The Sinclair QL Forum

I would recommend the T48 over the tl866ii as the 866ii is obsolete and the T48 is it's replacement.

jobdone wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 7:25 am I would recommend the T48 over the tl866ii as the 866ii is obsolete and the T48 is it's replacement.

Thanks jobdone, it’s the T48 that I ordered in the end

Have only really got it for GALs, as I normally use my GQ-4x4

The T48 arrived today and have set it up and tested it

Will read up on programming GALs with it next, as know nothing about that

Don't forget to update !!

12.88 is the current , fw 1.33

techy wrote: Sat May 03, 2025 7:35 pm Don't forget to update !!

12.88 is the current , fw 1.33

Yep, I installed the latest software and flashed the firmware

Thanks

Is it best practice to trim the legs of components like resistors before or after soldering please?

Many thanks

t0nyt wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 9:28 am Is it best practice to trim the legs of components like resistors before or after soldering please?

Some people argue the snip of the excess of an already soldered component might disturb the integrity of the joint.

I'm arguing that if your soldering is so bad that you think this can happen, then you should better not solder in the first place, because any other shock your PCB will experience through its lifetime will affect that bad joint as well. Cutting first is more than twice the work than cutting last and I pretty much doubt that anyone who spreads this (IMHO) urban myth has ever soldered anything significant in their lifetime.

Use some sharp cutters to not put unnecessary stress on the solder joint and cut after the component is soldered in place. You should be fine.

There are military and aerospace grade soldering instructions that recommend trimming legs before soldering. There, the reasoning is that the exposed (i.e., not covered in solder) cut ends attract corrosion that might creep up the legs into the component. That might well be the case and a good reasoning for cutting before soldering, so, if you intend to send your QL to space or war, you might want to solder last

tofro wrote: Sun May 04, 2025 9:58 am Use some sharp cutters to not put unnecessary stress on the solder joint and cut after the component is soldered in place. You should be fine.

Ok, many thanks tofro

cut afterwards= always the right size without measuring.

Unless you have the special clippers that bend the leads to hold component always snip afterwards.