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That time I took my POS Woofer Tester 3 apart..

...and saw this.

My daughter solders better than this.

I have a signature.
PWRRYDhifisideSteve_Leedynamougly_wooferScottSBryan@MAC

Comments

  • I’ve seen worse, only bad joint is the most important one, output wiring laid flat on pcb pads will be prone to tearing the pads off the board if the strain relief allows for any stress to that joint.

    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • FWIW, the guts of the newer DATS v3 look a lot nicer.

    Steve_LeeBilletR-Carpenter
    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • edited January 2023

    Interesting that they sanded off the chip identification.

    6thplanet
  • I saw that🤔

  • It's no wonder that woofer testers end up dead. Cold joints anyone?

  • More like: cold joints for everyone. That's bad!

    How is it that there are lots of good hobby circuit boards like the uno, pi, and adafruit that are far more advanced and better made for less money?

  • @kenrhodes said:
    More like: cold joints for everyone. That's bad!

    How is it that there are lots of good hobby circuit boards like the uno, pi, and adafruit that are far more advanced and better made for less money?

    Considering this was what? A $70 piece of hardware 12 or 13 years ago - there is absolutely no excuses for the across the board shit solder joints. PE never owned up to these pieces of shit, either.

    I have a signature.
  • When I got mine it would only intermittently work. I took it apart and touched up all the solder joints. It's been working fine since then (~12 years now).

  • Probably assembled with those crap Stahl soldering stations.

    PWRRYDkenrhodesjr@macSteve_Lee4thtry
  • I can see how that would Stahl your production...

    jr@macSteve_LeePWRRYD
  • When I took this apart I had just finished a one week mil-spec soldering class. I was working for a large company that manufactures digital billboards and scoreboards (market leader hands-down; everyone here has seen their products large and small). I was a process engineer in one of their electronics assembly divisions, and we utilized three radial inserter machines and a pair of Siemens SMD placement machines. We had minimal hand soldering of components, using instead reflow ovens for the SMD portions, and two different wave flow types. One was a continuous conveyor and the other was a pick and place robot. I spent two months working on their "wet end" division helping streamline processes for building the PCB, worked directly with our Chinese division to get their processes under control.

    I examined thousands of individual solder joints via X-Ray, high end vision systems, and magnifying systems. I programmed all of the robotics and vision systems used in my division. I worked with QC on numerous solder issues, and generally developed an experts eye for soldering.

    The original Woofer Tester 3 exhibits no quality of solder joint anywhere on the board.

    dcibelSteve_Lee
    I have a signature.
  • P.S. - to this day I do not enjoy soldering all that much lol. Too much of a good thing, I suppose.

    I have a signature.
  • The difference between a commercial grade product and consumer grade.

    I worked for a small IT company some years ago that supported local companies with customer facing locations. One location, that was most recently built, they filled with about 10 TV displays that would be left on 24/7. After several years the original displays started going out. They would replace them with consumer grade units and wondered why they would die within a year. On top of constant problems getting them to recognise the input due to so many splitters being used.

    I bet the woofer tester was a relatively low demand item compared to the R/D costs involved. That is a recipe for high cost per unit and lower quality construction. Probably a tough decision to make.

    dcibelSteve_Lee
  • edited January 2023

    I also have one of these devices (WT3). It has been intermittent over the years for me as well. I replaced it a few years ago with a DATS V2, which has worked without fail since I bought it. Today, I took my WT3 apart for inspection and discovered that it looks pretty much the same as JR's (the white wire broke off as I was handling it, so that may have been the problem). Craig, I noticed that you successfully fixed yours by touching up the solder joints. I was thinking about trying this as well, but noticed that the board is extremely small with very small traces and surface mount parts. If not careful, I could very easily destroy the small chips and smd's with a heavy handed soldering technique. I was thinking that I would definitely need to purchase a good magnifier type light for this type of work. I have a Weller WE1010 with fine tips and can adjust the temperature down to maybe 550F or so. I also have a Hakko FR-301 desoldering tool, but I would only want to use that, very briefly, on the larger input/output wiring connections.

  • edited January 2023

    Pffft, that's just a WT3. Hyundai has recently recalled a batch of vehicles with 8-speed DCTs where a small number could fail somewhat abruptly due to a quality soldering defect:

    Description of the Defect:
    The electric oil pump within the 8-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) may experience an internal fault due to a quality deviation issue at the supplier. As a result, the subject vehicles may set a diagnostic trouble code with warnings and allow the vehicle to be driven normally for 20-30 seconds, followed by complete loss of motive power due to disengagement of the transmission drive gears.

    Description of the Cause:
    Detachment of a component of the electric oil pump circuit board due to insufficient soldering at the supplier.

    Going in for my remedy this week. :/

  • Wow, that's awful.

  • At least they fix their issues. Dan N had a defect recall in his Elantra that involved replacing the engine. The entire engine!!! High-Yoon-Die-Ay (yeah, I know it's Hun-day, just messing around.) I guess does what they should and reputably so. Would "Kick It Again" do that? I digress......

  • @ugly_woofer said:
    Wow, that's awful.

    It certainly is. While the percentage of actual failures is quite low, several models are affected, and once you know, it plays in the back of your mind a lot.

  • Talk about messing with you, insurance companies are not going to insure Hyundai's and Kia's in St. Louis due to thefts.

     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • Same thing is rumored here John. Not sure if it's true.

  • Yeah the Hyundais definitely had a bad batch of engines. My wife has free oil changes on her jeep from the dealer but the dealer has a Hyundai branch closer so we get it done there, anyway, every time we go there there are a bunch of plastic engine crates sitting in the receiving area.

    Everything has its issues though. My Silverado has the afm/dod (death on demand) and despite the gen III/IV/V (LS) engines being incredibly tough (known to run over 600hp on boost reliably on 200k+ junkyard 5.3s - love or hate gm these engines are decent and can last forever) those lifters make me wonder every day if today is the day.. makes a great engine a complete pos.

  • Don't forget when GM introduced those engines, they had piston slap issues for several years.

  • edited January 2023

    Yeah they weren’t quiet during a couple variations/years. Still undeniably a decent engine series to be brought to its knees by stupid afm lifter failure.. I wish I had the money to buy a new one cuz with chip shortages and whatnot you can buy them now without it.

  • @dynamo said:
    Yeah they weren’t quiet during a couple variations/years. Still undeniably a decent engine series to be brought to its knees by stupid afm lifter failure.. I wish I had the money to buy a new one cuz with chip shortages and whatnot you can buy them now without it.

    That is valuable information since I've been truck looking and not at all satisfied with the reliability stats I've been finding on new trucks.

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