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From: Jan Panteltje <alien@comet.invalid>
Newsgroups: sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: How to protect circuit boards that must be exposed to weather?
Date: Fri, 02 Aug 2024 05:27:16 GMT
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On a sunny day (Thu, 1 Aug 2024 17:50:29 -0700) it happened John Robertson
<jrr@flippers.com> wrote in <v8hagn$2f8eq$1@dont-email.me>:

>I have another problem - display panels on an outdoor hammer game - the 
>style that you swing a hammer at a pedestal and it lights up a column of 
>LED panels with 8x8 graphics.
>
>The one I am repairing was made in 2001 and it is breaking down. The 
>surface mounted serial drivers are loosing connection to the PCBs from 
>being thermally stressed over a couple of decades of outdoor use and I 
>want to make replacement panels (the original company has abandoned the 
>product) that will be more durable.
>
>Currently on the rear (somewhat protected) side of the board is the 
>electronics, covered (or course) with a conformal coating. The outer 
>side is an 8 X 8 matrix of LEDs in groups of 8 for each pixel of the 64 
>pixels on the panel.
>
>There are 40 - 8 x 8.75 inch panels going up around 30 feet...
>
>Is there a better way to solder on SMD devices to help avoid thermal 
>solder failure? After connection corrosion, the biggest problem is 
>solder failure of the SMD pads to the PCBs.

I have this Motec satellite dish positioner, bought around year 2000,
sits outside in the very cold (freezing) and very hot (glowball worming) weather,
has GHz electronics and connectors, and motor drive electronics.
Never ever failed.
I once opened it up, it was covered (the electronics) in what looks like candle wax...
I wanted to see something about the motor drive (curiosity) and pressed my scope probe point through the wax.
Did I melt it gain? Dunno, but it still works 100% every day.