New Build Questions

Hi everyone,

I have 2 questions as I get to the LCD portion of my build. Keep in mind that this is my first solder job and I'm not well versed in the wiring diagrams.

1) I was trying to get fancy and ordered this LCD for its variety of colors (wanted the option before seeing my case color) without realizing that this board has 18 pins vs the 16 in the assembly guide. 2 extra pins for the extra colors. It looks like even if I wanted to go with the red color, which I was leaning to all along, I couldn't because the recommended board has the LED- on pin 16 whereas the one I got has LED- on pin 15. Can anyone confirm this for me, please?!

http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/291/NHD-0216K1Z-FS_RGB_FBW-REV1-39560.pdf - mine
http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/291/NHD-0216K1Z-FSPG-GBW-L-51304.pdf - HM Kit

2) I have started getting a lot of what looks like either burnt flux or burnt tip residue as I solder. The joints are all pretty solid. Should I be concerned about this discoloration around the joints? The iron I have plugs directly into an outlet and I think it may be running too hot. I could never get a good tin on the tip. I wish I would have paid for a better solder station. It started out fine but has been pretty crappy as I progressed through this build.

Thanks,
Dom

1) No you can not use a RGB LCD with this board. The pinouts are simply incompatible as you've noticed. You can kinda probably make it work if you do not populate the 0R wire jumper (just clip it out if you're already soldered it) and cut the trace on the top of the board as seen here:


Then run a jumper wire from the top pin of the 0R to the leg of the MOSFET you just disconnected from the LCD. Now run 5V to the 3 RGB pins of your LCD and you'll get "white". You can change the color by which of the 3 RGB pins you hook to 5V, but you can't adjust the color through software.

2) Yeah that's what happens when the soldering iron is too hot. My old soldering iron was overpowered and would leave a lot of that residue as well. The joints should still work though assuming you're getting actually flowed joints (the solder should NOT be in a little sphere perched on the component's pin). You can try removing some of the residue with alcohol and a toothbrush, because it will encourage the solder to corrode over time but it should be good enough to get you up and running if you don't want to do that now.

Thanks Bryan!

I think I'll go ahead and order the proper pinned LCD. Mouser was great and refunded my LCD already.

Would a brass sponge help clean up my tip or should I look to replace the tip as a short term solution. Long term, since I do enjoy building, do you still recommend the AOYUE 936?

If the tip has gotten to the point that solder beads up on it then it might be beyond what a brass sponge can do. I'd try hitting it lightly with some high grit sandpaper, like 600 to get the black off then heat it up and see if solder sticks, repeat as necessary. Also I'm not sure if you're doing it but I used to keep a folded damp paper towel for cleaning the tip before I soldered each joint.

Yeah I still use my 936 for all my soldering, my only gripe with it being that it is only a 35W unit so it takes a minute or two to heat up and it can't do really giant stuff, like 10AWG-sized. SRA sells them refurbished too for $23 but with shipping it comes out to ~$36 so you're not saving too much over getting it Amazon Prime (or Amazon Warehouse for $39).

I have a Hakko FX888D-23BY soldering station on my wishlist for if the 936 ever breaks. It's twice the power (70W) has a little better temperature control. I do prefer the knob to set the temperature on the 936 over buttons though.

Dom, if you are not using a moist sponge or something similar to clean your soldering iron tip give that a try. You may be surprised how much better the tip tins after a good moist wipe, that's why most soldering stations have the sponge there on them.....