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LED display
- Thread starter Hawkeye52
- Start date
first question, you do mean "200GTL" and not "2000GTL" right?
just asking because its an easy typo that changes everything.
if it is indeed a 200GTL, then are you sure its glued down and not still soldered in place due to it being a double sided, plated through PC board?
ive never seen a 200GTL's insides, but i would bet that it is indeed a plated through board, and that means that you cant just use solder wick or the red squeeze bulb from radio shack and expect it to come loose.
you might get it with those two tools, but you have to be very careful not to overheat the trace as you will pull the sleeve right out with the LED.
then you've got a hell of a mess on your hands.
a double sided, plated through PC board has traces and solder connections on both sides of the board, and in each hole, there is a small metal "sleeve" that connects the bottom trace to the top trace.
the way to unsolder the LED is with a "solder sucker" like this one:
Antistatic Desoldering Pump Sucker Solder Removal Tool | eBay
you heat the trace, suck the melted solder out with the solder sucker, and the LED should all but fall right out.
if it does not fall out, DO NOT pull on it very hard at all!
you will mess the board up big time.
this type of repair should really be done by someone who is very experienced with soldering and de-soldering, but hey, its your radio, so if you feel confident to try, go for it.
i really doubt that the LED's are glued in.
that would be extra effort and un-needed extra expense for the manufacturer.
LC
just asking because its an easy typo that changes everything.
if it is indeed a 200GTL, then are you sure its glued down and not still soldered in place due to it being a double sided, plated through PC board?
ive never seen a 200GTL's insides, but i would bet that it is indeed a plated through board, and that means that you cant just use solder wick or the red squeeze bulb from radio shack and expect it to come loose.
you might get it with those two tools, but you have to be very careful not to overheat the trace as you will pull the sleeve right out with the LED.
then you've got a hell of a mess on your hands.
a double sided, plated through PC board has traces and solder connections on both sides of the board, and in each hole, there is a small metal "sleeve" that connects the bottom trace to the top trace.
the way to unsolder the LED is with a "solder sucker" like this one:
Antistatic Desoldering Pump Sucker Solder Removal Tool | eBay
you heat the trace, suck the melted solder out with the solder sucker, and the LED should all but fall right out.
if it does not fall out, DO NOT pull on it very hard at all!
you will mess the board up big time.
this type of repair should really be done by someone who is very experienced with soldering and de-soldering, but hey, its your radio, so if you feel confident to try, go for it.
i really doubt that the LED's are glued in.
that would be extra effort and un-needed extra expense for the manufacturer.
LC
Kudos to L/C for this post.
This is very good spot on advice, this is the same problem encountered when working on the HR series of radios when installing the ChipSwitch, or replacing the CPU.
I have repaired a couple of processor boards on these radio`s brought to me because the owner/hack that pulled the CPU also pulled the through plated holes on the board right out because they did not get enough heat on the pin to allow the solder to flow on both sides of the board.
I Still have a HR2600 that was given to me with the several small/short copper collars still attached to the pins on the old CPU! He had used a screwdriver to pry the CPU up after he thought all the solder had been removed from the holes.
Too much heat, you damage the trace.....not enough heat and you do not get all of the solder out.
And trust me, it is a very tedious job placing small "jumpers" through the hole to ensure continuity on both sides of the board.
73
Jeff
tell me about it Jeff!
i had to "hack: together a 959 a few years ago due to the same thing.
what a pain in the ass!
LC
i had to "hack: together a 959 a few years ago due to the same thing.
what a pain in the ass!
LC
It is my old 2000 GTL I bought from Copper's in the late 80's. I got the solder out with a solder sucker and pointed 30 watt soldering iron, but I see some sort of glue around the edges of the LED "block" itself.
It's on there!
It's on there!
ok, 2000GTL is different.
no plated through holes on that one.
it is weird for the LED's to glued down though. ive not seen that before.
just use an exacto knife and cut around the edges of the LEDs.
just to be sure though, using a small flat head screwdriver, push on all the pins on the LEDs to make sure they all move freely.
LC
no plated through holes on that one.
it is weird for the LED's to glued down though. ive not seen that before.
just use an exacto knife and cut around the edges of the LEDs.
just to be sure though, using a small flat head screwdriver, push on all the pins on the LEDs to make sure they all move freely.
LC
One thing to check is to find out if the thru-hole lead is really separated from the thru-hole barrel of the PCB. Grab the tip of the lead and wiggle it in a circle, but stay within the hole diameter. If it is free from the barrel it will move easily. If not it is still attached down the hole. Now is the time to touch the tip of the iron and melt that last bit of solder. Hold the lead in the center of the hole and let the solder solidify before you let go of the lead. It should now move around freely indicating it is completely free of the hole.
Try this technique on a scrap board with a part having fewer leads to get a feel for how it works.
This usually works with the typical signal traces. Power and ground are a little trickier. No guarantee all the pins will be free. It is certainly something to help with parts that force you to work from one side.
Another approach assumes the part is a write-off or is known bad. Carefully crush the part while still fully solder to the PCB which help minimize the stress on the PCB thru-hole and traces. Remove the pieces then left out the lead with the soldering iron from part side of the board. Then suck the hole clear and you are ready for a new part.
Try this technique on a scrap board with a part having fewer leads to get a feel for how it works.
This usually works with the typical signal traces. Power and ground are a little trickier. No guarantee all the pins will be free. It is certainly something to help with parts that force you to work from one side.
Another approach assumes the part is a write-off or is known bad. Carefully crush the part while still fully solder to the PCB which help minimize the stress on the PCB thru-hole and traces. Remove the pieces then left out the lead with the soldering iron from part side of the board. Then suck the hole clear and you are ready for a new part.
I finally decided to use a hair dryer, set on low. The glue appears to be a sort of clear yellow strip. I removed the original red LEDs, by now I figured I may as well replace both of them, and installed two blue LEDs . They are physically the same size, but have larger numbers. There are no plated through holes, this is a single layer board to the selector, very small.
It worked perfect the first time, and now, since I have some extra parts, I am going to put the newer blue LEDS in the spare frequency readout.
The radio itself, I am leaving as is, it sounds loud and clear at my friend's house, almost 20 miles away, with only a tune up that was done shortly after I bought the radio. I am using a "vintage Antron 99, they have way less wind load in this Florida hurricane season.
This is great!
It worked perfect the first time, and now, since I have some extra parts, I am going to put the newer blue LEDS in the spare frequency readout.
The radio itself, I am leaving as is, it sounds loud and clear at my friend's house, almost 20 miles away, with only a tune up that was done shortly after I bought the radio. I am using a "vintage Antron 99, they have way less wind load in this Florida hurricane season.
This is great!
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