My first XPE2 Torch dedome didn’t go well so I figgered I got nothing to lose trying to solder the broken bond wire. I filed down the tip of my iron, put some solder on it and carefully touched it as close as I dared to the wire. It didn’t look like any solder got the wire so I snatched it up and threw it in my dead LED pile.
Today, I grabbed it to test the effects of xylene on the phosphor and thought just for jollies, I’d test the LED. Let’s just say I started handling it more carefully afterwards.
You can see how I luckily only bent the good wire while mishandling it:
Looks like a little polished turd sittin’ there.
I really don’t know how good the solder joint is so I won’t run this one hard.
Thanks for the link, KKW . Next time I replace my tip, I’ll take precautions.
My tip was corroded to the point where it was a scaly nub so I normally just used whatever part would hold solder and scrape it clean periodically. It works fine for average sized stuff but no way it would’ve put solder where it was needed on that emitter. It does stay in decent condition for a long time after removing the scale if I keep it freshly tinned and only turn it on when necessary.
Why do my new tips look like they’re nickel plated if it supposed to be iron? Shouldn’t they appear dark gray?
. It worked up to about 1.3amps before it popped again.