How tough is the PC-L?

[brett]

With the current Flashing campaign about to commence for the now renamed PC-L I have a question. This has been my first saber build, and when wiring up my PC-L I realised I needed a thinner gauge wire (for more room) This, combined with my inexperience with a soldering iron, has given my board, I think, a bit of a 'rough ride'. Now that we need to de-solder everything I am wondering if my board will take me attempting that, with the 'yet untried by me' copper braid, as well as re-soldering eventually. So, are these boards tougher than I perceive (mine still works, it has just gotten quite warm sometimes, even slight burns on the LED connection) or will they fry with too much heavy handedness. I realise this is all relative, but some idea from the pros would be appreciated. Also is there a service I could pay for to re-wire up my board?

[cannibal869]

Soldering skills come with time.
Having the correct tools helps greatly (but obviously costs money). You already touched on two things that would greatly help you in the future - a nice hot iron with sharp tip and thinner gauge wire.

As for the "toughness" of the PC board, if there's a board that can survive what you describe, I would favor the PC and CF.
You could ask Michael / MH if he's willing to help out, but I suspect with the incoming onslaught of PC reflashes that he'll be busy for a while yet.

[xl97]

With the current Flashing campaign about to commence for the now renamed PC-L I have a question. This has been my first saber build, and when wiring up my PC-L I realised I needed a thinner gauge wire (for more room) This, combined with my inexperience with a soldering iron, has given my board, I think, a bit of a 'rough ride'. Now that we need to de-solder everything I am wondering if my board will take me attempting that, with the 'yet untried by me' copper braid, as well as re-soldering eventually. So, are these boards tougher than I perceive (mine still works, it has just gotten quite warm sometimes, even slight burns on the LED connection) or will they fry with too much heavy handedness. I realise this is all relative, but some idea from the pros would be appreciated. Also is there a service I could pay for to re-wire up my board?

IMHO.. they are fairly resilient.. I mean if you use the correct gauge wire and secure your wires correctly so they dont tug or pull on the PADS form the board. you shouldnt have any problems.

tips:
small gauge wire
small gauge solder wire
small solder tip on iron

also secure your board (somehow) to the hilt..so things dont fly around..

that being said.. I think MH said that after the back-log is caught up FOR A FEE he 'might' do some extra service work on removal or installs or something to the effect.


I would triple check your board for any solder bridges or slop anywhere..

[Skottsaber]

Totally agree that soldering comes with practice (like most things). A lot of it is self discovery and building technique, so the more you do it the better you'll become. I highly recommend some small kit projects that you can get from most electronics stores. They give you some nice practice and you also get a nice little gizmo you can use (FM radio kits are quite common).

[jin starkiller]

very true that soldering comes with time

what do you recommend guage for wire up PC

[Silver Serpent]

Tim sells some 26 gauge stranded wire in the store that works very well with the PC. I'd recommend getting a good set of wire strippers, if you don't already have one. It's flexible enough that you don't have any trouble during installation.

[Takanis]

26 gauge seems to work best for me. If you need wires in tight areas, you could try to source some flat ribbon wire.

[Zook]

Its a pretty tough board on most of the connections because they are through hole. The only really weak pads are the support pads for the SD holder since its not through hole but you shouldn't be pulling on the SD holder or soldering on that (or glue/put double sided tape on it).

The biggest thing that may cause a problem would be using a non ESD safe iron (though most do not have an ESD safe iron) since you can fry the circuitry because of this...though that is not that common.

Not soliciting here but if you send the board to be flashed with some wires I will solder the leads on for you for a small fee as a courtesy so that way you do not have to solder to the board. It may take a little extra time over the normal flashing but not a big deal. You would have to add a note in the box and also be sure to PM/email me.

[brett]

Thanks so much everyone for that informative feedback, just proves what a great community this is. And Zook, that is a very much appreciated offer.

[FenderBender]

It's hard to find here in the states, but strong 28ga wire is best. Whatever gauge wire you get, get as many colors available in it as you can. The more you do this, you'll find that you need more colors to distinguish things, especially when you start using quick connects/modular connectors on everything (like me). Also, solder your wires so that they 'point' inwards or towards the center of the board. This will help greatly in fitting everything in the hilt. Also, nice tip on getting great connections: I usually strip the wire longer than needed when I'm going to be soldering to a pad, I then 'twist' the wire so that no loose strands can interfere or bridge things. Then I tin the wire and bend it if needed, then I TRIM the wire to the size of the pad. I do the twisting every time, helps make for strong, clean connections and especially if you have to go 'through hole' like on PC/CF accent pads.

[Skottsaber]

Twist wires +1

ALWAYS TIN EVERYTHING - My rule of thumb. ;)

[Crystal Chambers]

It's hard to find here in the states, but strong 28ga wire is best. Whatever gauge wire you get, get as many colors available in it as you can. The more you do this, you'll find that you need more colors to distinguish things, especially when you start using quick connects/modular connectors on everything (like me). Also, solder your wires so that they 'point' inwards or towards the center of the board. This will help greatly in fitting everything in the hilt. Also, nice tip on getting great connections: I usually strip the wire longer than needed when I'm going to be soldering to a pad, I then 'twist' the wire so that no loose strands can interfere or bridge things. Then I tin the wire and bend it if needed, then I TRIM the wire to the size of the pad. I do the twisting every time, helps make for strong, clean connections and especially if you have to go 'through hole' like on PC/CF accent pads.

That is excellent advice that I learned myself trial and error and by watching build threads. I also made the bad mistake of not tinning my iron enough and wiping it on the wet sponge to keep the heat transfer from the tip at the max. I was holding the iron on it too long because the solder wouldn't heat up...bad stuff. Not tinning my iron tip resulted in burning out a few pads that I was very lucky to salvage the board. I still haven't gotten good with copper braid myself but you'd be surprised what a solder sucker can do. I've even had good results from a simple bulb version.

[Skottsaber]

I learned that solder braid becomes 99% more effective when you tin it very slightly (again, my rule of thumb - tin everything).
The tin melted onto it will help melt the solder you want to wick off.

[Azmaria Dei]

I learned that solder braid becomes 99% more effective when you tin it very slightly (again, my rule of thumb - tin everything).
The tin melted onto it will help melt the solder you want to wick off.

an excellent tip to be sure. but not too much though.

[Skottsaber]

Yeah, by slightly I mean a VERY small amount.

[cardcollector]

Twist wires +1

ALWAYS TIN EVERYTHING - My rule of thumb. ;)

QFT! Twist n' Tin. That's my motto.