request: button pcb soldering advice

pajordan · Post by **pajordan** » Wed Dec 20, 2017 11:53 am

hi, i have a "common ground dmg button pcb (A/B/X/Y version)" from kitsch-bent and am having trouble soldering wires to it.

i'm trying to fit a ribbon cable (with each end stripped and lightly tinned) through all the little holes - if i fit all the ribbon cable ends through and then just gob a bunch of solder across them all, could that cause them to get bridged? should i split up the ribbon cable and do each wire one at a time? any advice appreciated.

snoek09 · Post by **snoek09** » Wed Dec 20, 2017 12:08 pm

I did this recently and separated each wire at the end of the ribbon cable a bit.

rodocop · Post by **rodocop** » Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:03 pm

just split the ribbon up a bit. If you can fit all the wires in the holes at once, and solder one at a time that will be fine. If you notice any bridges, just clean them up.

Personally I just solder one wire at a time, using 28 AWG silicone wire. I've never used a ribbon cable, i've found they are a little more rigid and not as flexible (I guess I have used an IDE ribbon cable once and it worked, but I did split each wire individually).

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erik_gee · Post by **erik_gee** » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:49 am

You are correct, if you just put solder across all of them then they will be bridged and not functional properly. Like others have said, solder each on individually, making sure the solder doesn't connect to the pad next to it. If it does, heat up the pad you are on, and the solder bridge will tend to melt back towards the hotter pad and separate by itself

pajordan · Post by **pajordan** » Fri Dec 29, 2017 4:46 pm

thanks for the replies. the holes on this one seem much smaller and more difficult for me to solder to than the two-button common ground dmg button pcb. i feel like i need an extra hand with this one to keep the wire in position when i'm soldering. i put the pcb in some "helping hands" stand, then i have the iron in one hand and bring the solder over with my other hand but i feel like i need an extra hand to keep the wire in place - otherwise it just falls out of the hole. i'll keep at it, though.

YaYa · Post by **YaYa** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:56 am

Pass the wire through the hole, put kapton tape on the back side to maintain it, and solder the front side with your left and right hand, while the PCB is maintained by the helping hands

pajordan · Post by **pajordan** » Sat Dec 30, 2017 9:02 pm

some solutions seem so obvious once revealed - thanks!

request: button pcb soldering advice

request: button pcb soldering advice

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Re: request: button pcb soldering advice

Re: request: button pcb soldering advice

Re: request: button pcb soldering advice

Re: request: button pcb soldering advice

Re: request: button pcb soldering advice

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