Does it matter which way the wires are fed through the board? So does it matter what side faces the magnet? I need to know if I have to desolder 2 of these cancoders to flip it over in the case.
Yes to fit it into the case… it’s pretty annoying to desolder these and we normally just set them aside until we need them on the 1-2 we have soldered on the wrong side. Would love to hear some tips from people on how to clean up the pads after desoldering…
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Solder sucker or desoldering braid?
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We try both but the hole in the contact is so small seems impossible to get out clean enough to get our power wires back in (can is a lot easier to work in). might have to try some better brands.
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It’s a little counter-intuitive, but if you’re not doing so already, adding more solder prior to using braid/solder sucker/another removal method helps a lot. I’ve never had to desolder a CANcoder specifically, but I’ll often completely fill through-holes before trying to remove any remaining solder
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So which way is right? 2 small chips on wire side or 1 larger chip?
There are some reference pictures in the CANcoder Hardware User Manual section 2.2 Wiring. In there the wire comes out opposite the sensor & magnet.
I have had to clean up several from botched solder jobs and the secret i found was to just heat it and blow the solder out of the hole, was actually very effective.
Thanks everyone the desoldering iron I bought actually worked really good
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The best recommendations are posted - blowing, sucking, wicking - and then there is always poking and brushing:
https://www.amazon.com/Haobase-6Pieces-Double-sided-Soldering-Assist/dp/B01DLX6V3C/ref=dp_prsubs_1
Caution: these tools get used by students for everything but soldering and the handles are a bit fragile so they get repaired with JB-Weld SteelStik.
When the solder braid gets old, it seems to be less effective. I have found that adding a drop of liquid flux to the part of the solder braid you are going to use before using it helps a lot.
https://www.amazon.com/Kester-83-1000-0186-Mildly-Activated-Lead-Bearing/dp/B005T8OR4I
https://www.amazon.com/Kester-Rosin-Soldering-Bottle-Clean/dp/B01MR49JY1
If the tip of the soldering iron is oxidized such that solder does not flow nicely on it, it will be difficult to use it for soldering or desoldering so replace it.
What do you blow the solder with?
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Also some braid comes with flux and some doesn’t. If you’re using braid without flux, definitely add some
and for my team that was in just 1 hour (after the CANCoder order was delivered). Upside down (multiple times for each encoder) and backwards were the most common errors followed by solder bridges. Not hard to see why there are multiple CD threads about CANCoders. And why it was pointed out there is a pre-wired option now for an extra $20. But then the students wouldn’t get as much desoldering practice on the critical path to getting the robot built.
[Note the link is descriptive but likely doesn’t select the pre-wired option.]
When I went to order the presoldered cancoders and CTRE was out of stock of cancoders so I ended up ordering them from VEX. Strangely enough VEX was cheaper then CTRE for just the cancoder
All of the solder wick I was using at work was supposed to be pre-impregnated with flux but some was pretty old. Also, once the solder wick got heated up, especially the smaller ones, the flux “burns off” in the section near the section being used so it is helpful to add a bit of liquid flux.
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We had several mis-soldered CANcoders this year. We just cut the cases so the wire would fit. It worked just fine all season. Not worth resoldering them.
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