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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:36 pm 
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I'm looking on Amazon, and there are so many choices for "beginner" soldering tools, I don't know where to start - including the solder iron. Can anyone suggest a specific brand or kit to start with? What about the solder itself? So many options!

Also, someone suggested a stereo microscope to aid precision. Is there a specific microscope that is good to use while soldering? I ask because I've tried to do it before (solder), but I have trouble with my precision (or lack thereof), and things get real messy, real fast.

I've tried to avoid soldering anything, but it looks like I have no choice, if I want to continue here.
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Martin A
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:33 pm 
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What tools you need/buy depends on what you intend to do, and the budget of course.

I use a basic 25w hand held soldering iron with a very fine tip when building boards. Most of my builds are on single sided matrix board with wire wrap wire. Too much heat from the iron will lift the pads. The fine point helps as the pads are 1/10 of an inch apart, there's not masses of clearance by the time you have a component leg and a couple of 30 AWG wires in there. It's not really "meaty" enough when repairing PCB's with big ground pours or ground planes as it struggles to put in enough heat, expecially if they've used lead free solder.

I've also got a 50w broad point iron to use when recycling boards. The extra power helps with heating up PCB ground planes and accuracy isn't really an issue. But it will also quite happily cause lots of pads to lift cleaning up used matrix boards.

I use a manual solder sucker rather than a powered one for choice.

I sometimes assemble boards for a friend that sells on Ebay, for those I use lead free solder to comply with ROHS rules. For prototyping my own "projects" lead/tin solder is easier to work with because of the lower melting point.
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GARTHWILSON
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:54 pm 
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You don't have to spend a lot of money.  A common mistake seems to be to get a temperature-controlled one that's not hot enough.  Semiconductors will definitely not be damaged with the temperatures they'll get to when you solder one pin at a time.  (With plated-thru holes on the PCB, you'll never lift the pads either.)  Other parts may not be able to handle as much heat; but it was a surprise to our production people when I showed that soldering a plastic switch years ago resulted in less melting and damage if they would use a hotter soldering iron so as to be able to complete the job so quickly there wasn't time for the heat to reach the plastic before everything was cooling again.

As for tip size, I soldered the .050"-spacing SOJ packages shown at http://bradsprojects.com/forum/viewtopi ... =20&t=1278 [Edit, 1/22/24: Shucks, the picture disappeared, and the forum is broken, so I can't go back and edit the post] with a 1/8" tip that covers three pins at a time, at a 33W heating element.  I have another, smaller soldering iron for the really tiny stuff like 0603 chip resistors and capacitors and SOT-23 transistors, but it's frustrating to try to use it to solder ICs, because it just won't transfer enough heat.  I'll come back with the stock number of the soldering iron handles, heaters, and tips I use, when I get more time.  [Edit: It's further down, at viewtopic.php?p=84583#p84583 .]

As for a microscope, how's your up-close vision?  My own is excellent, even at age 61, and I have no use for a microscope.  If you're nearsighted, you probably won't need one.

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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:06 pm 
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Most of what I want/need to do is straightforward - putting headers on various boards. As for my vision, yeah, I use bifocals and I’m only in my mid-40s.
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floobydust
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:46 pm 
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Soldering is not a difficult skill to pick up... but the smaller stuff you attempt to work with, the more skill and better equipment you'll need. I prefer a temperature controlled iron... but as Garth noted, the temperature itself needs to be in the correct range and have sufficient capacity to maintain the temperature when larger heat transfer is required.

I've been using the older Weller magnastat irons since the early 70's... and you can still find them used in great condition used, plus rebuild parts and tips are still available. I still use one of these even today for most PCB work, but have a collection of tip sizes, but all are 700F temperature.

I would also recommend a good quality rosin core solder... 60/40 is by far oldest type and still works extremely well for most jobs. As for vision issues, I would suggest getting a magnifying articulated lamp. I picked up a new one last year... LED lighting and well made... brand in Luxo. Even though I don't wear glasses (and have a few years on Garth) I use it for the extra light and just a more up close view when working on PCBs. For building vacuum-tube audio gear, it's not necessary... as those parts are much larger :wink:

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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:19 pm 
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I am completely out of my league here, gentlemen :oops:

But, seriously, that is a lot to chew on.
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Dr Jefyll
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 6:42 pm 
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No need to feel intimidated. Just get some odds and ends of wires and whatnot, and get started! An inexpensive, non-temperature controlled iron -- 20 watts approx -- will be good enough to practise with.

Oh, and two very common mistakes made by beginners:

- failing to deliver enough heat to the workpiece. It needs to be hot enough to melt the solder.
- applying solder to iron and dribbling it on the the workpiece. Instead, apply solder to the workpiece.

-- Jeff

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BigDumbDinosaur
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:44 pm 
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Dr Jefyll wrote:
Oh, and two very common mistakes made by beginners:

- failing to deliver enough heat to the workpiece. It needs to be hot enough to melt the solder.
- applying solder to iron and dribbling it on the the workpiece. Instead, apply solder to the workpiece.

