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Re: [TenTec] Omni C + new Ham = Oops.

To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Omni C + new Ham = Oops.
From: Ken Brown <ken.d.brown@hawaiiantel.net>
Reply-to: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 20:25:05 -1000
List-post: <tentec@contesting.com">mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
"I've had great success using my weller WTCP iron with a 35 watt element and a large chisel tip. and you need lots of solder wick. "
A bigger (higher power) iron means more heat capacity and faster 
heating, so less time to destroy things. A 35 watt is fine. I would not 
try a 15 watt. Even if it is temperature controlled, the big wide tabs 
and PCB copper will sink the heat from the iron and drop the temperature 
below the set value of the iron. But you do not want a higher 
temperature, which will burn things up, like the PCB material, or 
separate the copper from the fiberglass. What you want is a chisel tip 
(sometimes called screwdriver tip) as wide as the collector tab on the 
transistor, on a temperature controlled soldering iron. It does not need 
to be an adjustable temperature iron, but it should be a temperature 
controlled iron. The difference is that with a temperature controlled 
iron, you select a tip (I'm thinking of Weller WTCP and similar irons) 
that gives you a fixed temperature. With an adjustable one you have a 
knob (or up/down buttons) and a readout that lets you set it. In either 
case you want about 700 to 750 Fahrenheit. If you use too low a 
temperature you mess around too long and damage things. If you use too 
high a temperature you burn stuff up.
You want to get in, melt the solder, and wick it away quickly, and get 
out before you cause a lot of damage.
I suggest you find some scrap piece of equipment that has large pieces 
of copper (similarly sized as the power transistor tabs) soldered to the 
PCB and practice a bit unsoldering and resoldering on the expendable 
piece of scrap, before you get into your PA.
DE N6KB



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