I just got in my second roll of .4mm(.015") rosin core solder. The first roll was a 1/2 lb one. I got it in 2005. This one is a full pound! Apparently at that rate I will need to reorder some time around my 100th birthday!
I bought a 5lb spool of Kester 44 in 1969 and always joked about it being a lifetime supply. Looks like I was right.
I did not choose the Metcal Tweezers but both a fine and an ultra-fine pen
on the MX5200 at the same time. That is more flexible. One for 0402..1206
and the other for thru-hole and "normal"-sized cables. And to remove a chip resistor,
one can heat both ends at once.
WRT unsolder braid, there are huge quality differences. Some don't work at all,
other makes are just wonderful. MG Chemicals SuperWick is quite OK. I had even
better, but don't remember where from.
I also have really good 0.25mm solder wire, but it contains Pb and I can't get more.
It has a good flux, too.
Digikey has solder wire down to 0.2mm, but Pb-less and €65 for a tiny roll.
I had it on my order list but postponed it.
MDSWLF.006 50G
< Blocked >
on the MX5200 at the same time. That is more flexible. One for 0402..1206
and the other for thru-hole and "normal"-sized cables. And to remove a chip resistor,
one can heat both ends at once.
WRT unsolder braid, there are huge quality differences. Some don't work at all,
other makes are just wonderful. MG Chemicals SuperWick is quite OK. I had even
better, but don't remember where from.
I also have really good 0.25mm solder wire, but it contains Pb and I can't get more.
It has a good flux, too.
Digikey has solder wire down to 0.2mm, but Pb-less and €65 for a tiny roll.
I had it on my order list but postponed it.
MDSWLF.006 50G
< Blocked >
Last edited:
I find the ultra fine pen and cartridges useless if one pad is grounded by in-pad vias (on 4 layers boards). 63-37 with 7- cartridges or lead free with 8- cartridges can't make the solder to flow. It calls for the fine (larger) pen with a chisel cartridge (or the old Weller) to solder on these pads. Or preheating the board, which is annoying if you have to rework one resistor or cap.
The Metcal tweezer is amazing, it saves money and pays for itself if you count how many expensive parts can be reworked without incidents.
The Metcal tweezer is amazing, it saves money and pays for itself if you count how many expensive parts can be reworked without incidents.
I solder nearly everything with the UltraFine, even SMA end launchers
that are massive metal structures in comparison, with many GND vias added.
The Not-Ultra-Fine pencil is not even on the work table but on the table
behind me where the drill press is.
BTW does the DigiKey link work for you? I see the text <blocked> but it works.
cheers, Gerhard.
that are massive metal structures in comparison, with many GND vias added.
The Not-Ultra-Fine pencil is not even on the work table but on the table
behind me where the drill press is.
BTW does the DigiKey link work for you? I see the text <blocked> but it works.
cheers, Gerhard.
Yes the link works to the German site.
That allows me to get to:
Blocked
Which also works for me! When I drop the "ttps://" I get...
www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/...CBcDaIMoFkAicDqAZAYgOgAy4DYBWXAcQFoA5JEAXQF8g
That allows me to get to:
Blocked
Which also works for me! When I drop the "ttps://" I get...
www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/...CBcDaIMoFkAicDqAZAYgOgAy4DYBWXAcQFoA5JEAXQF8g
Last edited:
I find the ultra fine pen and cartridges useless if one pad is grounded by in-pad vias (on 4 layers boards). 63-37 with 7- cartridges or lead free with 8- cartridges can't make the solder to flow. It calls for the fine (larger) pen with a chisel cartridge (or the old Weller) to solder on these pads. Or preheating the board, which is annoying if you have to rework one resistor or cap.
The Metcal tweezer is amazing, it saves money and pays for itself if you count how many expensive parts can be reworked without incidents.
I also use the bigger tips, especially with the P in part number.
The tweezers I have never really liked that much, but we do have limited tips for those. I normally use both sides of the simultaneous output Metcal or two separate irons instead of the tweezers.
It does seem to me like solder wick, even the name-brand stuff, doesn't seem to work as well as it used to? Dunno if there's been a change in the impregnated flux, or maybe it's just my imagination. I used to buy big rolls of Chem-Wik in the 0.1" size that got me in & out of most jobs without fuss. But these days I have to be sure to soak it with more flux or it just doesn't seem to happen. This is one of the main reasons I finally loosened up and spent some money on a Hakko vacuum gun (sure glad I did).
Solder wick doesn't seem to work as well with lead free solder. Nothing really beats a good desoldering tool. I am always tempted to modify a commercial unit as I have both shop compressed air and vacuum.
I do have a "project" Neve mixing console that one modification is to change two capacitors. However as it is all tightly packed surface mount components, my hot air tool is not an option for the work. (A Neve not a Rupert!)
I do have a "project" Neve mixing console that one modification is to change two capacitors. However as it is all tightly packed surface mount components, my hot air tool is not an option for the work. (A Neve not a Rupert!)
I go through de-soldering wick faster than I go through solder. I should buy a copper mine.
Same here
Immediately above, Jakob2 writes
If you're doing that, you might find that it works acceptably well with the vastly cheaper desoldering braid sold by Chinese vendors on eBay.It often helps to drop a strip of the wick into a good liquid flux (in dependence of the solder type to be removed) before use.
I have a book The Art of Circuitry written by American experts Paul Horowitz of Harvard University and Winfield Hill of Rowland Institute of Science, Cambridge, Massachusetts. , which I read back in 1989. there is just described the influence of the dielectric of the capacitors in the sampling circuits. It can be assumed that a similar effect will take place in amplifiers. But how strong it really was in the measurements shown by dadod. Moreover, for example, a Teflon dielectric also has disadvantages. Rather, it was just about Teflon, not polystyrene. https://www.elspecgroup.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Coaxial_Cables_1-3.pdf
Oh yeah, there's been a new edition since 1989.
The Art of Electronics 3rd Ed. April 2015
Bob Pease covered the DA thing for sample and holds and integrating A/D's (both virtually obsolete technology). For AC circuits like audio the effects are trivial.
I recall that article has a collection of capacitors and resistors in a feedback loop that when carefully adjusted cancels a sample-and-hold capacitor's DA to a remarkable degree.
I've wondered how (and if) DA can affect audio, as the resistances in series with these "phantom" capacitors are in the megohm and up range. This could only affect the gain or frequency response to a very small fraction of a dB in most any audio circuit. Everything is linear so nothing can cause harmonic distortion.
But it's a fascinating phenomenon.
I better not touch that ...I pointed this out years ago but of course there was a financial interest in avoiding any scientific discussion.
...For AC circuits like audio the effects are trivial. I pointed this out years ago but of course there was a financial interest in avoiding any scientific discussion.
Whether you can impute financial interest or not, seems more likely that you met resistance trying to claim what may have been perceived as proof people can't hear something they plainly do hear, and which they attribute (correctly or not) to DA.
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