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RCA soldering on a PCB?

yavormoskov

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Hello, I have Burson Fun amplifier with very oxidized RCAs. They are dual vertical RCA-207MF. I ordered them from China and probably in a month will receice them. Each is soldered to the PCB with 3 pins. I don't have any tools but I saw they sell micro soldering tolls on Amazon for $16-17. Is it easy to desolder and solder myself these connectors? Also, what kind of solder to use?
 

Killingbeans

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How much experience do you have with soldering? Have you used solder wick or a solder sucker/vacuum/pump before?
 
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yavormoskov

yavormoskov

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How much experience do you have with soldering? Have you used solder wick or a solder sucker/vacuum/pump before?
0 experience, but earlier this year I did not have any PC assembling experience and now I have PC assembled by me from scratch. I think I have good manual dexterity in general so I am not afraid to try soldering.
 

Wombat

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Hello, I have Burson Fun amplifier with very oxidized RCAs. They are dual vertical RCA-207MF. I ordered them from China and probably in a month will receice them. Each is soldered to the PCB with 3 pins. I don't have any tools but I saw they sell micro soldering tolls on Amazon for $16-17. Is it easy to desolder and solder myself these connectors? Also, what kind of solder to use?

How to solder - a basic guide.

Get hold of some old disposable PC boards for practice before working on the burson.
 

DonH56

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Killingbeans

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It does require a bit of training if you want to minimize the risk of a bad/cold solder joint.

Soldering is not that hard, but desoldering can be a bit more troublesome for a beginner. Especially large ground pins can be a pain in the ass.

I'd recommend finding some scrap electronics to practice on first (like Wombat says). You can even post some pictures of the result, and let us spot any mistakes.

Once you feel confident, you can start working on the Burson.
 
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yavormoskov

yavormoskov

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It does require a bit of training if you want to minimize the risk of a bad/cold solder joint.

Soldering is not that hard, but desoldering can be a bit more troublesome for a beginner. Especially large ground pins can be a pain in the ass.

I'd recommend finding some scrap electronics to practice on first (like Wombat says). You can even post some pictures of the result, and let us spot any mistakes.

This is a good idea. I have still the 15 year old motherboard from the old PC. So it is a great idea to practice. The part that really pissed me off is that this particular kind of RCA connectors are found only from one vendor on aliexpress and it would cost me $1.85 for two double connectors. And they look absolutely identical to the ones on my Burson Fun amp. And I am sure Burson paid a lot less for the connectors. Do you know how much they charge for this amp?!! Unbelievable. So I figured this would happen again with this fake gold RCAs so I saw this product DeoxIT Gold to protect and condition gold contacts so will try it on the brand new ones when I receive them in a month.
 

DonH56

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Wombat

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I not so recently and reluctantly offered to check the non-operating cruise control on a friends early '80s Mercedes 180E.

The problem appeared to be some bloated and leaking electrolytic capacitors - standard values that I had in my parts stash. All is good, so just replace them.

Well, my solder station(50W +) iron just sat on the solder unless I maxed it into the red and even then it was slowish working. I should have stopped there(out of practice) and found someone with a more powerful iron. I got the caps out OK but also lifted/removed PCB tracks. Board ruined.
I suspect these control boards were early production lead-free solder items.

After a very long time scanning Ebay, I picked up a used working replacement from the US for $AU70 delivered to Oz(vs 250 to 350 usually asked).

I couldn't charge my friend for it as it was my fault that the $2 job was ruined.

Lesson: soldering PCB components is a quick on/off discipline. I got lulled by non-pcb guitar amp building. o_O
 
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yavormoskov

yavormoskov

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I not so recently and reluctantly offered to check the non-operating cruise control on a friends early '80s Mercedes 180E.

The problem appeared to be some bloated and leaking electrolytic capacitors - standard values that I had in my parts stash. All is good, so just replace them.

Well, my solder station(50W +) iron just sat on the solder unless I maxed it into the red and even then it was slowish working. I should have stopped there(out of practice) and found someone with a more powerful iron. I got the caps out OK but also lifted/removed PCB tracks. Board ruined.
I suspect these control boards were early production lead-free solder items.

After a very long time scanning Ebay, I picked up a used working replacement from the US for $AU70 delivered to Oz(vs 250 to 350 usually asked).

I couldn't charge my friend for it as it was my fault that the $2 job was ruined.

Lesson: soldering PCB components is a quick on/off discipline. I got lulled by non-pcb guitar amp building. o_O

That is a very, very informative story. My plan was to buy super cheap, almost disposable, iron but apparently to invest in a good quality soldering station is a must. Thank you.
 

DonH56

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If it uses lead-free solder your task will be significantly harder.
 
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yavormoskov

yavormoskov

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boXem

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early '80s Mercedes 180E

I suspect these control boards were early production lead-free solder items.
LOL, Mercedes were amongst the first OEM to introduce lead free, in the mid 2000's. Why not just admit that your skills at soldering have some improvement margin ;).
 

KozmoNaut

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That is a very, very informative story. My plan was to buy super cheap, almost disposable, iron but apparently to invest in a good quality soldering station is a must. Thank you.
Get a decent quality soldering station with temperature control.

Something like a Hakko 888 will last forever, give you consistent performance and has easily available replacement tips and other parts.
 

Wombat

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LOL, Mercedes were amongst the first OEM to introduce lead free, in the mid 2000's. Why not just admit that your skills at soldering have some improvement margin ;).


OK on the not lead-free. :oops:

My soldering skills are fine(not SMD). Lots of use over nearly 50 years.

Can you explain the very high melting point of the solder?? That was the problem.
 
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KozmoNaut

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It can be tricky to get old solder flowing again, it sort of "sets" over the years.

Try melting some fresh solder into it while you're heating it up, that will give you a much larger contact patch to the old solder, and get the heat into it better.
 

Killingbeans

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Just get some standard 60/40 solder and you should be fine.

+1
Go for some standard 60/40 solder of good quality. High quality lead-free isn't that bad to work with (makes some serious brain melting fumes, though), but 60/40 is a safe bet for a beginner.

So probably the so-called "audiophile" solders are just a myth.

True. Some of the fancy solder do however have a lower melting point than 60/60, making it a tad easier to work with.

Still doesn't make it worth the extra money.... at all.

Get a decent quality soldering station with temperature control.

Something like a Hakko 888 will last forever, give you consistent performance and has easily available replacement tips and other parts.

Yes, get a Hakko or a Weller and you'll have a tool for a lifetime. It will also make soldering a walk in the park compared to using a cheap iron.

Can you explain the very high melting point of the solder?? That was the problem.

The surface of solder joints oxidize over time, especially in the environment a car offers. It lowers the thermal conductivity significantly.

Some old cheap PCBs are just a nightmare to work on if you don't have the right tools ;)
 
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