CPS2 battery life and replacement

PCB problems and fixes
User avatar
Asayuki
Please Continue...
Posts: 431
Joined: August 29th, 2015, 10:16 pm
Location: Remuria, Germany

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by Asayuki »

<rant>
Once upon a time things were made to last. Nowadays instead...
I guess today's kids will have a lot of trouble in the future when they will want to collect / emulate / whatever the physical things which belonged to their childhood. Or maybe they just won't give a s*** about their past and we will be idiots in their eyes.
</rant>
My 15kHz cabinet Peplos will never power up, with any item, and I am quite proud of that.
User avatar
NoAffinity
Posts: 386
Joined: January 8th, 2017, 3:46 pm
Location: Escondido, CA, USA
eBay: noaffinity
Initials: CSG
Contact:

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by NoAffinity »

I recently went through and replaced batteries on all CPS-2 boards that I didn't have a record of ever servicing, or were past the 5-year mark since last servicing. 2 boards appeared to have the original batteries - Maxell's with no signs of anything other than factory solder, and no tell-tale disturbance on the PCB around the solder points. The boards with apparently original batteries were Super Street Fighter 2 X, and Street Fighter Alpha....22 year old and 21 year old batteries, respectively, still working just fine. :-o

I know we all agree, don't wait for your board to die, but thought it worth mentioning...those original batteries sometimes have a pretty long life span.
User avatar
shadowrun
Please Continue...
Posts: 10
Joined: October 5th, 2015, 5:37 pm
Location: Cheshire UK
Initials: TOE

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by shadowrun »

I will be replacing batteries on two cps2 boards for the first time with no experience of soldering ever. I have already 2 x tadiran sl350p litium 1/2 aa axial 3.6v batteries & a T20 torx screwdriver, need to get electronics grade 60/40 solder rosin flux core a soldering iron desoldering braid or pump.
Have i missed anything i need?
Is there a special type of soldering iron i need or will any do the job?
Desoldering braid or desoldering pump baring in mind i have never done this before.
I'm pretty confident in the actual process having watched many videos and read many articles just thought i'd post this in case iv'e missed something.
Cheers Toe.
User avatar
Asayuki
Please Continue...
Posts: 431
Joined: August 29th, 2015, 10:16 pm
Location: Remuria, Germany

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by Asayuki »

You might want to practice soldering first, before damaging something.
Batteries are very good heat sinks, therefore you really need a powerful soldering iron.
Make absolutely sure you don't use an iron worth a few bucks. Use a 24V isolated and grounded soldering station.
My 15kHz cabinet Peplos will never power up, with any item, and I am quite proud of that.
User avatar
shadowrun
Please Continue...
Posts: 10
Joined: October 5th, 2015, 5:37 pm
Location: Cheshire UK
Initials: TOE

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by shadowrun »

Thanks for the info never thought to practice soldering first good tip will do.
User avatar
NoAffinity
Posts: 386
Joined: January 8th, 2017, 3:46 pm
Location: Escondido, CA, USA
eBay: noaffinity
Initials: CSG
Contact:

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by NoAffinity »

shadowrun wrote:Thanks for the info never thought to practice soldering first good tip will do.
I strongly suggest watching as many tutorials and "basics of soldering" videos as you can, before and during practicing. Wish I had taken this approach years ago, been poorly to mediocre'ly soldering for years, just got good after committing the time to train and educate myself.

That said, I cannot overemphasize the importance and usefulness of flux. This is one thing that is inconsistently mentioned, and makes soldering so much easier. It is also necessary for keeping your tip clean, which is another major factor in simplifying the soldering process.

For solder removal, a pump AND braid is recommended. Hit it with the pump first, to get the majority of the solder off, then if the leg or whatever you're removing is held in place by small solder connections, hit it with the braid. Here again, flux also helps. Braids have flux on them, but adding some flux to them improves the ability to wick away the solder, especially if you've got a stubborn joint or solder on the side of the board that you can't get at because the component is in the way, the flux will help draw the solder out.

Lastly, a 60W iron is good for most applications. 40W will be underpowered, particularly for battery removal. You will have to hold it to the joint for too long, potentially heating up the board and components before getting any of the desired result at the joint. You want to hold the solder iron to the joint for the least amount of time possible, 1-2 seconds max. If your finances can handle it, I strongly recommend in a good solder station, like a Hakko fx-888d. I've had mine for a week, bought off ebay for $120 USD. If you're getting a temp controlled station, 700F is good for most applications. My Hakko has already paid for itself in time saved getting jobs done, compared to the $60+ USD I spent on cheap soldering irons, regularly replacing tips, using more solder than was truly needed, etc.

