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Shoutout to the tech who told me my solder joints looked like bird poop
He said it during a repair meetup in Phoenix, and I was pretty annoyed at first. I switched to a thinner gauge solder and a lower temp on my Hakko, and my boards look way cleaner now. Anyone else get a piece of feedback that stung but actually helped?
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milam481mo ago
Remember reading a blog post from an old amp repair guy who said bad solder looks like cold oatmeal... that image stuck with me. He was right, it means not enough heat getting to the joint before the solder flows. Started paying way more attention to heating the pad and the lead, not just melting the solder wire. My stuff went from lumpy blobs to those nice shiny concave joints. Sometimes the harsh truth is the best teacher.
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jakejones29d ago
Yeah, I had a guy tell me my flux looked like I sneezed on the board. I mean, it was a mess. I started using way less and cleaning it right after, total game changer. Like milam48 said about cold oatmeal, it's all about the right image making it click. Sometimes you need that blunt picture in your head to fix the habit.
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emmahayes29d ago
Ugh, that "bird poop" comment must have felt so harsh in the moment! I totally get being annoyed. But isn't it funny how those blunt little images just lock into your brain? For me it was someone saying my early wiring looked like a "rat's nest." I was mad for a day, but then I started using cable ties and planning my runs. The boards just looked so much more professional after. That sting really does push you to get better.
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