[toneburst]

Hi Matt,

thanks very much for that!
Mine also has 5 wires, I think. I will try wiring them up the same as yours, and see what happens. Fingers crossed...

Thanks again,

a|x

[toneburst]

Quote

bit offtopic question, maybe any of you know how the lasercut/cnc process manages to fill the holes with paint?
is it same process as cutting - but instead drill bit, it goes with paint tube? my guess

The text and divider lines are engraved, rather than laser-cut I think. I'm no expert, but I imagine it's done with a computer-controlled engraver, which uses something like a small drill bit, or maybe a diamond tip. I guess they probably then fill the engraving with paint.

I'm sure there are some people on the list who have a much better idea about this kind of thing than me, though.

a|x

[toneburst]

OK, my new soldering-iron arrived today. I thought it was pretty likely I'd wrecked the other one by connecting things up wrongly, so I ordered another one. The new one is almost the same as the old one, and the actual iron part is interchangeable, so I thought I'd try the iron from the new one on the old station, and it worked! So, I didn't actually need to buy a new one afterall...

Anyway, I should now be able to get back to soldering.

a|x

[toneburst]

Finally got back to work on the MB-6582 this evening. I must be one of the slowest solderers in the World, I think, but I've finally got all the IC sockets soldered on the main board. Still got lots of components to do though. I have some time off between Christmas and New Year, so hopefully I'll be able to get the bulk of the remaining soldering done then.

a|x

[toneburst]

I've also heard that Wilba's 6582a Mega Sale is due to go ahead, and I've emailed him to confirm my order for 8 of them, which is exciting!

a|x

[nebula]

Your panel is just insanely gorgeous.  I love it.

The Novation knobs in the first pic look really cool ... it would be really tempting to figure out a way to stick some frosted acrylic underneath the panel, peaking out from behind the knobs. You could light it up, creating a little illuminated halo around each knob.  (But that would be a lot of very tedious work).

I've got the "Waldorf" knobs on my MB-6582, in grey.  I find the grey ones a little "tamer" than the white / red ones you see in a lot of pics.  The nicest ones IMHO are on Wilba's prototype, and are sadly no longer available.

[toneburst]

Hi Nebula,

the Liquid Mix knobs are nice, aren't they?

a|x

[toneburst]

I'm having big problems with my soldering at the moment. I must be one of the slowest MIDIBox solderers out there, but I've also been having issues actually making good joints with the board. For some reason, some of the pads on the base PCB seem to repel the solder. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, since I'm soldering all the pads in the same way, but for some reason on some pads, particularly for the legs of the 8-pin DIL sockets, one leg of one of the large PSU capacitors, and a few others, the solder seems to stick to the leg of the component, but just won't adhere to the pad on the board. Anyone any advice? I should probably post this in another thread or something...

Very frustrating.

a|x

[zgba]

Use some sort of resin or flux or something if you're having difficulties. Maybe the soldering pads are oxidised. I make all the PCBs on my own, so I use lots of eeh... this powder you're using in kitchen to wash frying pans and stuff:) How hot is your soldering iron (uhh... don't touch it, rather read it on display;) )?

[baconjuice]

hello Toneburst,

Not sure if this is what you are experiencing but I've had this problem before on pads that are attached to a ground plane. the ground plane acts like a heat sink so the pad doesn't get hot enough for the solder to stick to it. One thing that has worked for me is to turn up the heat and put a little more of the iron on the pad rather than the component. Try not to leave the iron on there too long as high heat can damage some components. As far as being slow with the soldering goes, I wouldn't worry about it. Quality is better than speed when it comes to this.

baconJuice

[toneburst]

Wow, quick replies, thanks guys!

Baconjuice's reply rings a bell, actually. It could easily be that all the pads I've been having problems with are connected to ground. This makes sense, in fact, as I've just been testing the connections between ground and the DIL sockets, and several have failed the test, whereas all the the pins that should have 5V running to them have tested fine.

zgba, I'm running the iron at about 330C, though I'm not completely sure how accurate the temperature control on my solder-station is (it was a really cheap one).

I'll work through your tips, and see what works best for me.

Thank again guys!

a|x

[toneburst]

I made some very stupid mistakes in the PSU section.

