Soldering

[NavLinear]

So what did you clean it with? It seems to be quite the challange.

 

[speakerman1]

They make a conformal coating removal pen. Also have Dichloromethane also. John told me to solder to a bare trace if I can. I will if I can get one clean enough. I could P2P solder it. WOW I must be brain dead.

 

[jbeckva]

It is getting there. I clean try to solder. Stuff weeps out of the board when I throw heat to it. So I heat and clean. The solder is starting to stick. Or should I say tring to stick. LOL Laughing a lot must be the fumes. LOLOLOLOL

That's those "flux boogers" I keep referrin' too.. I got 'em now.. woooooo!

 

[mlucitt]

When I had that problem on the ship, an old tech rep showed me a trick. He used a pencil eraser to lightly abrade the surface and the solder stuck with no problem. He explained that the rubber has just enough abrasive in it to polish without removing any gold or other metal.

Good luck,
Mark

 

[jbeckva]

When I had that problem on the ship, an old tech rep showed me a trick. He used a pencil eraser to lightly abrade the surface and the solder stuck with no problem. He explained that the rubber has just enough abrasive in it to polish without removing any gold or other metal.

Good luck,
Mark

Yep, been there too. The old automated test station I worked on had 80 universal switch cards, 15 or so power supply controllers/AFG's/etc, and a big ole cage up top that was the main analog measurement section. Every one of them had typical card-edge connectors.

The first thing you did when there was "trouble"... find the card causing it, take it out and hit the edge with an eraser. And smack those mercury relays for good measure too!

 

[speakerman1]

Does anyone use Kester 48?

 

[mlucitt]

I think mine is Kester 282, it says 4% silver and 96% Sn (Tin). From their website:

Kester 282 mildly activated rosin flux core consists of high quality Grade WW rosin to which a very small amount of an extremely effective activating agent has been incorporated.
Kester 282 rosin-cored solder has been developed for use in the electronics industry where a more active flux than plain rosin is required but where highly activated fluxes are considered potentially conductive. Rosin core 282 has particular application where difficult assemblies are to be soldered but the flux residue must be electrically inert.
Kester 282 rosin-core provides a greatly increased fluxing ability. However, the residue is nearly as electrically inert as plain, unactivated rosin flux. The low conductivity results from a negligible amount of ionic residue. The low ionic content in the flux is shown by the very high water extract resistivity. The rosin residue is non-corrosive, moisture and fungus resistant, and non-conductive.

Here is what they say about Kester 48:
Kester 48 Activated Rosin Flux for cored solder wire was developed for lead-free applications to enable soldering of most common metals. Kester 48 has performance characteristics far exceeding standard RA fluxes. Kester 48 builds on the performance of its predecessor Kester 44 with “instant-action” wetting to provide fast and reliable solder joints.
The 48 residues are non-conductive, non-corrosive and do not require removal in most applications. The flux residues are comparable to a conventional RA.

http://www.kester.com/SideMenu/DataSheets.aspx

 

[speakerman1]

Dudes. I just got the solder. I feel really bad. It isn't #48. It is 58/275. 96.5Ag3Cu . 5. It is about 140.00 a lb. I have to contact them and tell them. That is just wrong.

 

[mlucitt]

I don't understand. 58 is the core size, so you get a bit more flux than 48. The flux is still 275, which is good and this is 3% silver non-lead solder. What diameter did you buy? What is the problem?

http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/kester/spooled-wire-solder/275-lead-free.htm

 

[speakerman1]

96.5 silver 3.5 copper. Never mind I read it wrong. A spool is about 100.00-140.00 That is why I thought 96.5 silver. O well I goofed all the time. LOL I only paid 20.00

 

[mlucitt]

Can you take a picture of what the end of the spool looks like so we can tell what you really bought? I think what you might have is lead-free solder, a combination of 96.5% Tin and 3% Silver and .5% Copper. It is relatively common and normally comes with a flux core, in your case the flux ID# is 275 and it is 58 core size or 2.2% flux by weight.

 

[speakerman1]

Am shaking like a dog crapping peach seeds. LOL Here are 2 pics.