Just got a new job, couldn't be more stoked, so I have ???s

[snuffinthepunk]

so for a lil bit I'm gonna be helpin out at Primal Gear in Nashville. Their big project right now is re-building to their own liking an early 70's API console, so I'm gonna help out with that. So now my question is do any of you guys know anything about these old API consoles that might be helpful to me? They basically have the guts of it and are customizing it to their liking with their own designs, but any advice would be appreciated. And also, I admit that I can't explain what a "cold solder joint" is. I can solder just fine, but don't think I'd know a cold solder joint if it hit me in the face. Can anyone explain?

I also have another question that might be more appropriate for the DIY forum, but since I'm posting here I'll ask here. Concerning soldering, what temps do you find appropriate for what different soldering applications? I can solder fairly well, I'm just not down with all the details.

Thanks guys!



Johnny

[puls]

Yea, I think if you moved this to the DIY section you'd get a better response.

good luck, sounds like fun

jwp

[Milkmansound]

look for solder joints that are dull compared to the others, or that look powdery.

for a good look at cold solder joints, open up any piece of behringer gear or a TV set or stereo. Theres usually a bunch in there.

Its called cold solder because the solder does not cool or get heated properly, and only has a limited lifetime as a conductor and glue. Usually some new flow on them brings them back to life.

[snuffinthepunk]

I got a good look at cold solder joints this morning as I practiced for the first time in a while =P could have happend cuz of what I was workin with, I dunno...some radio shack silver solder (soldering iron set to 800) on a cheap radio shack PCB with plain copper tracing and maybe my soldering iron isn't that great? When I went in to work and used their I couldn't have dreamed of having a cold solder....using a (hako?) iron turned all the way up and kester 60/40. I was surprised...I'm actually going to be able to do some real high quality work. Thanks guys.

[bradb]

all the way up isn't the key, you should have an appropriate temperature range to work with, hot enough to heat the components and pads quickly, but not so hot as to toast stuff and delaminate pads within seconds.

After you get a feel for soldering you'll be able to have the iron in one hand the solder in the other and just touch, touch and move on.

you'll find that a bit of solder on the iron gets more contact to the parts and therefore better heat transfer.

after youre done with this console you should be a pro. bring a fan to avoid flux inhalation.

[nlmd311]

Yeah, definitely have a fan around, and wash your hands after using that 60/40.

-Darrill