I decided, in a moment of madness, to solder up the two large radial capacitors, before installing the two smaller capacitors. Which, obviously made it much harder to install C2 and C4 (I went for PSU Option A, as I'm using Wilba's 6582A SIDs).
Mistake 1

Then, (and this was about midnight last night), I mistakenly installed C2 in the C4 socket.
Mistake 2
I realised I'd screwed up, but only after I'd soldered and trimmed both legs. I managed to desolder it without breaking either leg off, but it's quite possible I've melted it by applying to much heat during the desoldering.
After desoldering, one of the C4 holes was still full of solder, and no matter how much I tried sucking it out with the desoldering pump, I couldn't clear it.
I eventually decided to solder the correct capacitor to the underside of the board. This way, I was able to use the iron to heat the leg, and melt the solder blocking the hole with the leg, until I could push the component through. It looks OK, but again, I've probably trashed the cap with too much heat.

We'll see.

a|x

[chimchim]

Quote

but for some reason on some pads, particularly for the legs of the 8-pin DIL sockets, one leg of one of the large PSU capacitors, and a few others, the solder seems to stick to the leg of the component,

Toneburst,

I had noticed the same issue, essentially there is not enough heat going to the pad with some of those bigger components.  I was able to solder them with only a 15w iron but the key is to make sure to position your tip so that it is making good contact with the pad as well as the component leg.  Make sure the tip is clean, excess solder blobs will worsen the problem.

If all else fails you may need a new/"pointier" tip......I really had to work with some of those smaller pads playing with the angle of approach to ensure I was making good contact

[zgba]

Toneburst,

I'm using similar iron settings, temperature about 290-320C. It depends of the quality of my PCB. But as I said, my PCBs are brand new and shiny, so I don't experience such a problems. Sometimes, especially when I try to solder an IC without a socket and I have to be rather quick, I have problems, cause the solder won't stick to the pad. I use then some resin, and if it doesn't help (sometimes when soldering big electrolytuic caps) I remove the solder with my solder pump, clean the leg with an exacto knife, apply some flux and then try to solder. Too much heat isn't a good solution, cause you can burn all the resin, what makes further soldering impossible.
Sometimes if you can't clear a hole using solder sucker, you can try using a big needle, the one you're using to inject things;) Heat the solder, put the needle and try to move it carefully. With some practice you can even desolder an IC without solder sucker.

Good luck!

[toneburst]

Working my way through the rest of the soldering on the Main Board, I've just realised I soldered the wrong caps into the C4/C24 SID sockets, soooo.. I need to desolder all 8, and solder the correct ones into SID C3/C23.

I'm thinking that it might be easier to snip the incorrectly-placed ones in half and desolder each leg separately. Which means I need to buy replacements.

Sorry for the newbie question, but would these ones fit the bill?

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...A1%7C240%3A1318

or is it better to try and remove them intact, and resolder in the correct place?

a|x

[zgba]

1. Every 1nF cap will do the job.
2. If you're not sure you can desolder this cap without damaging the PCB, do it like you described. It's always easier to replace a $0,01 part than a PCB... This cap is neither made of gold nor an 1% expensive one, so do it if you think you should:)

[toneburst]

Hi zgba,

I'll buy those ones then, and break the old ones to get them out.
Cheers for the info!

a|x

[Wilba]

I always avoid desoldering whenever possible. If you absolutely must desolder a part from a PCB and don't need to keep it, cut it on the component side so you can desolder one lead at a time. Sometimes desoldering might involve adding more solder to heat up the entire joint so you can pull the lead out from the component side, and then using a solder sucker (desoldering pump) to suck out the solder from the joint. You just do not want to rip the pads off the PCB, as fixing this is really annoying.

Of course if you're desoldering something you want to keep from a PCB you'll never use again, then you can be brutal and repeatedly heat joints and wiggle a part out of the holes.

[toneburst]

Hi wilba!

Thanks for the tips. You're right- I really don't want to damage the PCB. I've ordered a load of replacement caps, anyway, so I'll just do as you suggest, and cut the misplaced ones in half and try and desolder the remains a leg at a time. I've got a desoldering pump, and braid, too (though I'm not sure how to use the braid, really).

Incidentally, any more tips re soldering to pads connected to the ground plane on the MB-6582 main board? I'm still having trouble getting the pads hot enough for the solder to stick, without melting the component.

a|x

[zgba]

Desoldering wick is good when you have to desolder a smd part or a standard, thru-hole element soldered to a small pad. If you have difficulties using desoldering wick, add some resin or liquid flux or anything you use to solder, and the wick will do the trick (yo, nigga!). I desoldered YAC512 and YMF262 using only braid, iron, resin and a needle. As Wilba said - sometimes it's better to add some amount of solder and then try to suck/wick it. About soldering to ground plane - use some sort of flux, maybe some soldering paste, then try to reheat and resolder whole thing.