Just received 2 boards today! 
I've no idea how they are manufacturing the PCB, but it has to be some of the worst SMD soldering I've ever seen. Hopefully they will work when I get a chance to plug them in later.
On the back they have the following version info.
AA-AB012
Ver1.2
A41740
Like pictures posted previously, my boards are caked in flux/rosin residues. Has anyone had any luck removing the flux/rosin from their boards, and what was the best solvent for it?
I've no idea how they are manufacturing the PCB, but it has to be some of the worst SMD soldering I've ever seen. Hopefully they will work when I get a chance to plug them in later.
On the back they have the following version info.
AA-AB012
Ver1.2
A41740
Like pictures posted previously, my boards are caked in flux/rosin residues. Has anyone had any luck removing the flux/rosin from their boards, and what was the best solvent for it?
Hi bongoman
I recieved a Tripath 2 channel board a few days ago.
Same numbering on the back of the pcb as yours.
Tried it briefly and the sound was completely abysmal.
Absolutly no top and wooly muffled bass.
Sort of AM radio at its worst.
Power source was 12v SLA.
Decided to do some of the mods posted previously ie remove cap across the input c3 c24 and removed r3 r16.
Decided to leave c13 and c21 in place for initial tests.
I've never worked with surface mount components before and it 'aint easy is it.
I destroyed some of the tracks and pads.
At the moment I have restored one channel and there is an improvement .
Shurely there is something amiss if running the board with r3 and 16 in place the DC offset is so high ie. in the hundreds ov Mv range. What could be the reason for that configuration.
Without these 2 resistors the offset measures around 20Mv on the working channel.
I am begining to think my board was faulty from the word go as on close inspection there appears to be a short circuit around the channel 1 input pads on the chip.
Hope your board is better than mine but I'm reserving judgement until I get both channel working.
STU
I recieved a Tripath 2 channel board a few days ago.
Same numbering on the back of the pcb as yours.
Tried it briefly and the sound was completely abysmal.
Absolutly no top and wooly muffled bass.
Sort of AM radio at its worst.
Power source was 12v SLA.
Decided to do some of the mods posted previously ie remove cap across the input c3 c24 and removed r3 r16.
Decided to leave c13 and c21 in place for initial tests.
I've never worked with surface mount components before and it 'aint easy is it.
I destroyed some of the tracks and pads.
At the moment I have restored one channel and there is an improvement .
Shurely there is something amiss if running the board with r3 and 16 in place the DC offset is so high ie. in the hundreds ov Mv range. What could be the reason for that configuration.
Without these 2 resistors the offset measures around 20Mv on the working channel.
I am begining to think my board was faulty from the word go as on close inspection there appears to be a short circuit around the channel 1 input pads on the chip.
Hope your board is better than mine but I'm reserving judgement until I get both channel working.
STU
I think I'm going to have a go at removing some of the rosin crud using kerosene or whatever works.
Once I've cleaned things up a bit, having read the problems others have had I'll give the boards a good looking at for shorts and rogue components before plugging them in. If and when I can get any sound out of them, I'll do the various mods and report back.
Having dabbled with SMT reworking in the past, I found that often it's best to flood components with solder to remove them and clean up after with braid/solder pump. Also a small iron is good (15w), ideally temperature controlled. (obviously a hot air rework station is the best option though if you can afford one)
Hopefully these things sound better than an AM radio!
Once I've cleaned things up a bit, having read the problems others have had I'll give the boards a good looking at for shorts and rogue components before plugging them in. If and when I can get any sound out of them, I'll do the various mods and report back.
Having dabbled with SMT reworking in the past, I found that often it's best to flood components with solder to remove them and clean up after with braid/solder pump. Also a small iron is good (15w), ideally temperature controlled. (obviously a hot air rework station is the best option though if you can afford one)
Hopefully these things sound better than an AM radio!
These look good value..
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aoyue-950-Soldering-SMD-Hot-Tweezer-Repairing-station_W0QQitemZ250152976173QQihZ015QQcategoryZ106001QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1728.m124
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aoyue-850A-Hot-Air-SMD-Rework-Station-3-Nozzles-NEW_W0QQitemZ250201303191QQihZ015QQcategoryZ106001QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p1728.m124
Thanks for the replies
At the moment I can't find my solder sucker which hopefully would clean up the area in which I think there is a problem.
The advice on removing SMT components makes sense.
I went at it far to casually.
Can't really raise much enthusiasm for this technology having spent around 60 years playing around with valves.
Sure I think it is the future and I don't doubt that the concept will improve rapidly.
Just can't be bothered to go through the learning process needed to come to terms with it.
The class D boards were just a fun project to find out what they are capable of.
I understand valves. Just a handfull of components and I can have a functioning and virtually indestructable amp in next to no time.
I'll persevere with the Tripath just a bit longer
I posted a question on another tread re the Sure-electronics 4 Channel board but got no replies there.
Thanks again
Stu.
At the moment I can't find my solder sucker which hopefully would clean up the area in which I think there is a problem.
The advice on removing SMT components makes sense.
I went at it far to casually.
Can't really raise much enthusiasm for this technology having spent around 60 years playing around with valves.
Sure I think it is the future and I don't doubt that the concept will improve rapidly.
Just can't be bothered to go through the learning process needed to come to terms with it.
The class D boards were just a fun project to find out what they are capable of.
I understand valves. Just a handfull of components and I can have a functioning and virtually indestructable amp in next to no time.
I'll persevere with the Tripath just a bit longer
I posted a question on another tread re the Sure-electronics 4 Channel board but got no replies there.
Thanks again
Stu.
Although I've yet to hear these sure electronics boards, please don't be put off Tripath/Class-D by them.
I can honestly say that I've not heard many amps that come close to the more powerful Tripath based 41hz.com AMP10-Basic that I built. It was also based on through-hole components, which are a lot easier to build compared to SMT.
I can honestly say that I've not heard many amps that come close to the more powerful Tripath based 41hz.com AMP10-Basic that I built. It was also based on through-hole components, which are a lot easier to build compared to SMT.
I've lifted several pads when working on this thing and also, some of the SMD resistors have slid around very easily when attempting to patch solder onto one of the ends. In fact, spent a bit of time trying to find a loud hum fault and ended up being one of the resistors I had soldered to had come off the pad on the other end ever so slightly creating an open circuit. Its as if the solder is melting at a much lower temperature...Not much experience with SMDs here and what little I have has been disastrous, best to just go ahead and change to a standard component rather than try to play around with these crappy little things...
bongoman said:
bongoman said:
Isopropyl alcohol is what is normally used to remove flux residue when cleaning by hand. It is great at dissolving the residue, evaporates fast, and is safe to use. Don't just scrub the board with alcohol though. You should use a lint free towel or wipe to remove the alcohol from the board after it has dissolved the residue.
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