SDS100/SDS200: Cold Solder Joint
- Thread starter jonwienke
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Update:
The fleas are under control upstairs, but the basement, where I have the CNC router and lathe, still has survivors. So any time I go down there, I have to take a bottle of spray with me, and do a thorough decontamination and eradication before coming back upstairs.
The battle continues...
Ona brighter note, I acquired a roll of .015" rosin core 60/40, and have figured out a technique for dealing with oxidized pins. If it's a mild case, wicking out the existing solder and adding new while the joint is submerged in flux works. But in severe cases, the only thing that works is to add enough solder to the joint that the bonding on the sides and end of the pin are sufficient to mechanically secure the joint. Sometimes "the bigger the blob, the better the job" is true. Not very often, but occasionally. In this case, it works, but I still feel kinda dirty afterward.
Anyway, I got a bunch of orders out today, and have jumped back into my repair/modding queue.
The fleas are under control upstairs, but the basement, where I have the CNC router and lathe, still has survivors. So any time I go down there, I have to take a bottle of spray with me, and do a thorough decontamination and eradication before coming back upstairs.
The battle continues...Ona brighter note, I acquired a roll of .015" rosin core 60/40, and have figured out a technique for dealing with oxidized pins. If it's a mild case, wicking out the existing solder and adding new while the joint is submerged in flux works. But in severe cases, the only thing that works is to add enough solder to the joint that the bonding on the sides and end of the pin are sufficient to mechanically secure the joint. Sometimes "the bigger the blob, the better the job" is true. Not very often, but occasionally. In this case, it works, but I still feel kinda dirty afterward.
Anyway, I got a bunch of orders out today, and have jumped back into my repair/modding queue.
I've decontaminated the area where I package up orders, but I'm definitely not judging.Given your first paragraph, I will open my package outside. Thanks for the warning.
jonweinke - I have a question.
Have an SDS100 that is currently receiving what i am looking for, although on Proscan logging, I see a consistent RSSI entry of -116.
I do not have any pulsing static. If you asked me, I'd say I dont currently have the Cold Solder Joint issue, but I dont know what I dont know....
So,
the question is, is there enough data available to support the theory that x % of the units out there will eventually develop this condition? (where x = a majority of units shipped)
What I am trying to figure out is whether it makes sense to proactively have you apply the fix to my unit, rather than wait until it stops working.
Thoughts?
Have an SDS100 that is currently receiving what i am looking for, although on Proscan logging, I see a consistent RSSI entry of -116.
I do not have any pulsing static. If you asked me, I'd say I dont currently have the Cold Solder Joint issue, but I dont know what I dont know....
So,
the question is, is there enough data available to support the theory that x % of the units out there will eventually develop this condition? (where x = a majority of units shipped)
What I am trying to figure out is whether it makes sense to proactively have you apply the fix to my unit, rather than wait until it stops working.
Thoughts?
Last edited:
What you are looking for is receiving a signal with NO SIGNAL BARS OR SIGNAL LEVEL plus the pulsing static.
If you see a constant RSSI value regardless of signal strength, that's one symptom. I've actually seen it go both ways, where RSSI always showed as "---" the first time my unit quit working, and "-40dBm" when it relapsed after going to Uniden. The exact mix of symptoms will depend on which of the 40 pins have bad connections.
I'm logging samples of test results on my YouTube channel, and so far, every radio I've tested has had at least one joint fail the probe test. If you have an early production radio, I would definitely consider being proactive. I haven't seen enough new production units to have a strong opinion about those, but I will continue to post new videos as I get more repairs done.
I'm logging samples of test results on my YouTube channel, and so far, every radio I've tested has had at least one joint fail the probe test. If you have an early production radio, I would definitely consider being proactive. I haven't seen enough new production units to have a strong opinion about those, but I will continue to post new videos as I get more repairs done.
First run releases 2018 my guess
Search the forums as owners posted numbers I have 2 UPMan never would release numbers.
383Z880003xx
383Z880002xx
383Z880003xx
383Z880002xx
Jon #2 is back home and working great thanks for the great job.
KN4GRO
Member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2010
- Messages
- 41
Hi everyone, I'm new here. Well, not new "here" just new to posting here. I also have an SDS100 that had to go in for repair at Uniden. Funny thing is that the first unit I bought was DOA with the same deafness symptoms. I returned that unit and ordered another which was on backorder for about a month. Long story short, the unit arrived in July and I used everyday for about 12 hours per day until about November 4th 2020 when this new unit went deaf again. I sent in to Uniden and they just finished the repair today. They cited the same problem (Antenna Connector/Cold Solder Joint). I'm posting the serial number range here to show that this is a recent unit and it still seems to suffer from the same problem.
Serial: 383Z080005xx
I'm attaching a screen cap of the SRO and I'm not sure what kind of identifying info is allowed here so I've made some redactions.
My SDS100 came back yesterday from Jon Wienke's repair shop and is working better than ever!
I'm hoping this was it's last trip to the hospital. Uniden repair had it the first time it died. When it died again a few days after the Uniden repair warranty expired, I sent it to Jon.
Thanks, Jon!
-Johnnie (KC5IGH)
I'm hoping this was it's last trip to the hospital. Uniden repair had it the first time it died. When it died again a few days after the Uniden repair warranty expired, I sent it to Jon.
Thanks, Jon!
-Johnnie (KC5IGH)
djeplett
Member
Had mine repaired by Jonathan a while back and I just got done taking it on a trip to the Motor City and back and it didn't miss a beat.
Mine was also a 2020 serial #. 1 DOA, 2nd one dead after 10 days. Jonathan wasn't able to fix it, and unfortunately done some further damage while attempting the repair. Uniden would NOT cover it under warranty due to "tampering" and "Damage from previous attempted repair". So, I just got it back from Uniden repair, I had to pay $80 for them to repair it, but it is fixed, for now. Bottom line, Uniden continues to have Quality Control problems with the SDS100. If anyone thinks they don't, then they are just not looking at the "proof"! If your SDS100 is good and serviceable, good for you. But for those of us that paid $700 for a dead radio on arrival, then that is no consolation.
So, what is the total cost of your SDS100 at this point?
$584-$650
I sent mine to Jon for a GPS. He called me a couple of days later and asked if I had sent it to Uniden for the cold solder repair. I confirmed it and he let me know it was circling the drain because it was about to go again. He repaired it, installed the GPS, all at a great price and it's been performing flawlessly ever since.
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