- trying to solder dirty parts. :D

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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 8:23 pm 
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Dr Jefyll wrote:
No need to feel intimidated. Just get some odds and ends of wires and whatnot, and get started! An inexpensive, non-temperature controlled iron -- 20 watts approx -- will be good enough to practise with.

Oh, and two very common mistakes made by beginners:

- failing to deliver enough heat to the workpiece. It needs to be hot enough to melt the solder.
- applying solder to iron and dribbling it on the the workpiece. Instead, apply solder to the workpiece.

-- Jeff


What is flux, and how do I deal with it?

Just curious.

Jon
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GARTHWILSON
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 9:20 pm 
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Jmstein7 wrote:
What is flux, and how do I deal with it?

Flux is the goop that is activated by the soldering heat to remove or prevent oxidation on the metals you're soldering, so the solder will stick. Just get rosin-core solder, and that will be adequate for most soldering. I also have flux in a tube and some in a bottle, with applicator, but I seldom use those. The solder wire is hollow, and the hollow space is filled with rosin flux, so the flux feeds out at the right rate with the solder, and when the solder melts, the flux is right there immediately. (It smokes too. That's normal, so don't let it scare you. Nothing's wrong.) Get 60/40 rosin-core solder. The 60/40 refers to 60% tin, 40% lead. That combination is used because it's approximately the mix that melts at the lowest temperature, a temperature lower than either tin or lead by themselves melt at. That is, it's the eutectic temperature. The EU does not allow lead anymore, and that causes various problems. If you're in the US or any of a lot of other countries, you can use lead. Do not use water-soluble fluxes. (I don't think I've ever seen water-soluble flux in the core of solder wire though.)

Quote:
- trying to solder dirty parts.

That's not to say you have to throw such parts out. If leads are not shiny, ie, they're dull-looking with oxidation, I scrape them with a pocket knife. Steel wool may work too, although I don't think you'll want the kind with soap in it.

What Dr. Jefyll (Jeff) wrote about applying the solder wrong is important. It's not like glue to be transferred to the things you're soldering. You will need a little solder on the iron to get the heat into the parts, but then you apply the solder to the parts, not the iron. Missing this is probably beginners' main error.

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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 10:53 pm 
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GARTHWILSON wrote:
Flux is the goop that is activated by the soldering heat to remove or prevent oxidation on the metals you're soldering, so the solder will stick. Just get rosin-core solder, and that will be adequate for most soldering. I also have flux in a tube and some in a bottle, with applicator, but I seldom use those. The solder wire is hollow, and the hollow space is filled with rosin flux, so the flux feeds out at the right rate with the solder, and when the solder melts, the flux is right there immediately. (It smokes too. That's normal, so don't let it scare you. Nothing's wrong.) Get 60/40 rosin-core solder. The 60/40 refers to 60% tin, 40% lead. That combination is used because it's approximately the mix that melts at the lowest temperature, a temperature lower than either tin or lead by themselves melt at. That is, it's the eutectic temperature. The EU does not allow lead anymore, and that causes various problems. If you're in the US or any of a lot of other countries, you can use lead. Do not use water-soluble fluxes. (I don't think I've ever seen water-soluble flux in the core of solder wire though.)

I'm in the US. I was able to order 63/37 tin & lead, with rosin core. From what I've seen online, you have to wash the parts off with IPA after soldering to remove the flux?

Jon
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GARTHWILSON
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:13 pm 
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Jmstein7 wrote:
From what I've seen online, you have to wash the parts off with IPA after soldering to remove the flux?

If you use extra flux, you'll probably have a gooey mess you'll want to clean up; but if you just use what's in the solder, there's no need. Rosin flux is not corrosive. The possible exception I seem to have read many years ago was if you send it through a layer of the upper atmosphere on its way to space. I have not had to concern myself with that though. Even when I did some consulting for a company that made propulsion units for small satellites, I only provided schematics and data, not assembly instructions or services.)

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Jmstein7
PostPosted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:39 pm 
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GARTHWILSON wrote:
Rosin flux is not corrosive. The possible exception I seem to have read many years ago was if you send it through a layer of the upper atmosphere on its way to space. I have not had to concern myself with that though.

Someone should tweet that question to Elon.
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plasmo
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 2:05 am 
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Jmstein7 wrote:
From what I've seen online, you have to wash the parts off with IPA after soldering to remove the flux?
Jon


I do wash off the flux with IPA immediately after assembly to help with visual inspection. A stereo inspection microscope is helpful with assembly as well as visual inspection afterward.
Bill
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BigDumbDinosaur
PostPosted: Mon Jun 21, 2021 6:03 am 
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Jmstein7 wrote:
I'm in the US. I was able to order 63/37 tin & lead, with rosin core. From what I've seen online, you have to wash the parts off with IPA after soldering to remove the flux?

As Garth noted, dried flux can be considered inert, and at the voltages found on a typical PCB, non-conductive. Most of the time, I don't bother to de-flux my work unless I plan to take photos of it for posting.

If you do use isopropanol (IPA) to de-flux, use a cotton swab to localize its application. In a few cases, isopropanol may react with other materials and break them down—I had a PCB's solder mask turn gooey on contact with isopropanol, but that is quite unusual. So don't go hog-wild with the stuff.

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