Hope this helps. Soldering is very easy if you educate yourself, practice a bit, and have all of the right tools.
User avatar
vasilas432
Posts: 173
Joined: November 11th, 2014, 4:42 pm
Location: Hellas - Crete
eBay: katzurak

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by vasilas432 »

NoAffinity wrote:
shadowrun wrote:Thanks for the info never thought to practice soldering first good tip will do.
I strongly suggest watching as many tutorials and "basics of soldering" videos as you can, before and during practicing. Wish I had taken this approach years ago, been poorly to mediocre'ly soldering for years, just got good after committing the time to train and educate myself.

That said, I cannot overemphasize the importance and usefulness of flux. This is one thing that is inconsistently mentioned, and makes soldering so much easier. It is also necessary for keeping your tip clean, which is another major factor in simplifying the soldering process.

For solder removal, a pump AND braid is recommended. Hit it with the pump first, to get the majority of the solder off, then if the leg or whatever you're removing is held in place by small solder connections, hit it with the braid. Here again, flux also helps. Braids have flux on them, but adding some flux to them improves the ability to wick away the solder, especially if you've got a stubborn joint or solder on the side of the board that you can't get at because the component is in the way, the flux will help draw the solder out.

Lastly, a 60W iron is good for most applications. 40W will be underpowered, particularly for battery removal. You will have to hold it to the joint for too long, potentially heating up the board and components before getting any of the desired result at the joint. You want to hold the solder iron to the joint for the least amount of time possible, 1-2 seconds max. If your finances can handle it, I strongly recommend in a good solder station, like a Hakko fx-888d. I've had mine for a week, bought off ebay for $120 USD. If you're getting a temp controlled station, 700F is good for most applications. My Hakko has already paid for itself in time saved getting jobs done, compared to the $60+ USD I spent on cheap soldering irons, regularly replacing tips, using more solder than was truly needed, etc.

Hope this helps. Soldering is very easy if you educate yourself, practice a bit, and have all of the right tools.
Great explanation! :thumbup:
User avatar
leonardoliveira
Please Continue...
Posts: 692
Joined: August 30th, 2012, 5:53 am
Location: Brazil
Initials: leo

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by leonardoliveira »

Flux is supposed to keep oxygen away from the solder, forming a film on top of the melted solder. That allows the solder to "wash" over the other metals and that will give you a proper metallic bond. Without flux oxygen will reach the hot surfaces, making them oxidize and consequently weakening any metallic bonds that get formed. That's why you can tell a bad soldering apart from a good one simply by looking how shinny it is. (oxidized metal surfaces look opaque versus good metallic surfaces which will look shinny)

Also, flux is supposed to have acidic nature when it's reacting with the solder. That's the main reason why you're supposed to clean the flux once you're done soldering. I for example use no clean flux or rosin core solder because once you solder you don't need to clean after working. You should clean if you are using solder paste or liquid flux as these keep their corrosive nature even after the soldering is done.

My rationale to not clean is that since the flux I use is only acidic while hot it won't corrode the board and it will keep oxygen away from the joints. Some people are anal about how the boards look and will strongly disagree with me. But that's their problem, not mine. :lol:
Image
User avatar
vasilas432
Posts: 173
Joined: November 11th, 2014, 4:42 pm
Location: Hellas - Crete
eBay: katzurak

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by vasilas432 »

leonardoliveira wrote:Flux is supposed to keep oxygen away from the solder, forming a film on top of the melted solder. That allows the solder to "wash" over the other metals and that will give you a proper metallic bond. Without flux oxygen will reach the hot surfaces, making them oxidize and consequently weakening any metallic bonds that get formed. That's why you can tell a bad soldering apart from a good one simply by looking how shinny it is. (oxidized metal surfaces look opaque versus good metallic surfaces which will look shinny)

Also, flux is supposed to have acidic nature when it's reacting with the solder. That's the main reason why you're supposed to clean the flux once you're done soldering. I for example use no clean flux or rosin core solder because once you solder you don't need to clean after working. You should clean if you are using solder paste or liquid flux as these keep their corrosive nature even after the soldering is done.

