I saw another RUclipsr solder a wire around to all the legs of a connector he was trying to remove from a motherboard so they were all connected, then he turned up the heat on his soldering iron a little & it melted the solder on all the legs. He was able to pull off the connector with ease. You may have to experiment with different sizes of wire to find which one gives the best results. I believe he used a thicker wire which would transfer the heat quicker and hold heat longer.
I could see using heavy solid copper wire, and connecting it directly to my old-timey heavy-duty soldering gun (the kind whose tip is basically a wire bent between its low AC voltage high current output terminals). Perhaps a last resort, but I'm still wary of damage to the PCB, and to the plastic socket on the other side. Thanks for the idea!
@@dtss_smudge I have an old Weller soldering gun just like the one you described, it was my Dad's. I got into electronics in 1974, working at various TV shops over the years and I'm retired now. Using a wire to connect all the legs shouldn't damage the circuit board, the solder would melt before that happens. As you heat the wire you could wiggle the legs and pull them all out at the same time before there is any damage to the circuit board. I agree that there is a possibility the pads could come un-glued but there are kits to glue the lans and pads back down. I've had to use them in the past. Good luck with whichever method you choose,
You could try using hot air to carefully heat the pcb by the two pins and use cpmpressed air to blowout the material causing the short, alternatively use a small drill and pin vice to drill a channel into the bottom of the socket between the two pins and flush out any debris. There's also low cost desoldering needles sets you can purchase which fit over the pins and releases them from the vias which should allow you to remove the socket.
I don’t know if this will help, but using something smaller than an apple sim removal tool, and heating it up and carefully push it through the connectors to see if it removes the short. Not a very good idea, but less time of taking things apart and maybe causing more problems.
Hey. No way of knowing of course and your troubleshooting is correct, but I suspect a piece of foreign matter between the pads on top. I doubt the flux is the problem since if it was, you would probably be having a lot more trouble than this. You didn't mention if you knew it was okay originally or if it's possible it has been like this since it was made. Regardless, if you can get to the area between the socket and the board, maybe you can flush it with a flux remover just in case flux is trapping something there, or if you feel bold, you can remove the tube and chip again and apply a high voltage (say 120V ac off the top of my head) between the traces to vaporize whatever it is away. Good luck!!
You're right about the flux of course. So I actually went and measured the resistance of its 60-year-old flux, and....nothing. I will try blasting the gap with a can of duster first. The zapping idea is original, but I'm not that brave. Thanks for the comment!
Not a very pretty fix but you could remove the Nixie tube, separate out the 5&6 leads, and then use jumpers to attach them to the decoder chip. Then cut out a section of the traces on the board that connect the 5&6 leads to the decoder chip. This will hopefully isolate the shorted sections of those traces and permit normal operation.
A similar idea came to me while sleeping on it: Bend out the Nixie 5&6 leads. Interpose (ie. sandwich) a 1970s vintage 16-pin DIP socket with pins 11&14 bent out, between the 7441 and its socket. Then wire-wrap two 30-guage wires to connect Nixie leads to socket pins as appropriate. I like this one as it does no further harm to anything and is reversible if a future owner wants to get more medieval on it. Unless I get another idea I like better, I'll likely go with this. Many thanks for the idea!
@@dtss_smudge Another thought if going this way, you could use one existing trace and cut the other (the one on the bottom), then you only need to lift one pin on the tube, and connect it to the IC with a wire.
@kenmore01: You're of course correct. This would make the fix look less "bodgy" with only one flying wire. I'd probably cut the trace on the top side of the board, and mark it obviously for its next owner at my estate sale :( ... Next time I'm on 6 meters I'll be motivated to again tear into the front panel, which is a royal P.I.T.A., to get to the Nixies, and do a follow-up video. Thanks again for the follow-up!
![A Restoration Adventure - [ GE Radio Receiver Restoration Series ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5y0RqivTy4Q/mqdefault.jpg)
I saw another RUclipsr solder a wire around to all the legs of a connector he was trying to remove from a motherboard so they were all connected, then he turned up the heat on his soldering iron a little & it melted the solder on all the legs. He was able to pull off the connector with ease. You may have to experiment with different sizes of wire to find which one gives the best results. I believe he used a thicker wire which would transfer the heat quicker and hold heat longer.
