Solder Newb

[Czapala]

Well the day is fast approaching when I will actually start wiring the CP.  I soldered a bit (very unsuccessfully) about 12 years ago.

I got a Turbo Twist Spinner from GGG.  I got out of soldering my trackball to it by getting the cable from Randy (Happ -> Opti cable).  But I want to use the 3 buttons as well.  I am assuming there isn't a non solder solution for this.

Is there a good tutorial for soldering?  this is the only thing I have to solder ... 4 pins.

I am not sure why, but this seems intimidating to me .  I do not want to "burn" my TurboTwist board.

Any help?

[ChadTower]

Wire connectors instead if you don't want to solder.

[NightGod]

/seconded on the wire connectors. You can order them from a couple of guys on the boards here or, if you only want a few, as you do, you can pick them up at most hardware stores, car parts stores or even Wal-Mart type places. They'll cost more per unit than buying them bulk from the sellers around here, but if you only need four, it will be cheaper.

And if you really want to learn to solder, find any old electronic gadgets laying around, rip them open and spend some time learning to solder and unsolder using them for practice. That way you can burn a few boards without destroying anything you want to keep.

[cw]

/seconded on the wire connectors. You can order them from a couple of guys on the boards here or, if you only want a few, as you do, you can pick them up at most hardware stores, car parts stores or even Wal-Mart type places. They'll cost more per unit than buying them bulk from the sellers around here, but if you only need four, it will be cheaper.

And if you really want to learn to solder, find any old electronic gadgets laying around, rip them open and spend some time learning to solder and unsolder using them for practice. That way you can burn a few boards without destroying anything you want to keep.

and get an iron that works... i had a heck of a time learning with a rat shack iron... also get solder thats right for the job and not huge...  and on a last note go easy and slow takeyour time..... get some heat shrink, wire strippers, and a good light.   when you connect the two wires strip them both back and twist them together.... heat them before touching the solder

[SirPeale]

One word: practice!  Find a board (could be anything) you don't care about.  Computer motherboard that's dead, broken stereo...whatever.  Practice removing components and replacing them.

Also: solder flows UP.

And: don't heat the solder, heat the part.

[MaximRecoil]

Also: solder flows UP.

What do you mean by that? Solder flows to areas that are both hot enough and solderable, regardless of direction.

[hypernova]

And: don't heat the solder, heat the part.

I'm so impatient, I rarely ever follow this.  Especially if it's just two wires.  That and I don't have any 3rd hands or anything.

[MaximRecoil]

And: don't heat the solder, heat the part.

I'm so impatient, I rarely ever follow this.  Especially if it's just two wires.  That and I don't have any 3rd hands or anything.

You will get horrible joints by heating the solder and not the parts. BTW, that is sometimes referred to as goose poop(ing).

[ChadTower]

He'll get horrible joints anyway if the wires aren't solidly joined before soldering.  They'll have zero mechanical strength.

[MaximRecoil]

He'll get horrible joints anyway if the wires aren't solidly joined before soldering.  They'll have zero mechanical strength.

Well, surface-mount and through-hole components are not solidly joined prior to soldering, and neither are copper pipes that you solder together for your plumbing. A soldered joint actually creates an alloy between the solder and the material that has been soldered (not to the extent that welding does however) and is very strong if done correctly.

What is important when soldering wires together is that they stay together as you solder and that they have a good amount of surface contact area with each other. Twisting them together is the easiest way to ensure both of those things.

And of course, you heat the wire, not the solder.

[grantspain]

peale is correct about practice makes perfect,it took me about 2 months as a trainee to get things right-the art to soldering is not adding to much heat to any one area at any one time,for instance if you wish to solder standard wire to a pin first tin the wire by holding the iron on then adding the solder until it flows around the bare wire then do the same with the pin then it just a case holding the iron the the two until you get flow on both and hey presto a perfect joint-but the important thing is to know when enough heat is enough and that only comes with practice and experience

[hypernova]

He'll get horrible joints anyway if the wires aren't solidly joined before soldering.  They'll have zero mechanical strength.

They work for the most part.  The only trouble I've had is the LED joints with the resistors.  Originally just laid them flat against each other, and a few kept breaking apart.  Finally made a small U hook on the end of each, and haven't had problems since.  So I'll be happy with goose pooping for the time being (because of the inexpensiveness of the items being soldered together.)

On a side note, I've chipped 2/3 PS1s.  That was really my first experience soldering.  Not too shabby, I should say for a beginner with zero practice.

I'm probably NOT the poster child for soldering.

Oh, and when I soldered the PS1s, you wanna know what I used?  One of those woodburning things (iron?) from a woodburning set I received years upon years ago.

[MaximRecoil]

Oh, and when I soldered the PS1s, you wanna know what I used?  One of those woodburning things (iron?) from a woodburning set I received years upon years ago.

About 7 years ago, I had a VCR remote control that worked intermittently, so I took it apart and saw that the fillet on one of the posts from the battery terminals was cracked. I used a flat bladed screw driver heated with a propane torch and used quickly before it cooled off to reflow the joint.

It was far from my first time soldering, but it had all been at work with a nice Metcal and I hadn't gotten around to buying even a cheap iron to use at home yet.

The remote still works fine today (it was new in '88), not that I have much use for a VCR anymore.

[hypernova]

I'm surprised the VCR still works after nearly 20 years.

[MaximRecoil]

I'm surprised the VCR still works after nearly 20 years.

Yeah, it works fine; never had any problems with it. It is a GE and everything is on the 2x4 sized remote. It is kind of irritating in that respect, because the only controls on the VCR itself are play/pause, stop/eject, record, power and channel select . It makes having a functioning remote even more important than usual, particularly if you want to FF, RW or adjust the tracking.

Another thing that is irritating about it is that it doesn't have any composite inputs, only composite outputs. However, the picture quality has always been really good for VHS and it has the clearest, steadiest still-frame mode of any VCR I've ever seen, along with frame advance and slow-motion.

[Czapala]

I was rummaging around my shop (Computer repair shop @ a University) and just found a Weller EC2002C Power unit with a Weller PH1201 plstic thingy with a wire coil holding a EC1201P soldering iron.  It has Weller EC2001 on the front of the power unit.

Is this a good one?  it probably hasn't been used in 10 years.

But I got one of those speaker cables that go from the CD drive to a sound card.  I was thinking the pins are all in a row just like that.  So then I just cut off one end and connect those to the buttons.  My only concern is the wires are a little thin.

Has anyone done that?

[ChadTower]

On a side note, I've chipped 2/3 PS1s.  That was really my first experience soldering.  Not too shabby, I should say for a beginner with zero practice.

Maybe when you get better you can chip the last third of those PS1s. 

[hypernova]

Maybe when you get better you can chip the last third of those PS1s. 

Nope, that one I royally screwed up.  Solder got around one of those chips on the board, and since I had NO way of getting it out of those tiny little crevices, I only made things worse by using a jeweler's flathead.  I think I broke/melted the contacts on the chip eventually.

When I chipped my ps2, I had it chipped by someone online.  Wasn't a chance in hell I was screwing up a $300 system, especially when I saw all the solder points around those chips on the board.