This normal? Just opened my Solo and found this...

[BobPhoto]

Hi all. First, thanks for all of the guidance and advice. This group rocks!

I opened my Solo to do the Here GPS upgrade, and upon removing my battery tray and stock GPS, found some residue near solder points on the main board.
Photos attached.

Is this normal? Evidence of repairs?

Bought it used from a guy, and it flies fine. Just wanted to check.

Thanks!

 

[Kennamer]

It is normal, unless you have OCD, Q-tips, and electronics cleaner!

 

[BobPhoto]

Gotcha! I'm a bit OCD when it comes to some things, but as long as it's working, I'm okay with it as-is.

Thanks very much. A little peace of mind goes a long way.

 

[Kennamer]

I think I missed a spot... I went back in for some more cleaning! Haha!

 

[BobPhoto]

Now THAT'S clean!

 

[allen_993]

The cleaner and more tidy things are...the better they seem to work. While I'm kinda joking...there actually IS a bit of truth in that statement.

 

[Kennamer]

I have since removed the sticker from the gimbal wiring for MASSIVE weight savings! ;-)

 

[allen_993]

I have since removed the sticker from the gimbal wiring for MASSIVE weight savings! ;-)

LOL...I currently don't use a camera, so the camera frame sticking out of the bottom was driving me nuts. I had to get rid of it! Of course my Solo flies soooo much better without it.

 

[Kennamer]

No camera? Better flight characteristics? They have model airplanes for that! ;-)

 

[allen_993]

No camera?

...no camera....YET!

 

[PaulyDude]

I've been into electronics (officially) since I was 13 yrs old and apprenticed at a television repair shop. (earlier than that on my own). I started with tubes and transitioned to transistors soon after. That is NOT normal manufacturing that caused those marks, more like something spilled and then dried. If it's working ok, no problem - it didn't actually affect the solder joints. You can clean it if you don't like it with the Kennamer suggests just fine. Btw I'm 55 now and own 3 solo's.... Just sayin'

 

[PaulyDude]

One or two more things.. You can reflow the solder to ensure it stays working properly pretty easily. Just get the iron hot enough to melt the solder and feed the smallest amount of new solder onto the joint. 2nd, if you look closely at the circuit board on risers, you'll notice at the top of the board are some liquid splatter patterns...

 

[E M]

I just noticed some things comparing Kennamer's board to BobPhoto's board:

1) the manufacture dates (30 15 vs 40 15) are (about 10 weeks?) different, but v(ersions) v2 v3 are going in the opposite direction of the manufacture dates.

2) Kennamer has pins 15-23 open; BobPhoto has pins 17-23 open. Shouldn't 15-23 be open as stock?

 

[PaulyDude]

Yes! If you look at the ribbon cable, it stops at 14. The previous owner has added 2 wires, 15=batt, 16=usb gnd. I know this because I have added wires down to the aux connector on the bottom of solo for another 2 channels that share the pause servo out signal and the gimbal servo out signal. I mounted a Paratrooper GI Joe drop servo to the pause button and a gimbal sweep for a 4 laser sweep function to my solo... Lol!

 

[PaulyDude]

Also a pause button spotlight for another attachment.

 

[PaulyDude]

(I work 3rd shift and vampires get creative even in the dead of night)

 

[BobPhoto]

Thanks for the deep dive into my board.
So aside from looking like it was flown in the rain and not dried out, what could those pin outputs be used for? Is it a 5v out USB power source?

Already installed the Here GPS upgrade, so why stop there?

Thanks!

 

[mike_kelly]

That wierd goo is on all of mine too. Not normal flux residue. I am not sure what it is.

 

[Kennamer]

It was on two other Solos that I have worked on too. Maybe the tears of the employees ?

 

[BobPhoto]

It was on two other Solos that I have worked on too. Maybe the tears of the employees ?

Thought those were only in Apple products. Or was that "tears of the child laborers"?