My father in law's 1970s soldering tip saved a $40 board last month

Back in July I was trying to fix an old stereo receiver I got at a garage sale in Dayton. The power supply section had a cracked joint I could see with a magnifier. I was about to just reflow it with my normal iron when my father in law, who built ham radios back in the 70s, told me to heat the pad for a full five seconds before touching the solder. I thought that was way too long and would lift the trace. Tried it anyway on a junk board first, and it worked like a charm. The solder flowed smooth, no cold joint, and the receiver has been running fine for a month now. Funny thing is, all the YouTube videos I watch say the opposite, quick in and out. Has anyone else had luck with the old slow heat method, or did I just get lucky this one time?

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beth_hunt7d ago

honestly the whole quick in and out thing is for people who already know their iron is hot enough and their pads are clean. your fil knew what he was doing, old timers learned by burning up boards and finding out what actually works. five seconds sounds insane but on a big ground plane or an old joint with years of oxidation it makes total sense. you need that soak time to get the whole joint up to temp, not just the surface. the youtube crowd is mostly working on fresh boards where you dont need it, so they think it's bad practice. you got the real world result, that's what matters.