Editing Sinclair QL Troubleshooting Guide (section)

=== Repairing the socket ===

# Work with the board out of the case and supported flat.
# Add fresh flux and leaded solder to each of the eight pins, then reflow them properly — do not simply touch the iron on the old joint.
# Inspect every pad under magnification for lifting or a ring crack. A pad that has lifted but is still attached to its track will fail again; a pad whose track has broken needs a link.
# '''Repair broken tracks with insulated wire links''' soldered from the connector pin to the next solid point on the net (a via, component leg or IC pin), rather than trying to rebuild fine copper.
# Buzz out each pin to its destination before powering up.
# Add strain relief — anchoring the lead or the socket so that force on the cable is not carried by the solder joints.
# Consider fitting series protection on the video lines. Samsung's factory fix was diodes on the ZX8301 video pins; series resistors in the cable protect against low-impedance loads.<ref name="cowo" /><ref name="junker" />

'''Prevention:''' always power the QL and the monitor down before connecting or disconnecting the video lead, and switch the QL and monitor on the same mains outlet or switched strip to avoid earth-potential differences.<ref name="tfs" />