Skipping Dvd

[toomanycats]

I had a problem with the DVD's skipping. The sound would cut out. I just happened to check the Coaxial Line Out on my Dvd player and noticed when touched the, the signal was interrupted to my Main Home theater Amp. I took the Dvd player apart and found the Coaxial Jack had cracked solders. I re-soldered the board and the problem is now fixed. I would recommend anyone who knows how to use a sottering iron to check the circuit board before you throw out the DVD player as it could be something simple. (Unplug everything before you work on it!!).

[RFBurns]

I have seen tons of items get tossed out due to cold solder connections, which were not a concern 15 years ago when solder had lead content, giving the solder strength over time. These days, all lead content has been removed from solder, thus making the solder somewhat weaker, and cannot hold up as well as time passes.

The weaker solder is also vulnerable to temperature variances, having a far tighter temperature tolorance than the old lead content solder. Over time, the solder becomes even weaker, and as that happens, the connections become brittle and cause problems.

The best substitute for the solder is using the silver solder, often used in high current, high powered solid state RF amplifiers.

Silver solder can withstand a wider temperature range, and does not become brittle as quickly as the stock solder used at the factories.

[toomanycats]

I found it interesting that the Coaxial Out cracked solders affected the video playback. A VCR would chew your tape up a spit out out while giving a fine picture for one last time! The DVD sound would drop out then the picture would freeze, my Sony amp would "freak out" (No Blue Indicator) and the DVD player would eventually start and stop playing unless you gave it a good smack. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[locoeng]

I sometimes intentionally break my solders for an excuse to get new stuff...