed to 1 width of the component lead off the board before making the solder joint (For several reasons). We were graded (Military School) on the solder side. You cannot always get full flow through to the component side of the board because some ground planes or wider power busses tend to wick a fair amount of heat away from the joint. If you stay on the solder connection longer that about 3 seconds, you will run the risk of putting too much heat to the components. Look at a computer board which has been Wave Soldered, the component side are sometimes bare of solder. If the solder side of the board has a nice fillet, your mechanical connection is fine. Now, using heat sinks (like little Joe's), you can work on the joint a little longer but it takes experience to get it right and get it past the inspectors who passed or failed our work. Overheated solder is just as bad as a cold solder joint. As you solder, adjust your temp up or down to get the desired results. Many of us here can tell how bad the solder joints look on the solder side, just by looking at the mess on the component side. If you are working both sides of the board trying to get perfect joints, you may be putting too much heat on your components and while they may act fine, heat is our enemy and kills the component over time and may not last as long as a component soldered correctly. Some of us could set our irons on 800 and not cause any harm as we are on and off the connection in about 2-3 seconds but this takes experience. Many say I have a piss poor attitude for critiquing some of the solder jobs on these very pages but some of the shoddy soldering pings Joe's reputation as a top shelf Engineer. Some should have paid the extra cash to buy assembled boards. Joe spent years getting these boards perfected and one guy pissing and moaning about mr attitude blasting their terrible WELDING techniques can have lasting repercussions. If the solder joints look like they were done with "Big Bertha" (used for soldering generators on aircraft), I'll say something. If the dudes bad workmanship causes failures/issues (and it does), people see that and talk down the quality of the kits which is wrong. First thing Joe or Lee will ask for when helping troubleshoot one of those abortions is "WE NEED GOOD PICS". You can see in 2 seconds where to look with the overheated/solder balls/dirty boards/no attention to detail or directions and if yer asking for help from these guys, who are very busy, you need to be prepared to hear what you don't want to hear. I do just like my instructors/inspectors did to us in school..... I'll say "tear it apart and start over". Our solder techniques reflect on White Oak (at least in my book) and if it's butchered, I have no issues sayin so.
This isn't directed at anybody, before school, my soldering was called "Micro-Welding" with the bigger the blob, the better the job....... Our solder jobs should make Joe proud. He spent the time to do it right, so should we. Sorry for the blah blah blah.
