SDS100/SDS200: SDS100 Cold Solder Joint Issue – Repair Success + Video

[ahodak65]

Hey all,

Just wanted to share my experience dealing with the well-known cold solder joint issue on my SDS100 (2018 Vietnam build, SN ~10k). I was getting no reception on anything — even NOAA.

I decided to open it up and attempt the repair myself rather than send it to Uniden. Sure enough, reflowing the connector between the RF board and main board solved the problem. Reception is now solid again.

I recorded a short before/after video showing the issue and the fix:
📹

Hopefully this helps someone else out who's running into the same symptoms. It seems this issue affects some of the earlier units (like mine), and it might not be visually obvious without probing or trying the reflow.

If anyone else has successfully repaired this or has tips for long-term reliability, feel free to chime in!

 

[simmsrep]

Nice!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[rgchristy]

Nice job!

I don't understand why if mine was repaired by Uniden before, why it should happen again? Has anyone else had to have theirs repaired more than once?

 

[rgchristy]

By any chance do you have any pictures that are zoomed-out (if that is such a compound word) of the area that you are working on?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fxdscon]

Nice job!

I don't understand why if mine was repaired by Uniden before, why it should happen again? Has anyone else had to have theirs repaired more than once?

Check this post:

SDS100/SDS200: - Cold Solder Joint

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I sent my SDS100 in for the cold solder joint issue, and after about a month away from home, it came back working again. Until today. The A/C in my house is broken, and ambient has been 85F or so the last couple days, and so the SDS100 has been running warmer than...

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