I could see using heavy solid copper wire, and connecting it directly to my old-timey heavy-duty soldering gun (the kind whose tip is basically a wire bent between its low AC voltage high current output terminals). Perhaps a last resort, but I'm still wary of damage to the PCB, and to the plastic socket on the other side. Thanks for the idea!
@@dtss_smudge I have an old Weller soldering gun just like the one you described, it was my Dad's. I got into electronics in 1974, working at various TV shops over the years and I'm retired now. Using a wire to connect all the legs shouldn't damage the circuit board, the solder would melt before that happens. As you heat the wire you could wiggle the legs and pull them all out at the same time before there is any damage to the circuit board. I agree that there is a possibility the pads could come un-glued but there are kits to glue the lans and pads back down. I've had to use them in the past. Good luck with whichever method you choose,
You could try using hot air to carefully heat the pcb by the two pins and use cpmpressed air to blowout the material causing the short, alternatively use a small drill and pin vice to drill a channel into the bottom of the socket between the two pins and flush out any debris. There's also low cost desoldering needles sets you can purchase which fit over the pins and releases them from the vias which should allow you to remove the socket.
I'd never heard of desoldering needles, but will look into them. Thanks!
@@dtss_smudge Hope it helps. Let us know how it goes and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
I don’t know if this will help, but using something smaller than an apple sim removal tool, and heating it up and carefully push it through the connectors to see if it removes the short. Not a very good idea, but less time of taking things apart and maybe causing more problems.
Interesting. I'm concerned about the damage such a pin might do to the contact innards... Thanks for the suggestion!
I have a similar frequency counter in the UK I must go get it from my friends loft some time.
It's not a heathkit but it has this type of display.
Nixies Forever!
Hey. No way of knowing of course and your troubleshooting is correct, but I suspect a piece of foreign matter between the pads on top. I doubt the flux is the problem since if it was, you would probably be having a lot more trouble than this. You didn't mention if you knew it was okay originally or if it's possible it has been like this since it was made.
Regardless, if you can get to the area between the socket and the board, maybe you can flush it with a flux remover just in case flux is trapping something there, or if you feel bold, you can remove the tube and chip again and apply a high voltage (say 120V ac off the top of my head) between the traces to vaporize whatever it is away.
Good luck!!
You're right about the flux of course. So I actually went and measured the resistance of its 60-year-old flux, and....nothing. I will try blasting the gap with a can of duster first. The zapping idea is original, but I'm not that brave. Thanks for the comment!
Burning the short away with a powerful power supply
Yikes. Worried about collateral damage. Thanks for the comment!
Not a very pretty fix but you could remove the Nixie tube, separate out the 5&6 leads, and then use jumpers to attach them to the decoder chip. Then cut out a section of the traces on the board that connect the 5&6 leads to the decoder chip. This will hopefully isolate the shorted sections of those traces and permit normal operation.
A similar idea came to me while sleeping on it: Bend out the Nixie 5&6 leads. Interpose (ie. sandwich) a 1970s vintage 16-pin DIP socket with pins 11&14 bent out, between the 7441 and its socket. Then wire-wrap two 30-guage wires to connect Nixie leads to socket pins as appropriate. I like this one as it does no further harm to anything and is reversible if a future owner wants to get more medieval on it. Unless I get another idea I like better, I'll likely go with this. Many thanks for the idea!
You are very welcome.
@@dtss_smudge Another thought if going this way, you could use one existing trace and cut the other (the one on the bottom), then you only need to lift one pin on the tube, and connect it to the IC with a wire.
@kenmore01: You're of course correct. This would make the fix look less "bodgy" with only one flying wire. I'd probably cut the trace on the top side of the board, and mark it obviously for its next owner at my estate sale :( ... Next time I'm on 6 meters I'll be motivated to again tear into the front panel, which is a royal P.I.T.A., to get to the Nixies, and do a follow-up video. Thanks again for the follow-up!