coop 595 board rusting?????

[robots4joey]

I got two of the coop 595 boards in the big coop earlier this year. I finally got to assemble one of them this weekend, and I realised that there is a significant amount or rust looking material on much of the connections.

Is this normal?

It was easily cleared off with a little steel wool, but I am concerned about the appearance of my boards in say, a year from now.

What can I do to protect them from looking like this?

[stempile]

Are you sure it is rust? It maybe the type of solder you use and the amount of flux it has in it. Was the brown stuff sticky or gummy? after you soldered it, or after it sat? You may need to get some flux cleaner to remove the stuff. The flux will protect the connections after soldering, but it also may attract dust and other stuff since it is sticky. Hope that is the case and it isn't rust.

ms

[BuzzKill]

A clear acrylic or other spray laquer will seal the boards and keep the copper from oxidizing. Or you can dip the whole thing in liquid electrical tape. That will coat the whole board and keep it from oxidizing. Just make sure you mask off your LED's first. :)

[A Marchini]

I got two of the coop 595 boards in the big coop earlier this year. I finally got to assemble one of them this weekend, and I realised that there is a significant amount or rust looking material on much of the connections.

Is this normal?

It was easily cleared off with a little steel wool, but I am concerned about the appearance of my boards in say, a year from now.

What can I do to protect them from looking like this?

Perhaps the Tin Plating is breaking down. Did you keep these in a cold room? I wonder what the tin alloy is.
Tony

[BSummitt]

I noticed the same thing on two of my 595's that I didnt populate. They seem to be oxidizing.

[Michael]

From the experts out there:

How should un-populated boards be stored?
Should any special care be used in handling them?
Does hand oil damage the boards?
Do we need to wear gloves?

Is there some tutorial that explains all of this?

- Michael

[Dan Ross]

I got mine from the 595 coop and had no problems, I kept mine in a storage closet inside my apartment.

[robots4joey]

Mine were just up in a bookshelf unpopulated... constant room temp...

No the brownish residue wasn't sticky... just a light brushing with steel wool cleaned it off...

It'll probably be a year before I populate the other board... so I am very interested in protective storage...

Thanks all!

[qhatcher]

I noticed the same on one of my two boards. It wasn't really heavy looking rust you could wipe it off with a cloth. Most of it was around the standoffs. I had mine stored on a shelf in my kitchen.

[wjohn]

From the experts out there:

How should un-populated boards be stored?
Should any special care be used in handling them?
Does hand oil damage the boards?
Do we need to wear gloves?

Is there some tutorial that explains all of this?

- Michael

I'll have a go. Unpopulated boards should be stored in a plastic bag, sealed with a silca pouch (to absorb moisture).. All the boards I have made are delivered to me in a shrink wrap, vacum sealed, Silca encapsulated bag.

Always handle the boards by the edges.

Handoil, moisture etc will all react with the metalic surfaces.

Gloves are not needed, general precautions are fine. If you are concerned about the boards that have been stored for a period of time, you can clean them with a PCB cleaner (acetate is the main ingrediant I believe- the same as nail polish remover, but dont use that as it contains oils).

Once the board is assembled, I clean my boards with a Rosin cleaner (to get rid of the rosin from the solder) and then give them a spray with a PCB sealant (that can be reworked through if required). Both are spray cans.

I did my HRHS course in 1982, so I am sure things have improved since then.