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John Nada
Toujours Frais

Registered: 03/03/03
Posts: 97,746
Loc: Hotwings; race car
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Soldering PCB's and chips
#21405412 - 03/14/15 09:12 AM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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Do I really need a soldering station? How big of a difference will it make using one you just plug into the wall? I haven't soldered anything since I was a kid and am trying to get set up
Edited by John Nada (03/28/15 02:51 AM)
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: John Nada]
#21405813 - 03/14/15 10:56 AM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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For fine work / tiny parts, you need something with a small tip. If you only solder occasionally and it's only through-hole components and dip chips, you may be able to get by with a simple iron. But if you plan on doing some more soldering and if your projects frequently involve soldering chips of any kind, you'll find yourself looking at a decent Weller station pretty soon.
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Visionary Tools



Registered: 06/23/07
Posts: 7,953
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: koraks]
#21406634 - 03/14/15 01:48 PM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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luvdemshrooms
Two inch dick..but it spins!?


Registered: 11/29/01
Posts: 34,247
Loc: Lost In Space
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I've tried those. I stuck with the sponge.
-------------------- You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for that my dear friend is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. ~ Adrian Rogers
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Sun King



Registered: 02/15/14
Posts: 4,069
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That's like a crack pipe.
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John Nada
Toujours Frais

Registered: 03/03/03
Posts: 97,746
Loc: Hotwings; race car
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: koraks]
#21408027 - 03/14/15 05:03 PM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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Yeah, if I need to keep soldering on a regular basis I'll just get a station. Starting a project and it could definitely get me sucked into it, haha. But yeah, I just wanted to know if I could get by with plugging one into the wall for now though.
I guess if I have a good 40w iron and just some good tips I might be fine either way though. I guess my concern was frying chips and stuff
Edited by John Nada (03/14/15 05:46 PM)
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: John Nada]
#21418080 - 03/16/15 09:14 PM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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> Do I really need a soldering station? How big of a difference will it make using one you just plug into the wall?
Depends upon what you are doing. If you are doing anything complex or soldering larger thermal masses (into a large ground plane, etc), you will want a decent soldering station. If you are playing around, you can get by with the cheapo iron for a while. Both Hakko and Weller make nice stations that won't break the bank, while JBC is top of the line (and expensive). If you go for a station, be sure you get proper tips (chisel tips are the best for most work) and avoid the cheap Chinese clones.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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John Nada
Toujours Frais

Registered: 03/03/03
Posts: 97,746
Loc: Hotwings; race car
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: Seuss]
#21418256 - 03/16/15 09:46 PM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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Yeah, thanks man. I want to solder directly to the pins of DC-DC converters rather than putting them in some perf board. Just wanted to be careful since they're $20 a pop.
Edited by John Nada (03/16/15 09:54 PM)
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Juggernaut0504
Stranger
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: John Nada]
#21457830 - 03/25/15 10:04 PM (8 years, 10 months ago) |
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I just got back into electronics and am using a cheap iron. for some reason, it won't melt the solder on some boards. Do some electronics have a higher melting point?
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
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Yes, it depends on the solder that's used. Particularly RoHS compliant lead free solder had a significantly higher melting point.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
Posts: 23,480
Loc: Caribbean
Last seen: 2 months, 20 days
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> I'm told that ill have very high latency and first person shooters will not work well.
It can also be caused by the board. If the pad that you are trying to melt is attached to a large ground plane or other large thermal mass, your iron may not have enough "umph" to heat stuff faster than the board (or part) are cooling them down (dissipating the heat).
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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encryptor


Registered: 05/15/03
Posts: 1,154
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: Seuss]
#21462483 - 03/26/15 08:18 PM (8 years, 9 months ago) |
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Get a weller 60watt analog workstation.
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Astral Pain
Strange

Registered: 11/10/14
Posts: 2,923
Loc: Chicago
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: encryptor]
#21468912 - 03/28/15 02:04 AM (8 years, 9 months ago) |
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I've had the same weller wes51 solder station for years, and the only thing I have ever needed to replace is the wand. http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU
All you need is a damp sponge and a tip tinner/cleaner to keep the tip pristine for ages. http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-tip-tinner-and-cleaner-0-5-oz-/6400020.html#.VRZgAY5SX4t
All this should last a lifetime(except the tinner) and you'll find plenty of uses for it other than one specific project.
-------------------- "I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out" -Bill Hicks-
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micro
bunbun has a gungun



Registered: 05/09/03
Posts: 7,532
Loc: Brick City
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Re: Soldering PCB's and chips [Re: Astral Pain]
#21498314 - 04/03/15 09:19 PM (8 years, 9 months ago) |
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A cheap $10 soldering pencil is generally enough for older boards.
Unless you are extracting surface mounted chips (or working with them without a SMD->PCB converter, which are cheap as hell) there's no reason for anything else.
I have a reflow station, but that's because I like to steal parts from old equipment people think are junk 
Oh, and clean the metal and solder well, beforehand, and use lots of flux (even with the rosin core stuff). That's helped me with every type of board so far (otherwise I've had it not sick or had problems with solder trails).
EDIT: Oh, one more thing... Heat the wire, then apply the solder.
-------------------- Any research paper or book for free (Avatar is Maxxy, a character by Mizzyam, RIP)
Edited by micro (04/03/15 09:28 PM)
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