Al,
Some wonderful photos there dude. BTW, we really call those solder joint issues, "Cold Solder Joints" because they usually are caused by not heating up the actual connector hot enough. I gather you know proper soldering technique, but for those who don't here we go. You need to put a dab of solder on the iron's tip for good heat conduction, then apply the tip of the iron to the connector you are soldering, and only when the solder can melt from coming in contact with the wire and or connector that you are soldering (not the old melt the solder on the iron's tip and then allow it to drip onto the connection, that causes the fore mentioned cold solder joints) itself are you ready to apply the solder to the joint you are creating.
Another good tip for folks is, if you are connecting a bare wire to some sort of connector, it is best to first "Tin" the wire before attempting to solder it to any connector. This is simply done by heating up the wire to the point where again the solder can freely melt and flow into and onto the strands themselves without touching the tip. Now you will have a much better connection with that wire you are mating to the connector. Hope this helps all you DIO'ers out there. Have fun....
