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Soldering

AAARRRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!! I plugged my solder iron in and was going to fix those up for you but all I did was burn my laptop's screen. :mad:

No offense but I was getting antsy just scrolling down. LOL I got my NASA high reliability soldering certification many years ago when I was studying electronics. My skills are just as good today (I think) but my eyes are not quite as good. ;)
 
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My skills now are finishing metal nothing more and listening and chatting more so listening but heck need to reminisce and try old skills lol, but not the best soldering iron in world either maybe need to invest in one and time practicing again.
 
Hopefully last pic was last and all looks good enough to put back together and work on electrical for it to be hooked into
 
Captain Kilowatt, what is a good iron @45 or 60 watt for doing this type, and as far as solder what should I get 60/40 ect? Need to get some and be more prepared. A hone else wishes to chime in please do so. Your input is more than welcome.
 
I bought the digital soldering station from Radio Shack some years ago when it was on sale and have been very happy with it. You can adjust the tip temp to match the soldering job. They still sell it.

Z0oE_vqcpEx_.jpg
 
Heavy Metal said:
Captain Kilowatt, what is a good iron @45 or 60 watt for doing this type, and as far as solder what should I get 60/40 ect? Need to get some and be more prepared. A hone else wishes to chime in please do so. Your input is more than welcome.
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That soldering station RatsoW8 posted above is decent. Even a 45 watt iron is a bit heavy for this kind of work. Back in the day we used to have irons with interchangeable tips and used 15,25,30,and 45 watt tips. Usually the 15 watt tip was sufficient. Today the use of soldering stations is the preferred method since you can control the temperature of a single tip to match the job. As for solder, yes use good old rosin core 60/40 and stay away from the lead free crap. It does not wet the connections as well, is generally harder to work with although not real bad, and is subject to the formation of tin whiskers. I hate using it and have several pounds of 60/40 at home but I have to use the lead free crap at work. Thankfully I have to do very little soldering at work.

http://nepp.nasa.gov/Whisker/background/index.htm
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
I got my NASA high reliability soldering certification many years ago when I was studying electronics. My skills are just as good today (I think) but my eyes are not quite as good.
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I got my WS-6536 instructors certificate in China Lake. Still as good now as I was then. Like you my eyes need help. I wonder if that's why my woman just keeps getting prettier?
 
What's wrong using lead vs lead free?

And what wattage would be best for any amp radio ect soldering or ideal temp to use?

Also 60/40 good or what would be good or ideal?
 
Heavy Metal said:
What's wrong using lead vs lead free?

And what wattage would be best for any amp radio ect soldering or ideal temp to use?

Also 60/40 good or what would be good or ideal?
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Lead free is required by certain agencies. 60/40 or 63/37 mil spec is my preferred solder.
The lead free solder is may or may not be eutectic, meaning that it all solidifies differntly from the standard tin/lead solder. It does lack the high luster of tin/lead.The lead free is made with Bismuth/tin and has a higher melting point. If lead is the scary part for you, use a solder that has two to three percent silver. The silver binds the lead chemically. It has a higher melting point as well.
The soldering iron has to be chosen to fit the job. You would not not use a needle point to solder in the 2sc2879 or similar packages, nor would you use a 1/4" flat tip on small pitch SMT IC's.

You would not use 1/4 inch drive ratchets to break head bolts loose from a diesel engine.
 
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Tallman said:
Lead free is required by certain agencies. 60/40 or 63/37 mil spec is my preferred solder.
The lead free solder is may or may not be eutectic, meaning that it all solidifies differntly from the standard tin/lead solder. It does lack the high luster of tin/lead.The lead free is made with Bismuth/tin and has a higher melting point. If lead is the scary part for you, use a solder that has two to three percent silver. The silver binds the lead chemically. It has a higher melting point as well.
The soldering iron has to be chosen to fit the job. You would not not use a needle point to solder in the 2sc2879 or similar packages, nor would you use a 1/4" flat tip on small pitch SMT IC's.

You would not use 1/4 inch drive ratchets to break head bolts loose from a diesel engine.
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Would the silver added to it make it better for electronics such as radios and amp ect repair? Or which would be best then? Or is solder way more when it contains silver in it? And is it worth the extra?
 
Heavy Metal said:
Would the silver added to it make it better for electronics such as radios and amp ect repair? Or which would be best then? Or is solder way more when it contains silver in it? And is it worth the extra?
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The silver just binds the lead. For your purpose I would think that 60/40 or 63/37 would be fine. The silver solder is some times used when the temperature of the component lead will exceed the melting point of eutectic solder. Things like power resistors that get hot while in operation use a higher percentage of silver for soldering. Not needed in your case.
 
Like the following good or which?



1) Alpha Fry Reliacore II Silver Solder 62/36/2 62% Tin 36% Lead 2% Silver RMA Flux. 2% Flux Load. .032" Diameter. 1lb


2) olid Solder 0.3mm Dia Flux Core 63% Tin 37% Lead Long Wire Reel


3) Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 .020 1 lb
 
For some applications I like a few % silver content in the solder especially high current connections subject to heating like Tallman said. I prefer to use it on high current RF connections like in amplifier tank circuits.It also tends to bond better to some metals
 
My current light duty roll, purchased at the shack, which I'm sure will last another 10 years unless I lose it, is 60/40 rosin core. Same as I've had for as long as I can remember.
 

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