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Remedial soldering 101

2002-12-09 by Brousseau, Paul E (Paul)

OK, either I have lost ALL my chops, or something's amiss.

I finally got a day to myself yesterday, and I took that time to construct the 830 mixer. (Yes, it's been THAT long since I've been able to do much soldering-- I got it as a subscriber.) Got all the way up to soldering the braided ends of the coaxial to the bevelled lug on the switchcrafts, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a good looking joint. The solder just bubbles up around the joint, rather than really melding. All my other joints (including the core of the coaxial) look good to decent.

It feels like I couldn't get the braided wire hot enough to meld with the solder. At one point, though, one of the braids become brittle and snapped as I flexed it. Surely this isn't very good. I had my (cheap Radio Shack) soldering iron set to "high", which has consistantly worked in the past.

Any suggestions? I've never changed the tip, but that hasn't seemed to give me any trouble before. Perhaps the iron is failing? Did something change with the coaxial? Do I need to learn more patience and wait a significant amount of time (i.e., more than 15 seconds) before applying the solder to the braid?

Tonight it gets powered up to see just how badly it's turned out. :(

Thanks for any suggestions!

--PBr

Re: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

2002-12-09 by Paul Schreiber

High setting is vaporizing the flux, rendering it useless.

PLEASE do yourself a favor and get a nice Weller iron.

Paul S.

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----- Original Message -----

From: Brousseau, Paul E (Paul)

To: motm@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 1:32 PM

Subject: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

OK, either I have lost ALL my chops, or something's amiss.

I finally got a day to myself yesterday, and I took that time to construct the 830 mixer. (Yes, it's been THAT long since I've been able to do much soldering-- I got it as a subscriber.) Got all the way up to soldering the braided ends of the coaxial to the bevelled lug on the switchcrafts, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a good looking joint. The solder just bubbles up around the joint, rather than really melding. All my other joints (including the core of the coaxial) look good to decent.

It feels like I couldn't get the braided wire hot enough to meld with the solder. At one point, though, one of the braids become brittle and snapped as I flexed it. Surely this isn't very good. I had my (cheap Radio Shack) soldering iron set to "high", which has consistantly worked in the past.

Any suggestions? I've never changed the tip, but that hasn't seemed to give me any trouble before. Perhaps the iron is failing? Did something change with the coaxial? Do I need to learn more patience and wait a significant amount of time (i.e., more than 15 seconds) before applying the solder to the braid?

Tonight it gets powered up to see just how badly it's turned out. :(

Thanks for any suggestions!

--PBr

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RE: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

2002-12-09 by Brousseau, Paul E (Paul)

I don't think that there was any heat sink; I soldered the coaxial core first, then the braid. The jack was already mounted to the panel. And the coaxial was soldered to the PCB, of course. Nothing else was locally physically connected, and none of the solder local solder joints melted. If there was any solder on the poor joint, and I applied more heat to the braid, it wouldn't even heat the existing solder.

I think I'll take Paul S.'s suggestion, and ask Santa for a nice Weller for xmas.

Thanks for the help!

--PBr

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-----Original Message-----
From: Tkacs, Ken [mailto:ken.tkacs@...]
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 11:48 AM
To: MOTM Forum All
Subject: FW: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

Is something acting as a heat sink in the area? Seems unlikely, but...

Either that or the thermostat is going in your iron. My Weller is 16 years old and hasn't failed but I hear it happens.

-----Original Message-----
From: Brousseau, Paul E (Paul) [mailto:noise@Avaya.com]

...It feels like I couldn't get the braided wire hot enough to meld with the solder. At one point, though, one of the braids become brittle and snapped as I flexed it. Surely this isn't very good. I had my (cheap Radio Shack) soldering iron set to "high", which has consistantly worked in the past...

Re: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

2002-12-09 by Richard Brewster

Good chance there is a problem with the soldering iron. First thing, make sure the tip is secure and not loose. Next, change the tip. Better yet, ditch the cheap iron and get a temperature-controlled unit.

Heating for 15 seconds is way too long. Something is amiss. Soldering tips (oops, a pun):

Always keep the tip clean and tinned. The work should be tinned first (MOTM wires come pre-tinned). Apply the tinned tip to the work. Hold it so both work parts are touching the tip (braid and lug in this case). Heat the work for a short time (1 - 3 seconds, depending on the size of the work and the heat of the tip) before applying solder, and then apply solder to the work - don't apply the solder to the tip. You want the heated parts to melt the solder, not the tip. ; This requires good contact between the tip and the work, and a tinned tip. Flow just enough solder onto the work, then remove the heat. Do not disturb the work until the solder cools and sets (typically 2 - 5 seconds). The joint should appear smooth and shiny. After doing this a few thousand times, you start getting the hang of it. The same principles apply for any size of work, but the durations and tip temperature will vary. It does require learning a feel for it.

If you need to redo a joint, sometimes it helps to remove the old solder with a solder wick braid before starting over. That's an art in itself that I won't go into right now :).

-Richard Brewster

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----- Original Message -----

From: Brousseau, Paul E (Paul)

To: motm@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 2:32 PM

Subject: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

OK, either I have lost ALL my chops, or something's amiss.

I finally got a day to myself yesterday, and I took that time to construct the 830 mixer. (Yes, it's been THAT long since I've been able to do much soldering-- I got it as a subscriber.) Got all the way up to soldering the braided ends of the coaxial to the bevelled lug on the switchcrafts, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a good looking joint. The solder just bubbles up around the joint, rather than really melding. All my other joints (including the core of the coaxial) look good to decent.

It feels like I couldn't get the braided wire hot enough to meld with the solder. At one point, though, one of the braids become brittle and snapped as I flexed it. Surely this isn't very good. I had my (cheap Radio Shack) soldering iron set to "high", which has consistantly worked in the past.

Any suggestions? I've never changed the tip, but that hasn't seemed to give me any trouble before. Perhaps the iron is failing? Did something change with the coaxial? Do I need to learn more patience and wait a significant amount of time (i.e., more than 15 seconds) before applying the solder to the braid?

Tonight it gets powered up to see just how badly it's turned out. :(

Thanks for any suggestions!

--PBr

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Re: [motm] Remedial soldering 101

2002-12-10 by J. Larry Hendry

Remedial soldering 101----- Original Message -----

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From: Brousseau, Paul E (Paul)
 Got all the way up to soldering the braided ends of the coaxial to the
bevelled lug on the switchcrafts, but no matter how hard I tried, I could
not get a good looking joint.  The solder just bubbles up around the joint,
rather than really melding.

I have noticed in the past with some other wire that oxidation of the wire
can have a profound effect on getting a good solder joint.  If everything
else soldered OK, then you might try scraping the brade with an X-acto knife
to remove oxidation.  Then try it (right after you heat up that new
soldering iron).

Larry









All my other joints (including the core of the coaxial) look good to decent.
It feels like I couldn't get the braided wire hot enough to meld with the
solder.  At one point, though, one of the braids become brittle and snapped
as I flexed it.  Surely this isn't very good.  I had my (cheap Radio Shack)
soldering iron set to "high", which has consistantly worked in the past.
Any suggestions?  I've never changed the tip, but that hasn't seemed to give
me any trouble before.  Perhaps the iron is failing?  Did something change
with the coaxial?  Do I need to learn more patience and wait a significant
amount of time (i.e., more than 15 seconds) before applying the solder to
the braid?
Tonight it gets powered up to see just how badly it's turned out.

Thanks for any suggestions!
--PBr

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.