soldering ge transistors

[lightningfingers]

i waited 3 weeks for these and dont want to kill them, anyone got any tips?
i hate using sockets, last time i socketed tranistors hey came out duing a rehearsal :shock:

[BILLYL]

Use a clip on HEAT SINK.  They look like small tweezers.  Cost a couple of bucks and I think I found one at Radio Shack.

To use them - insert your component into the PCB and clip the HEAT SINK onto the component lead you are going to solder.  Make sure you clip it on the component side of the PCB - not on the foil (trace)side.  Then solder that lead - move the clip to the next lead and so on.

Hope I explained this.

Good Luck and solder fast.

BILLYL

[spongebob]

Just avoid the cheap ones like these:


These here are much better (half of 6-pin version of course, this are just images google turned up), so far I had no problems with stuff falling out, it actually takes some force to put the transistor in place.

[Mark Hammer]

Then there is the AWHS (ass-wipe heat sink).

Grab a square of bathroom tissue, fold it over and over, wet it in cold water, squeeze out the excess so that the board itself doesn't get wet, and wrap it around the metal can.  Solder in a nice quiet place.  The AWHS will keep the tranny nice and cool and if the heat builds up too much, you'll hear the water on the other side sizzle.

You can save yourself a lot of grief by preparing the tranny leads to make sure the solder flows as quick as possible.  So, for instance, you can take a moment to wipe the tranny leads clean of grime or "finger juice".  If they are slightly corroded, you can give thm a light buff with fine emery cloth or sleetl wool.  If you have liquid flux, you can dab a bit on the leads and solder pads with a Q-tip, and so on.  Whatever lets you speed up the establishment of a solder solder joint means there will be less time for the heat being applied at the end of the lead and solder pad to work its way up the lead and into the semiconductor lying innocently asleep in bed.

[Paul Marossy]

I would only use a socket if it were me. The wet towel on the head probably would work fine, but as a rule I use sockets for all IC chips and transistors these days. It just prevents a lot of hassles.

[Samuel]

I socket so I'm sure I get stuff that works / is in the correct orientation, then I'll solder the transistor directly into the socket. Since the socket leg is fairly small, it heats up quickly, and I find I can be done with it in just a couple seconds with no particular danger to the component.

[petemoore]

'wedge' the transistor out...if you don't bend them just right.
 I always trim them, and bend them like a fishing trident hook, from the front, and making really sure from the side view that they are very flatly aligned.
 One I started doing this I havent had any trubbles with transistors falling out.
 For thick legged ones. I use my special long needle nose 'flattening clamp'...[near the jaw of the set are flat, anvil like surfaces, perfect for putting 'spatula' [flattened] tips on fatter leads so they slip in the socket.
 Then to really make them stick, I take the sharp notches of the regular plier jaw, and 'corrugate' or put 'grip stripes' on the lead ends...
 It is easier done than said, just work with them and analyze what's causing them to fall out or stay in.

[Mark Hammer]

Socketing has many things to commend it, not the least of which is the remarkable capacity we all have to regularly install transistors wrong...3 or 4 different ways....before we figure out what the *real* pin orientation is, and the tendency for NOS Ge transistors that are not preselected to require in-circuit testing.  I've gone through well over a dozen 2SC172's, 2SC175's, and 2SB33's looking for one that sounds anywhere near as nice as the Rangemaster I sold to a guya a while back.

On the other hand, while not everyone has a suitable socket handy, they all have the requisite water and tissue for what I suggested, so call it a wet back-up plan.

[Lonestarjohnny]

Great Idea Mark, I'm movin my soldering station into the Bathroom today,  :lol: Now if I can just get my magizine rack in there too !
JD

[bwanasonic]

I use the round (TO-5 ?) sockets from smallbear and have never had a tranny even close to come out of one. Use better sockets would be my advice. You could *goop* the transistor in with a dab of silicone or maybe something easier to remove like rubber cement?

Kerry M

[Paul Marossy]

Hot glue works decent for securing parts, too.