Soldering Confession
 

Hi,

I am 32 years of age and I have a confession to make. I have just soldered my first bit of wire! Oh joy of all joys. I am now well and truly a member of the 'i can solder my own wires' brigade :) Thanks so much to Mike for showing me how to do it with this how-to:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=172

I soldered a pair of banana plugs to one end and crocodile clips to the other end of a piece of wire. This was done to enable me to charge stuff at the field with my field charger :)

photoniq.

RE: Soldering Confession
 

It's nice to know that SOMEONE reads those things :D

Glad it helped photonig

RE: Soldering Confession
 

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks then?:)

You will now go through "Look what I can do-itis", and start soldering evreything you can- "Oh look honey, I've soldered the TV anttena direct to the TV." "Hey kids, check this out, I wired the phone, and computer right together, so the cat won't ever put the wires out again!"

RE: Soldering Confession
 

I know that feeling... I bought soldering iron to make a throttle cable, and it turned out lousy. Tried to solder some other stuff, still crappy. Was getting frustrated when someone asked if I was using Flux..... well, now flux is my friend and soldering is easier. It's a skill that does come in handy...


Andy

RE: Soldering Confession
 

School got me hooked on soldering. After making tons of little LED circut boards, i've become pretty good with a soldering iron. And my dad taught me how to solder with a torch, so i could make a plane restraint out of copper plumbing tube. And i have switched all my plastic clevis's to metal ones.

Plus i get all the free solder i want. My mom does alot of stain glass work, so i manage to sneak off some solder when she's not looking. :)

RE: Soldering Confession
 

I have soldered THREE more cables today! WOW! I am the king of soldering! :)

My solder has a core of flux in it. It's amazing - you buy a soldering iron and you find all these 'projects' to solder.

RE: Soldering Confession
 

That rosin core solder is nice, but pick up a can of flux. It's ten times better. The flux really needs to go on the metal before the solder does.

RE: Soldering Confession
 

ahh ok i'll get some.

RE: Soldering Confession
 

I learned how to solder when I was around 8, thanks to dad who was an electronics engineer. Now it's kinda my trade.
You'll find alot of tricks to make things easier as you go, and different solder too.

-For instance when removing wires from a circuit board use no clean solder (comes out cleaner that way) and heat a little solder onto the wires that are in contact with the board and that little solder heats up the rest of that solder quicker so you dont heat and destroy the rest of the board.
And a solder sucker can be your best freind too;)
And when installing wires you should always tin them with solder before reconnecting them. (some not all wires require a little flux before tinning)

-just a couple of tricks to name a few-
Lot of useful things for soldering

Good luck and enjoy your new talent.

RE: Soldering Confession
 

I learned when i was about 8 also! I like to think i'm an excellant solderer. I've soldered motors into my submarine and some tight clearance battery wiring in there too. My biggest soldering job so far was my cars' audio system. The stripped power wire was the size of an extension cord with the insulation on it! (0 gauge) I love the way a nice clean solder joint looks all shiney and smooth.

I agree with the solder syndrom. When it's already heated up something you didn't need soldered is gonna get it. It's just like being bored with a piar of scissors.:)

RE: Soldering Confession
 

LOL... so true

RE: Soldering Confession
 

hahahahah you have hit the nail on the head! :)
i'm now constantly on the look out for something that needs soldering :)
Thanks for the additional tips guys..

photoniq

RE: Soldering Confession
 

HA! I worked for At&T for 5 years ...had to get surface mount certified ...now thats some wild soldering for you ....under a microscope and using hot air on traces the size of a human hair! Glad I don't do that anymore ...maybe that's why I lost all my hair.

John