Bad DC sockets!?

[patrick398]

Anybody else getting dodgy batches of 2.1mm DC sockets?
I bought 100 of these from tayda:
https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-enclosed-frame-with-switch.html

And they're basically unusable. The ground tab doesn't take solder. It's like whatever coating is on there just evaporates off and the solder just balls up. The other lugs seem to be ok, just the ground lug.

I then bought 500 from a supplier in china, supposedly Daier, but who really knows. Exactly the same problem. They said they had to be soldered at 200 degrees C which seems mad and my solder won't even melt at that temperature.

I never had any issues with the sockets from tayda before and they said they have not changed supplier or anything recently so i'm stumped. 

[Ice-9]

Yeah, I've had that problem from those same DC sockets, as soon as you apply heat the tab blackens and will not take solder.  The ones I have left I take a small file to the tab and file away the surface on both sides which leaves a clean solder surface.

[patrick398]

Interesting, i'll give that a go. If not i'll have to make some kind of giant sculpture out of them all

Thanks for the suggestion

[patrick398]

No that didn't work for me. Seems like the shiny coating is so thin that it just evaporates and the metal underneath which becomes exposed is not able to take solder 

[Mark Hammer]

I scrape them with a utility/X-acto knife blade, and apply a bit of flux.  You're right that they are not exactly eager to take solder, but they can be persuaded.

A similarly tricky aspect is that 2.1mm is not always 2.1mm and the outside shaft is not always a snug secure fit to the plug.  I expect I'm not the only person who has found that this or that pedal requires that the plug has to be nudged in a certain direction and the cable bent so as to apply lateral pressure to the plug to make contact with both contacts of the power jack.

[WoundUp]

I don't use that type so I can't comment on those specifically. Mine are the steel, screw-in type. I've had zero issues with the first batch I bought the other day. They take solder just fine.



https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-x-5-5-mm-round-type-panel-mount-dc-099.html

One question about those you have. What's the switch they refer to in the title/description of those? Thanks.

[Gargaman]

The switch unplugs the battery once the wall wart is connected, I believe.

[davent]

I don't use that type so I can't comment on those specifically. Mine are the steel, screw-in type. I've had zero issues with the first batch I bought the other day. They take solder just fine.



https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-x-5-5-mm-round-type-panel-mount-dc-099.html

One question about those you have. What's the switch they refer to in the title/description of those? Thanks.

The issue with metal power jacks in guitar pedals is the standard for providing power to pedals is 'center' ground/negative for the jack, that means your jack will have the higher potential on the body of the metal jack so now you need to isolate it from the enclosure if you enclosure is metal or conductive.

dave

[WoundUp]

I don't use that type so I can't comment on those specifically. Mine are the steel, screw-in type. I've had zero issues with the first batch I bought the other day. They take solder just fine.



https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-x-5-5-mm-round-type-panel-mount-dc-099.html

One question about those you have. What's the switch they refer to in the title/description of those? Thanks.

The issue with metal power jacks in guitar pedals is the standard for providing power to pedals is 'center' ground/negative for the jack, that means your jack will have the higher potential on the body of the metal jack so now you need to isolate it from the enclosure if you enclosure is metal or conductive.

dave

I wondered about that when I bought them. Dang it. Luckily they were only a few $. Thanks.

[greaser_au]

It is not unheard of to use an highly aggressive acid flux like Baker's fluid (killed spirits,zinc chloride), when a lug will not take solder. The fumes are horrible,  so precautions to prevent inhalation or skin contact are a good idea.

However, due to the highly corrosive nature of the flux, it is *mandatory* to clean everything thoroughly so that no trace of the acidic flux remains on the component  (or the tools ) after tinning,   pay special attention to where lugs meet the body mouldings etc. where liquid might be drawn by capillary action.

This stuff is the chassis-basher's friend

david

[davent]

After going out tracking down and buying the stuff to make the super corrosive flux, wouldn't it be better, cheaper to just spend money on a quality jack. Biased... zero use for Tayda in this corner.
dave

[iainpunk]

nowdays, i always take a nail file to all lugs i solder.
a lot of my stock is NOS, most of it is quite crummy/dirty, so soldering was a b1tch and a half, one evening i complained about it to a friend and he recommended a small nail file and i never looked back.
i recommend that technique to anyone i help with electronics, and i've given away a lot of packets of disposable nail files which i got as promotional material from the army

cheers

[iainpunk]

I don't use that type so I can't comment on those specifically. Mine are the steel, screw-in type. I've had zero issues with the first batch I bought the other day. They take solder just fine.



https://www.taydaelectronics.com/dc-power-jack-2-1mm-x-5-5-mm-round-type-panel-mount-dc-099.html

One question about those you have. What's the switch they refer to in the title/description of those? Thanks.

The issue with metal power jacks in guitar pedals is the standard for providing power to pedals is 'center' ground/negative for the jack, that means your jack will have the higher potential on the body of the metal jack so now you need to isolate it from the enclosure if you enclosure is metal or conductive.

dave

I wondered about that when I bought them. Dang it. Luckily they were only a few $. Thanks.

you can easily isolate them from the enclosure with electrical tape or heat shrink, i did that with the first few pedals i build.

cheers

[mozz]

How are you going to isolate them, the nut still has to be attached. 

[theehman]

nowdays, i always take a nail file to all lugs i solder.
a lot of my stock is NOS, most of it is quite crummy/dirty, so soldering was a b1tch and a half, one evening i complained about it to a friend and he recommended a small nail file and i never looked back.
i recommend that technique to anyone i help with electronics, and i've given away a lot of packets of disposable nail files which i got as promotional material from the army

cheers

I use a fiberglass burnishing brush.  It does a very good job of cleaning the contacts of switches, too.
https://www.esslinger.com/economy-fiberglass-cleaning-brush/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5auGBhDEARIsAFyNm9G0E8JpBS5F9ZzbtSPNOEPS0ro4xPHoo9L27Y15NsZxCOHI2jEValoaAlGzEALw_wcB

[mozz]

We had those fiberglass brushes at work.  Safety office took them away due to fiberglass dust.  They do work great though. 

[davent]

Small Bear at one time, maybe still do, had a tutorial on using Bondo in an over sized hole in the enclosure to isolate metal power jacks. Fill the hole with bondo let it set, level sand and drill through the bondo with a proper size bit for the jack.

[theehman]

Small Bear at one time, maybe still do, had a tutorial on using Bondo in an over sized hole in the enclosure to isolate metal power jacks. Fill the hole with bondo let it set, level sand and drill through the bondo with a proper size bit for the jack.

I suppose if you had access to a 3D printer you could print a small collar to isolate the jacks from the chassis.

[davent]

Had a look at the Small Bear site and couldn't find the tutorial but they do now sell a metal power jack, isolating washers included.

http://smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/2-1-mm-metal-long-bushing/

[greaser_au]

After going out tracking down and buying the stuff to make the super corrosive flux, wouldn't it be better, cheaper to just spend money on a quality jack. Biased... zero use for Tayda in this corner.
dave

An entirely fair point, but the suggestion was more for a 'today' remedy.  A small bottle of Baker's fluid or similar (more than anyone will ever need for a lifetime in this hobby) is a few $, and available off-the-shelf at any hardware, plumbing, electrical, metal, or even farm supplies shop.

Picture: in the early 1980s I spent hours sitting in front of a solder pot in a fume cupboard at an electronics factory tinning about  1000 poorly plated and badly tarnished solder lugs, fluxing them with bakers fluid because the supplier was out of stock and we had to get the job finished..

david