My rationale to not clean is that since the flux I use is only acidic while hot it won't corrode the board and it will keep oxygen away from the joints. Some people are anal about how the boards look and will strongly disagree with me. But that's their problem, not mine. :lol:
Thanks!
I use solder which contains flux. Do I need to add liquid flux when soldering?
User avatar
NoAffinity
Posts: 386
Joined: January 8th, 2017, 3:46 pm
Location: Escondido, CA, USA
eBay: noaffinity
Initials: CSG
Contact:

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by NoAffinity »

yes, get one of the small containers, from your local hobby or electronics store. It is good for making strong solder joints, AND for cleaning your tip while in process. It's good practice to keep the tip clean as you go. Wipe it off on the damp sponge, then dip it in the flux momentarily, and it will clean off any residual solder.
User avatar
leonardoliveira
Please Continue...
Posts: 692
Joined: August 30th, 2012, 5:53 am
Location: Brazil
Initials: leo

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by leonardoliveira »

vasilas432 wrote:
leonardoliveira wrote:Flux is supposed to keep oxygen away from the solder, forming a film on top of the melted solder. That allows the solder to "wash" over the other metals and that will give you a proper metallic bond. Without flux oxygen will reach the hot surfaces, making them oxidize and consequently weakening any metallic bonds that get formed. That's why you can tell a bad soldering apart from a good one simply by looking how shinny it is. (oxidized metal surfaces look opaque versus good metallic surfaces which will look shinny)

Also, flux is supposed to have acidic nature when it's reacting with the solder. That's the main reason why you're supposed to clean the flux once you're done soldering. I for example use no clean flux or rosin core solder because once you solder you don't need to clean after working. You should clean if you are using solder paste or liquid flux as these keep their corrosive nature even after the soldering is done.

My rationale to not clean is that since the flux I use is only acidic while hot it won't corrode the board and it will keep oxygen away from the joints. Some people are anal about how the boards look and will strongly disagree with me. But that's their problem, not mine. :lol:
Thanks!
I use solder which contains flux. Do I need to add liquid flux when soldering?
Don't add flux if you solder is rosin core. You don't need flux at all. And that's why rosin core solder is more expensive, exactly because you don't need the flux. To clean the soldering iron tip you need one of those brass sponges in a holder:

http://toolmonger.com/2008/11/12/solder ... lean-iron/

You don't need to buy that one, it can be a brass sponge from the supermarket and the container can be some kind of cigar ashtray.
Image
User avatar
NoAffinity
Posts: 386
Joined: January 8th, 2017, 3:46 pm
Location: Escondido, CA, USA
eBay: noaffinity
Initials: CSG
Contact:

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by NoAffinity »

Rosin core solder is good, but having some flux on-hand is, in my opinion, better. The rosin core tends to burn off quickly once the solder is on the tip (that's what is actually smoking when you put solder on the top...once the smoke is gone, the rosin core is gone). Okay if you're directly soldering joints, but if you're tinning things, flux makes the tinned area much stronger in my experience. For instance, if tinning wire, you don't have to hold the tip to the wire and heat it up. Just put a little flux on the wire, get some solder on the tip, then touch the tip to the fluxxed wire. Instant tin.

My process for cleaning the tip throughout a soldering job, which I adapted from watching many tutorial videos: wipe clean on the damp sponge, clean in the brass sponge, dip in flux. It's probably overkill most of the time, and in a perfect world the tip would never come in contact with the insulation on very short leads or other contaminants, but in reality it does, potentially contaminating the solder that remains on the tip and then the next solder joint. I take this approach as a matter of best practice, but maybe it's not the best for others.
User avatar
vasilas432
Posts: 173
Joined: November 11th, 2014, 4:42 pm
Location: Hellas - Crete
eBay: katzurak

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by vasilas432 »

Thanks guys for the advise, here is a pic of the finest solder I can find locally
IMG_0219.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
NoAffinity
Posts: 386
Joined: January 8th, 2017, 3:46 pm
Location: Escondido, CA, USA
eBay: noaffinity
Initials: CSG
Contact:

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by NoAffinity »

Looks like a solid setup! :thumbupright: :)
User avatar
vasilas432
Posts: 173
Joined: November 11th, 2014, 4:42 pm
Location: Hellas - Crete
eBay: katzurak

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by vasilas432 »

Thanks
Still need to buy flux. Sometimes solder won't go away from the tip
User avatar
RagingAvatar
Please Continue...
Posts: 3
Joined: August 1st, 2014, 4:20 pm
Location: Manchester
eBay: backlashcop_123

Re: CPS2 battery life and replacement

Post by RagingAvatar »

Just got my first CPS2 board - Super Street Fighter 2 X and I think it still has it's original battery inside.
I too need to get good at soldering - I'm awful as it is - so the advice in this thread has been invaluable, thanks guys.
Post Reply