13 Aug
2006
13 Aug
'06
7:13 p.m.
On 8/14/06, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
I think the big problem was a shift in thought.
Anyone who learned to
solder back in the handwired days remembers being told over and over again
that "Solder does not make a mechanical connection". Or in other words,
good wiring practice demanded that a wire be mechanically attached to its
terminal before solder was applied. Along come PCBs and what's holding
everything together? Solder.
My dad (who was a Ham in the 1950s) told me over and over that solder
is not a load-bearing material. Of course, given the weight of 1950s
components, if you _don't_ make a good mechanical connection first, a
solder-only joint is likely to fail eventually. I remember how hard
it was to tear apart stuff from those days... I needed a solder gun
and a quick hand with the needle-nosed pliers to start to unwind the
leads from the solder tabs before the mass of the pliers cooled the
joints.
OTOH, a technique I've picked up from a co-worker here for nice
faraday-cage-type enclosures (for RF-emitting/using projects) is to
solder a box from chunks of copper-clad board. It's easy to work with
and for stuff that small enough to fit in your hand, *very* strong.
-ethan