nwnugget's Gremlin build
- Thread starter nwnugget
- Start date
PsyBorg
Wake up! Time to fly!
Its not the amount of solder Jim it sounds more like the technique not making them stick. Try this...
Tin your pads by setting the solder on the pad then setting the iron on top to melt the solder. Tin your wires as normal. Now clean and tin your solder iron tip, set the wire on the pad and then touch the soldering iron to the wire. When it settles into the solder on the pad remove the iron and DO NOT blow on the joint to cool it. That's a newbie mistake that instantly makes a cold solder joint. If the smoke from the flux is an issue then blow high over the board to keep clean air in front of your face and not down towards the board to cool the joint.
If you do this a few times to get the hang of it and reputability you will never have another bad joint again.
Tin your pads by setting the solder on the pad then setting the iron on top to melt the solder. Tin your wires as normal. Now clean and tin your solder iron tip, set the wire on the pad and then touch the soldering iron to the wire. When it settles into the solder on the pad remove the iron and DO NOT blow on the joint to cool it. That's a newbie mistake that instantly makes a cold solder joint. If the smoke from the flux is an issue then blow high over the board to keep clean air in front of your face and not down towards the board to cool the joint.
If you do this a few times to get the hang of it and reputability you will never have another bad joint again.
8Bit_Koopa
New member
So with buzzer installed can you have it alert you when you are near low voltage instead of it just dropping from the sky?
hungryzebra
New member
Did you happen to find anything?
Betaflight does not see the motor. I desoldered it and soldered it on again. Still nothing. I need to look in blheli to see if it needs flashed maybe. Otherwise I guess I'll need parts.
Look for cold solder joints for power ground and signal on the missing motor's ESC.
Yes, on the config tab enable vbat monitoring. You can tweak the warning voltages, but the defaults work well.
hungryzebra
New member
My issue is a bit different then. BF and BLHeli see my ESC fine, but the motor will not spin properly. Time for a part swap.
You are correct. Certainly the big factor in the solder connection is the quality of the joint and not the quantity of the solder, so yes I always tin both items to be connected.
My issue is the tiny space/close proximity to work in. Because it's so small I have to be extra careful about the amount if solder. Additionally because of its size and delicate components I also have to be careful of overheating adjacent components. So while I do solder this as you suggest, I don't like pushing soldered joints together like this with the iron as it's a balancing act trying to not use too much heat and roast a component nor too little and get a cold solder joint, nor using too much solder and bridging a point or too little and not providing a good bond.
I think next time around I might try alternating pads on the board to give myself more room to work. I also ordered a new iron (temp controllable) and an extra fine tip.
8Bit_Koopa
New member
I did the same thing and tried the extra fine tip. I'm not sure if I wasn't doing it right, but I found it difficult to get the tip hot enough to be useful. I eventually moved back to a standard small tip after repeatedly watching TJ make it look easy with a gigantic chisel tip.
8Bit_Koopa
New member
8Bit_Koopa
New member
Banggood.com, when you want it cheap but not quick, it's a great fallback.
The issue of heat mass/transfer did cross my mind. I'm hoping with temp control I can get the balance right. I might practice a bit to get the feel of it. I remeber in the David W. making temp recommendations in his tri build video on his site. I'll probably review that for a starting point. If need be I'll go to another tip or modify one to get the size and shape I'm after.
I accidentally ordered 15 of these. I wanted 3, but did not read they came in packs of 5.
https://www.readymaderc.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=505_523&products_id=4712
Yes I realize it says 5pcs like 9 times. Yes I still missed it.
When you posted this I thought I might like one. If you're looking to alleviate yourself of some I might be able to help. Are you going to FFE this year?
I am not. Holding out for South East. I can post you a couple if you'd like. I'm never going to use 15 of em. Shoot me a PM.
