Roll Call: Who's building, built, or thinking of building a beta22?

[el_matt0]

yea i read SOME of them i only had no idea there is like 60 pages in each of the threads. got thru most of nates posts last night...i think at this point my plan is, once i GET the thing running (assuming i manage that) ill take care of the hum at that point. ill probably start by trying various combinations of adding a smaller enclosure to suround the trafo and putting some kind of material on the inside of that. also repositionining and rotating the trafo like nate said sometimes helped. if all else fails, ill just move the trafo to an external enclosure like several have suggested. ill get back to you about my progress with the rectifier diodes, still working on unsoldering and repositioning them!

 

[el_matt0]

question, when heating up solder joints from underneath with desolderiing braid or whatnot, how long is "too long" to heat the component for? i realize they get very hot, very quickly, but have no real gauge of how much heat it would take to actually permanently damage any of the components? i know some say that when forming a solder joint, 5 seconds is the max you want to take, but to be honest, its definitely taking more than 5 seconds to even get the solder flowing on some of my old joints. im using a hakko936 on max setting too so maybe im just doing something wrong...

 

[kklee]

What size and type of braid are you using? How are you using it?

I find that .075" braid that has rosin impregnated in it works well. Make sure your iron tip is tinned since you have to have good heat transfer to the braid (and to the solder).

I set my Weller station to its max setting when desoldering with braid and the braid will absorb solder in a couple of seconds. It usually takes several passes (with cooling time in between each pass) since the small braid will saturate quite quickly.

 

[el_matt0]

hmm, i have 0.050 and 0.10 " desoldering braids. ive mainly been trying the 0.1, maybe the thinner would be better. it doesnt mention anything about impregnated rosin though! i just got the 936 for my birthday, so i doubt thats the issue whatsoever. the braid im using now however seems to soak up virtually none of the solder however, or at least in such small amounts i feel like ill next actually get it OUT of the joint!!

 

[el_matt0]

based on my knowledge of soldering principles...maybe my lack of rosin in the soldering braid could explain the problem..what seems to be the issue for me is that it often takes quite a few seconds (or longer) for the stubborn joint to reflow...often it only really starts going once a bit of flux has visibly melted around the perimeter first. getting the solder to melt THRU my desoldering braid is another story altogether..doesnt seem to be workign the way it should. i didnt really know there was diff grades of desoldering braid, this is juts cheap stuff from a local store, maybe i should try something else?

 

[kklee]

I use this:
http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/400braid.html

 

[n_maher]

Despite repeated attempts I've never been able to clear a hole using only braid. I find it much easier to use a pump. The one exception is small ground plane holes where sometimes regardless of what I do solder seems to get trapped in between the two ground planes and never comes out. In those cases I just use the heat and stick method.

 

[el_matt0]

heat & stick?

 

[el_matt0]

@ kklee. HMM, same stuff as ive got! i just have smaller spools, but ive got yellow (0.05") and blue (0.1"). i was trying with my VERY fine chisel tip on last night and the 0.1 " braid. maybe ill have better luck with a slightly larger iron tip along with the thinner braid!

 

[thrice]

put the braid on the joint, then the soldering iron and flow just a little bit of solder onto the braid from your spool, just to get things flowing...sometimes that helps.

But seriously, get some breadboard and practice..it took me a little while, but once you get it, it can be easier than solder pumps.

 

[koike]

hey matt try using a sucker?

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by el_matt0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif heat & stick?

Yeah, heat the joint and stick whatever you want to go in there, in there. Not recommended but it can be done, even with multi-leg/hole arrangements. Most of the time I find a way to clear the hole but sometimes there's just no getting the solder out of there unless your name is Stephen.

[size=xx-small]ok, ok, i'll get some breadboard and work on my braid technique[/size]

 

[el_matt0]

argh okay so being realistic with myself i think its going to be more hassle than anything else trying to minimize trafo hum with it this close. took the plunge and reordered a fresh back panel from parmetal today, im gunna keep the 5 boards in the main chassis, and have my trafo in a separate enclosure. couple questions regarding this, so now, all i will have going between the chassis are 4 wires (secondaries) right? for connectors, i remember having trouble finding a place to order these before, just looking through the redco site, will any of these work? http://www.redco.com/shopdisplayprod...con+Connectors

also, anyone have suggestions on a place i might look to order an appropriately sized case for trafo, just realized par metal doesnt make anything that small in a 20 series. so long as its anodized black it should match just fine.

 

[el_matt0]

after more careful reading, the powercon series is only 3 pole i believe, obviously i need 4 pole so would something like the speakon work?
http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=229

 

[n_maher]

Matt,

There are 4-pole versions of the Speakon series, IIRC, and they should be fine for carrying the AC voltage and current you're dealing with. I personally tend to avoid right angle connectors whenever possible, they've always caused me more grief than good.

For cable you might try your local hardware store or Home Depot/Lowes, the bulk cable section usually has pretty reasonably priced stuff ($1/ft).