Circuit Board Soldering Refresher

[TromboneAl]

Well, I've got the soldering iron out again. The Panasonic DVR died last night, and the Internets told me that it was caused not by DW pushing the wrong buttons, but by the failure of two capacitors (as seen here).

They were indeed bad, and I've removed them. Yay for the Internets!

Here are my questions:

1. Should I do any cleaning of the connection on the board before soldering in the new caps?

2. Should I invest in a better soldering iron than this 40 W model?

View attachment 3882

Thanks.

 

[ls99]

1. No
2. No

 

[Nords]

1. Should I do any cleaning of the connection on the board before soldering in the new caps?

Only if the old caps splattered debris around (they flamed out, right?) that could ground other components or smolder when the DVR heats back up. Otherwise the flux & solder will take care of cleaning the connection.

2. Should I invest in a better soldering iron than this 40 W model?

40 watts on a circuit board? Move fast! Does the iron have a lower-power setting to try first?

How many Radio Shack clerks did it take before they found one old enough to know [-]what a capacitor was[/-] where the capacitors were stocked?

 

[smileydog]

Grab an old damp sponge and clean the tip before you begin and you should be good to go. If the solder is heavy - I would use a solder-sucker if you have one or some of the solder sucking braided wire to tidy things up. Most of these new ckt boards are tight for space so you don't want to short anything out.

I have all the benchwork accessories but they mostly gather dust these days. It's kinda fun when I have something to fix like that.

Enjoy!

 

[ls99]

How many Radio Shack clerks did it take before they found one old enough to know [-]what a capacitor was[/-] where the capacitors were stocked?

They called the old retired regional manager who used to know an old tech.

 

[TromboneAl]

Thanks for the tips.

How many Radio Shack clerks

Actually, the clerks don't have to know. I just call and say "Part # 272-1032," and they say "we have six in stock."