EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
General => General Technical Chat => Topic started by: lordvader88 on March 14, 2019, 06:45:27 am
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When I've gotten things like motherboards and videocard's delivered in the winter at well below freezing, I've let the sit for a while to warm up and not have water condensing on them and hopefully not mechanically stress anything.
Anyone else cautious like that ? Should I do it with an LCD monitor too ?
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Anything so cold that you can feel condensation even on the packaging will sit at home for at least a day.
Do not put it directly next to the heater ;)
Regarding fast temperature changes, a small anecdote: In the winter, when I open the window of my bedroom, where also the computer is located, I always hear sometimes really loud cracking sounds from my monitors. I usually open the window in the early morning, to get up better, so the computer is turned off.
After several years doing this, the sound still makes me wonder, but so far nothing broke.
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Over this past winter I took delivery of a Siglent SDM3055 and a Fluke 8810A. Both of them were freezing cold from sitting in cold warehouses and delivery trucks. I let them sit for about an hour at room temperature before powering up. But even so it took a good 2 to 3 days of simply powered on idling before they really stabilized.
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Probably inconsequential compared to the thermal stress during reflow. The only thing I would be careful about is condensation. I would say it's fine to put it on top of the heater, warm it up, check for condensation, and power it on.
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Not everything insde the assembly passes through reflow. Don't put it on a heater.
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Caps on old IEC mains sockets with the built in filter were the most likely thing to suffer. Always stank when they blew
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If you are looking at test gear I would definately allow it to settle. I have seen units that spec 12 hours recovery after shipping before powering up. It does resolve to 100 atto-amps though.
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Due to breathing issues, I keep the humidity in my house somewhat high. I always let hardware acclimate to the house temperature and humidity before use. No less than 24 hours. More than that is overkill here in Ohio, USA.