UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Chris55000 · 7th Apr 2019, 1:56 am

Hi!

I got my soldering tuition from my Dad when I was 12, and yes I've spent the first thirty years fixings using Antex, Remploy and DeeGee irons as well!

Apart from the nuisance of needing a second iron to replace the element in the first one, the biggest bugbear I had with Antex's was the later yellow versions – the black plastic round the heater element assemblies used to crumble away leaving a very hot and dangerously flopping about element and bit end!

I didn't twig about mains leakage from irons in my early days of servicing, but that certainly explained why so few of the radios and amplifiers using germanium transistors didn't oblige me after fault–finding everything else – the mains–leakage had permanently destroyed the characteristics of the transistors!

(I used to get mixer–oscillator stages that refused to oscillate, amplifier stages with hardly any gain and o/p stages that were far too inclined to collector–current runaway!)

Since going into industrials full time twenty years ago with high–quality low–voltage Weller irons with accurate temp. control and proper ESD precautions, my casualty rate with soldering semiconductors has dropped to virtually near zero!

Chris Williams

7th Apr 2019, 1:56 am	#24
Chris55000 Nonode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK. Posts: 2,870	Re: How to solder Hi! I got my soldering tuition from my Dad when I was 12, and yes I've spent the first thirty years fixings using Antex, Remploy and DeeGee irons as well! Apart from the nuisance of needing a second iron to replace the element in the first one, the biggest bugbear I had with Antex's was the later yellow versions – the black plastic round the heater element assemblies used to crumble away leaving a very hot and dangerously flopping about element and bit end! I didn't twig about mains leakage from irons in my early days of servicing, but that certainly explained why so few of the radios and amplifiers using germanium transistors didn't oblige me after fault–finding everything else – the mains–leakage had permanently destroyed the characteristics of the transistors! (I used to get mixer–oscillator stages that refused to oscillate, amplifier stages with hardly any gain and o/p stages that were far too inclined to collector–current runaway!) Since going into industrials full time twenty years ago with high–quality low–voltage Weller irons with accurate temp. control and proper ESD precautions, my casualty rate with soldering semiconductors has dropped to virtually near zero! Chris Williams __________________ It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed!