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Well, I finally bit the bullet and took my peavey mixer in for service, get faders cleaned out and have the mic xlr's looked at.  Since I've gotten it two years ago (used)...I've had a slew of issue with mics dropping in/out and having to switch channels to make it through the night, etc.  I have 6 channels that have an xlr connector, I was informed that 5 out of the 6 connectors had the solder broken on at least one of the pins.  NO WONDER I was having these issues.  I was constantly switching cables and checking settings and other stuff that had nothing to do with the real problem.  I'm going to pick it up today.  My only real question is this:  Is this more of a 'common' problem that I had thought?  Has it been broken since day 1 that I got it, most likely it was?.   I must say, I have never been even slightly abusive to my equipment, quite the opposite actually.  MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
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The term 'solder broken' seems a little ambiguous... as the xlr connectors are fixed and would not move around a lot, it's not likely that the solder joint would have fatigued and broken.   At a guess I would say they meant that the pins had 'dry solder joints', a very common problem in electronic equipment, especially in older equipment.  The fact that so many of the pins were affected seems to indicate that 'dry joints' were in fact the problem and they are most probably due to poor soldering techniques during manufacture.  If this was the problem, I do hope that they removed the old solder before resoldering the pins, otherwise the dry joints will return.

I've never had any board that lost that many XLR connectors - especially in a 2 year period.  I can see MAYBE 1 or 2 and that's a big maybe.  I would say it was either soldered bad from the factory to begin with or you are just REALLY harsh on your equipment when plugging your cords in - and I doubt that's the case.

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You are right murrlyn but I think they were talking about pc mounted xlr's Big leads on a pc board can have a solder break with a ring around the lead. I have found this in Mackie 808's with the big filters in the power supply.

In the olden days when they first started putting tube type tv's on pc boards even tube sockets this was very common. In the solder bath the big leads dont get enough solder.. (and some factories dont have rework gals soldering them) Out of habit I still resolder all the big leads on a pc board whether they look bad or not. The bigger the blob the better the job (to a certain point)  

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Well I have been having issues with the 2 super channels since day one, which were the mic channels used by the previous owner and I had just recently have moved to using 2 other inputs.  Like most stuff, I pry got the (1) lemon, bad from the get-go.  Am very curious....will know this weekend!  MrD

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[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
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That is classic 'dry joint' appearance and calls for the joint to be heated and the solder removed before trying to re-solder the joint.  Just adding more solder to create a "bigger blob" will not fix the problem and the dry joint will reappear in no time.



It's not really a case of not getting enough solder, moreso that the bigger leads require more heat than small leads and they don't get heated correctly as they pass through the bath.  Larger amounts of solder are more likely to be detrimental to a good solder joint.

Oliver Smith EE BSE Engineering soulutions INC...

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As the question was if broken solder joints are a common problem. A quick answer would be that it certainly isn't all that rare especially as you noted the board was purchased USED two years ago and and we are assuming the XLR connectors are PC mounted. Only guessing on the mounting as the model of the board wasn't mentioned. Years of getting cables pushed in and pulled out, not to mention getting yanked around isn't conducive to the eternal life of a solder joint. I know I've resoldered my share over the years. Life goes on.

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Well I picked up the board and tested it, everything is in working order.  The repair man told me he suspects it had been in trouble for a long time and should have good results from it in the future.  The are not pc mounted, it is from a Peavey board RQ-14 for anyone interested....MrD

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I find that mixers are quite disposable at $300 to $400 I replace mine every 3 years.
It'ds a bummer you only got 2 years out of your but you mentioned previous owner. How old was the mixer?

I use mireless mics all rack mounted, my cables never get unpluged. I have never had an xlr problem. I just tend to wear out faders.

$300 - $400 seems to be a lot of cash to outlay for a linear potentiometer and a little solder!  My option would be just to replace the pots!