Quick question on soldering to a terminal strip

Bubbatwoa · 1004

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Offline Bubbatwoa

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on: October 15, 2020, 04:57:21 PM
My Crackatwoa  build is going well (I think) and I'm nearing the end.

One of the steps calls for attaching, but not soldering a wire to a lower point on a terminal strip.  Well, I mistakenly soldered it.  My solder sucker is too big  to effectively desolder the connection though, so I thought I'd just make the attachment to the upper hole of the same terminal.  I checked ahead in the instructions and there is only one other wire that goes to the upper hole later on.  Since all 4 wires will be soldered to the same terminal (2 upper and 2 lower), I'm assuming it won't matter whether a particular wire is soldered to the U or the L point.  Am I correct?



Offline Deluk

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Reply #1 on: October 16, 2020, 12:17:02 AM
Don't fret. The do not solder instruction is just for convenience so it's easier to fit the second wire to that terminal. If you over solder or even fill the hole it can be difficult to get the second wire in. As it is solid core wire it's easy to pop the wire in while you melt the solder if needed. Not ideal but no ones perfect. Solder sucker nozzles are pretty much all the same size so it's probably down to technique rather than "too big". Get a reel of solder wick, you'll find that useful.



Offline kgoss

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Reply #2 on: October 16, 2020, 07:55:45 AM
Electrically there is no difference between the upper and lower holes of the same terminal.  The instructions have you using both to spread out the number of wires attached to each which just makes construction easier.  Attaching the wire to the upper terminal will be fine as long as there is room for it.

Ken Goss


Offline Bubbatwoa

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Reply #3 on: October 17, 2020, 05:06:00 AM
Thanks guys.  I got a roll of solder wick for future use.  The sucker is useless in tight spots.



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #4 on: October 17, 2020, 05:53:35 AM
You can also just reheat where you have the solder and slip through what you need to add.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man