Did I mess up my Camera?

[Bill]

I have 2 cameras, Owl AF (slide "on" type) and the Infinity Jr.  I started with the Owl.  I soldered a wire to the common; I soldered a bridge across the 2 terminals.  I scratched off the green coating and as a test touched across, Yes I did trip the latch contact so it should have fired.  It did not.  To confirm the camera worked I placed the rubber shutter button on the terminal and it fired.  I switched to the Olympus.  I soldered to the common contact by the shutter button.  I then tried to solder to the 2 gold dots but my solder did not stick. I tried with more solder and finally it stuck.  I re assembled the camera but it would not work, when I touched the wires together.  I pressed the shutter switch and it worked.  I took apart and then the wires came off at the circuit board (2 gold dots).  It took the gold dots with it.  Am I screwed?  Why can't you just solder one wire to the shutter contact and one to the second leg that gets depressed at the shutter button?  I need help.  I think my soldering pen was too hot; maybe I messed up both cameras.  I am ready to send them in for the $20 dollars but I really wanted to do this myself.
Thanks and any suggestions or thoughts are appreciated.
Bill

 

[coyotebandit]

I'm not sure why your camera's are not working, but I would start by double checking all your solder joints inside the camera. Check for cold solder joints, ones that may be cracked or broken. Then go back and check the diagrams to make sure all your connection point are correct.

I have just a few tips, with soldering these kinds of traces on PCB's. You want to use an iron around 15-20W, you can go higher if you have a lot of practice doing this. You never want to use wire that when stripped is thicker than the trace you are soldering it to. You always want to tin your wire first, and use the least amount of solder you can get away with. Keeping the iron on the connection point more than a second or two will do permanent damage to the PCB. Fixing small traces ripped from the PCB is very difficult, but it can be done using wire wrap wire (30ga) a very steady hand, a small amount of solder and some super glue. If you lifted a pad on a multilevel PCB you may not be able to file this, because the trace coming up the pad may be running through the middle of the board.



(Edited by coyotebandit at 9:25 pm on Feb. 20, 2002)

 

[Bill]

Maybe I over heated the connectors?

 

[Bill]

I think I have #22 gage wire is this too big??

 

[coyotebandit]

If the pad actually lifted from the board, I would say you overheated it. If there is a trace leading to the pad, you may be able to solder to that, by scraping the green coating off the trace and soldering to it. I always use stranded wire, instead of solid core wire. The stranded wire gives more, and reduces the stress on the solder joint. It is also a good idea to glue your wire inside the camera to keep it from moving and breaking your solder joint or lifting your pad. I have been using 28 ga wire for my camera mods, and it has been working great. Others have mentioned using mouse cords, and that does work well. I also use wires from VCR's that are dead, they are also a great place to find small connectors to use on your camera. Computers cords are another good place to find small wire. I wouldn't say 22 ga is too big, but I would try to find something a bit smaller, it might be easier for you.

 

[Bill]

I got some smaller wire, actually telephone wire from work This is real thin.  I guess my larger wire either does not conduct well or the solder joint did not work because of the size of my wire.  On the Olympus I see no leads hanging.  I don't know if the camera still functions but Jesse said that this camera has alternate connections for the "autofocus and the shutter"  If anyone knows where these alternate connections are please tell me.  I cannot see under the ribbon cable.  
Thanks "coyotebandit"
Bill

 

[Bill]

I hope I did not mess anything up by overheating.  If I did overheat what would happen???

 

[coyotebandit]

Unfortunately you won't know if you did any damage, until you test the camera. Overheating can cause a variety of problems depending on how hot it got, and how long it stayed hot. It changes the semiconductor's properties when you exceed the maximun heat range for the component. Some devices are more heat tolerant than others, some you can physically see the damage, others you can't. You will most likely just want to repair the board so you can re-solder your connections to something before you go any farther. I have never worked with a Olympus before, sorry I can't help you with where the alternate locations are. usually the worst damage done while soldering is to the bond between the traces, or pads and the pcb. This is what causes the pads and traces to lift from the board, the smaller the trace, or pad the more heat sensitive it will generally be.