moojiefulagin Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 hi everyone i was soldering a cap on my volume pot, and after a prolonged period of soldering iron application i realized the solder wasn't melting because I had set up my heat-sink wrong. i felt the cap and it was too hot to touch. should i try to replace it incase it has been damaged by the heat? how heat sensitive are dipped mica caps? thanks a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 the best way is to check it and see if it is still working.. what size is it.. the larger it is the longer it can usually take theheat. what wattage soldering iron do you use.. for in guitar work unless its to the back of a pot or the jack nothing over 15watts is the general rule. same for pcboard work in fx i have a twenty watt that i purposely use with a regulator to drop it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 Hey Ansil, I have a friend who has a 30W iron, I would use this but was aware about the maximum wattage that should be used in guitars. How do you drop it down to 15W? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekraft Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 It's fairly simple to check the cap - it should show an open circuit on your VOM/DMM (infinity ohms), and let an audio signal through. If you don't have anything to use as a signal generator, you can always use a Walkman just to see if it passes AC current (wire it in series with a headphone or small speaker). As I remember, mica caps are pretty tough - I've only had to replace them because of physical damage (I drop things with fair regularity ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 Hey Ansil, I have a friend who has a 30W iron, I would use this but was aware about the maximum wattage that should be used in guitars. How do you drop it down to 15W? use a zenor diode to drop the voltage... this isn't an exact law or anything.. just what most repairmen i have talked to at music stores and such do. and it seems to work for them and it works good for me.. i need to save up and get me a weller though one of those nice little stations makes life so much easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moojiefulagin Posted May 30, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 I have a 20/40 watt iron, and i had upped to 40. wasnt aware of the guitar wattage rule! Ill try that test. thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biohazard Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 What do you do with the diode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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