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[OM] Replacing lithium cells; Soldering delicate circuitry

Subject: [OM] Replacing lithium cells; Soldering delicate circuitry
From: Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 21:00:11 -0500
At 9:42 PM +0000 12/16/01, olympus-digest wrote:
>Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2001 11:46:30 EST
>From: ClassicVW@xxxxxxx
>Subject: [OM] Help!- My Quick Flash AFL question
>
>Ok,
>So I now have the bottom battery panel off, and pulled out the two 3V Lithium 
>batteries that are wired in there. I am assuming these power both the flash 
>and the camera, and were not intended to be replaced by the user. The code on 
>the side says 83-07, so i also assume they were in there since 1983. The 
>designation is "BR- 2/3 A 3V". Can I just buy two 3V lithiums and solder them 
>in place of these if I keep the heat of the soldering gun low?


It ought to work, if the lithium batteries will fit physically, without stray 
electrical contacts being made.  The batteries used are probably a standard 
size (like 2/3 of an "A" cell?).  Try looking at the Eveready website 
<http://www.energizer.com> under the Technical Information button.  (It seems 
to require Internet Explorer.  When I use Netscape, the site crashes my 
computer.)


However, it's a common myth that one uses low heat for delicate things.  You 
should instead use a very hot iron, and get the job done as quickly as possible.

The extreme case is soldering magnet wire to terminal pins moulded into nylon 
coil forms -- if you don't use an 800-degree iron, the bobbin will melt as you 
slowly heat the terminal pin.  Been there, done that.

I use an ancient Weller TCP-1 temperature-controlled soldering iron.  One sets 
the temperature by using the correct tip.  No electronics are involved.  I 
bought one after working at RCA in the mid 1960s, and seeing them used on the 
production line.  This iron is now the basic unit in Weller's TCP line.  

600-degree tips are used for eutectic (37-63) solder

700-degree tips are used for ordinary (40-60) solder

800-degree tips are used for magnet wire (where one burns the insulating 
varnish off and solders all at once).  I use 800-degree tips to solder delicate 
things. This hot tip gets the solder terminal up to temperature as fast as 
possible, reducing the amount of collateral heating, which is the key issue.

A soldering *gun* may be hard on semiconductor eletronics, as the tip is heated 
by passing a very large current through the tip, and this can induce large 
currents in unexpected places.  Also, an iron solders more quickly because the 
tip is already at temperature, and so its stored heat is instantly available.

Joe


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