Rosin Short Circuit Detector - Does anyone know about this tool? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: t1d
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2021, 05:10:14 am
content: I saw this on YouTube:Is it junk?How does it work? I saw a comment that said it is similar to an e-cigarette? Maybe it creates a cold water vapor and, when the faulted component heats up, it clears the fog covering that component?How to get one in the USA? I saw the unit on Ebay, but no rosin chips...Please and thank you. Cheers!

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2021, 05:22:36 am
content: This is the same thing as you can do with a regular canned air in an upside down freezer mode. It relies on the shorted capacitor heating up.

author: t1d
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2021, 05:35:58 am
content: Found the answer:Start after 3:00Thanks

author: Berni
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 28, 2021, 05:51:57 am
content: Yeah this is the same white residue left after soldering iron smoke. The white residue just gets motivated to evaporate once it gets hot enough.I suppose it is a pretty neat trick. The other way of doing this is to pour some alcohol over the board and watch where it evaporates really quickly. Both of those are better than nothing when you don't have a fancy pants thermal camera.

author: SteveyG
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 28, 2021, 09:50:25 am
content: Not such a great thing to vapourise in such quantities though

author: WattsThat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2021, 12:02:15 am
content: Quote from: ataradov on July 28, 2021, 05:22:36 amBeware of using canned air as freeze spray. They now add some rather nasty bitterant agents to prevent kids from inhaling the propellants. Spraying a can upside down to get a liquid will result in drenching your board with this bitterant and if you don’t work with gloves, you’ll know if you ever get the stuff on any mucous membranes. It’s nasty with a capital N.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2021, 12:20:24 am
content: Quote from: WattsThat on July 29, 2021, 12:02:15 amThat bitterant is not that strong. You will probably not like if you inhale it directly, but in normal use you can kind of feel it, but there is definitely no need to use gloves. I use canned air all the time to cool things and never had any issues with it.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 07:53:54 am
content: I would be more worried about sicky rosin residue building up in your lungs and basically everything in the room.Someone asked where to buy rosin, it can be bought in blocks in any music instrument shop. It is rubbed on bows to increase the friction between the bow and string.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 10:57:53 am
content: Rosin isn't what I'm worried about, you probably get years worth of worse from an open fire or gas heater. Just don't breathe it in. The flux you need to worry about is whatever they throw into Chinese flux or the ones not intended for hand soldering.Anyway rosin in the lungs, just cough it out onto your hands and start your gymnastics routine.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 11:39:55 am
content: This thing has very limited use. IME shorted ceramic capacitors usually heat a fewoC above surroundings, so this thing will be completely useless for finding that. Faulty ICs often heat only slightly above normal too. Not to say this thing contaminates everything with rosin. What you really need for such job is a thermal camera (which became quite affordable lately). Everything else is a piss-poor substitute which does not work half of the time (can detect only what's really frying) and is worth to use only if you really don't have the money or it's for a one-off thing you won't do again.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 11:45:05 am
content: Quote from: Berni on July 28, 2021, 05:51:57 amIt melts, not evaporates.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 02:07:55 pm
content: It's more like it sublimates.I've had too much Breaking bad to see that as a tool

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 06, 2021, 05:14:27 pm
content: poor mans thermal1/30th the price but I would say for a EE, buying a thermal cam is worth it because it opens doors. you learn how to manage a new sensor spectrumIMO save your 9$ in a slush fund and buy a Ti