deskthority

So after desoldering all switches from the ortek mk-84 board(i'm going to put all blue alps one's), it seems to be really dirty and in the last image in the lower right one of the solder joints seems to be missing some of the metal contact material. My questions are:
1- what's the best way to clean it, i already applied some isopropyl alcohol but it seems i need some tissue to remove some of the flux and particles in there, but i don't know what's the best type for this, i'm considering going to an electric technician for some help if it's necessary.
2- will that lower solder joint going to give any problems if i solder the new switch above it?if yes, what the best way to fix this?












regards,

maxrunner wrote:So after desoldering all switches from the ortek mk-84 board(i'm going to put all blue alps one's), it seems to be really dirty and in the last image in the lower right one of the solder joints seems to be missing some of the metal contact material. My questions are:
1- what's the best way to clean it, i already applied some isopropyl alcohol but it seems i need some tissue to remove some of the flux and particles in there, but i don't know what's the best type for this, i'm considering going to an electric technician for some help if it's necessary.
2- will that lower solder joint going to give any problems if i solder the new switch above it?if yes, what the best way to fix this?

regards,

1. Contact spray.. That's what I would use.
2. Patch it if it malfunctions. See

Hey there! Thanks for answering. So Contact Spray is good to clean this type of pcbs?Guess i need to get one then. Still need to use some tissues right?which ones do you advise?
Has for the other going to see the movie and report back today or tomorrow.
Thanks for answering.

If there are no components left on it you can safely use water and washing up detergent. If there are components on it I put isopropyl alcohol in a flower sprayer and totally drain it, letting it pore from one end to the other and down into a bucket. You can than fill the can from the bucket and do it again if needed.

tlt wrote:If there are no components left on it you can safely use water and washing up detergent. If there are components on it I put isopropyl alcohol in a flower sprayer and totally drain it, letting it pore from one end to the other and down into a bucket. You can than fill the can from the bucket and do it again if needed.

Really you can literally drain the alcohool on it with the components?:P

Pure isopropyl doesn't leave residue, it evaporates completely.

But doesnt it leave stains too?

No, it evaporates fast and doesn't leave anything. But you might be moving dirt that was already on the board, that's way I use a lot of it to wash the dirt off the board.

Maybe you can use a toothbrush to rub some if it takes the alcohol, have not tried that myself.

Let it dry for a while before you connect any power source.

Doesn't such ample use of isopropyl get a little expensive?

Well if you refill the bottle with the drained alchool probably not.

maxrunner wrote:Well if you refill the bottle with the drained alchool probably not.

Exactly, just use a small amount and recycle it. ~100ml might be enough.

Still need to get that flower sprayer and an appropriate bucket type thing for it.

Jmneuv wrote:Doesn't such ample use of isopropyl get a little expensive?

The isopropyl should be reusable for most situations (assuming you filter it), but even if you choose not to filter it really depends on how much you bought and for what price. 5L Of isopropyl can be bought on ebay for £10 (£8 postage), while smaller sizes such as 100ml and 250ml often sell for £3.70 and £4.80 respectively.

Got the sprayer, doesn't seem to be the best quality but it works lol

Mrinterface wrote:

maxrunner wrote:So after desoldering all switches from the ortek mk-84 board(i'm going to put all blue alps one's), it seems to be really dirty and in the last image in the lower right one of the solder joints seems to be missing some of the metal contact material. My questions are:
1- what's the best way to clean it, i already applied some isopropyl alcohol but it seems i need some tissue to remove some of the flux and particles in there, but i don't know what's the best type for this, i'm considering going to an electric technician for some help if it's necessary.
2- will that lower solder joint going to give any problems if i solder the new switch above it?if yes, what the best way to fix this?

regards,

1. Contact spray.. That's what I would use.
2. Patch it if it malfunctions. See

Finally watched this. But if i need to patch it i need a multimeter rand i didnt quite follow how to test if its working good or where to connect the wire.

Do light scratches on the board cause problems?Anyway i'm asking because i've been using a toothbrush to clean it with isopropyl alcohool...

Ok, so you got scratches by using a toothbrush? I don't think it's going to cause problems. The top layer is just a varnish to protect the copper lanes called "solder mask", it's not needed for the pcb to work. Old or home made pcbs don't have it and works fine. You can actually scratch of the solder mask with a scalpel or something if you need a new place on the copper to solder on when the solder pad is damaged. Just be carful not to cut any lanes by mistake.

i dont think it was the toothbrush that scratched the board, i was just cleaning(which using a toothbrush seems to take forever) it and noticed. Oh the copper lanes are those metal light greener lines right?

Yes, that's copper under the lighter parts of the solder mask.

oh ok, so the solder mask also protects in case some solder falls above those lines? so cleaning the board is just for aesthetics?

The surfaces that you are going to solder on needs to be clean other than that it's not needed. Last time a cleaned a whole pcb with components, I did it to get ride of the smoke smell. Usually I blow the dust of with compressed air and try not to mess to much with it so I don't break anything.

I'm going to try using the drain method...