WTB- some to solder my stuff... vonk vonk

[ms5435]

I bought a "station" from e-bay, good deals are out there, just be patient.  It has both the iron and a rework station.  Both have digital temp. controls along with a speed control for the rework fan.  As others have pointed out, 63/37 and .31 rosin core, no-clean solder, a good magnifier with a light and a "3rd hand" to hold your boards while you solder and a soldering vent fan are all VERY good things to have.  They will all make your life easier...but they won't make you an expert...only jumping in and doing it...practice.  Find yourself an old PC board, practice removing the parts and then practice putting them back on.  Can't stress enough....PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

[Maniac]

I'd be willing to help out with what I can, I can't solder all that stuff up for you, but I'd be willing to help you get started on it. I'm about 90 miles NW of Chicago if you're interested.

[JonB256]

I want to point out a "decimal place" error on a lot of the solder diameters mentioned. The .31" solders are really .031" (31 thousandths in diameter). Big difference. You wouldn't want solder that is 1/3 of an inch. 

[remixsam]

here are 2 pics of the board i tried out...   

I appreciate the feedback on the selecting the correct iron... i will be making a purchase soon on a new station.

one thing i noticed in this board was.. how to keep the little things close to the board as you flip it over to solder? 

The flux stuff really makes for a dirty board...  and am i correct that you are supposed to heat the element NOT the solder?

also... if it does not say that the direction/polarity matters... does it really not matter the direction?

again, thanks for all your feedback!

[memphislights]

Use blue painters tape to hold stuff in place when you flip the board over.

Work from the center of the board out, and shortest (in height) parts  first.

resistors, fuses have no polarity.

LEDS, triacs, voltage regulators, capacitors are polarized.

Be mindful of multi-legged chip orientation.

Edit: triacs and voltage regulators are not polarized, but have a specific orientation.

[tng5737]

I would try to do a couple of the SSC's first.  They are relatively cheap so if you screw them up you want be out too much.  The hub isn't very challenging in terms of soldering - just a lot of it.  Take your time and stop if you get tired!  You'll be surprised at how quickly you'll master the skills needed.  Where you want a better iron is if you do an LE- as the triacs traces will 'sink' a lot of heat and is best done with an adj. temp iron like the Weller WLC100.  I got mine from Amazon. 
Good Luck!

[PJNMCT]

Use blue painters tape to hold stuff in place when you flip the board over.

Work from the center of the board out, and shortest (in height) parts  first.

resistors, fuses have no polarity.

LEDS, triacs, voltage regulators, capacitors are polarized.

Be mindful of multi-legged chip orientation.

...except the smaller caps are non-polarized as well.

[memphislights]

From the pictures, it looks like you could stand to raise the temp on the soldering iron a bit.  A few of the joints do not look like they flowed very well.

[onesmoothhead]

It does look like low temperature on the iron or too large in size of solder.

[Penfold]

If you need a little help on figuring out how to solder correctly there is a video by Curious Inventor that shows you the dos and don'ts.  Although the only thing that I pretty much do differently in my soldering is cut the lead AFTER soldering the component in.  I can see where he is coming from, but I have found that as long as you are careful you can get away with cutting the lead after soldering 


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[taybrynn]

I also cut afterwards and its helpful to see those leads, because it shows me what I just worked on ... otherwise I think I'd get lost on what to check after each step.

The small 2-pack cutters and pliers from home depot (red handles, Cresent USA branded) are my MVP tool for doing these projects ... about $10 for the pack.

[JonB256]

There is a reason for cutting the leads prior to soldering but I ignore it. For harsh environments ( primarily salt water or high temp ) by soldering a cut lead, the solder covers the raw copper end. Reduces the chance of corrosion and Tin Whiskers.

If you were concerned, you could retouch the solder after cutting the leads. Still not worth the time unless you really expect to be using this hardware 20 years from now.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[sabie]

i bought my cutters at walmart in the bead section
green handle offset cutters let you get closer to board
i would suggest a very stiff short bristle nylon brush and some alcohol to clean flux from board after you solder it

[Kwajtony]

Definitely match tip size, solder size to what you are working on.  Cutting Leads before/after soldering is one of those things the exposed copper (in the lead after you cut it) is more susceptible to corrosion but as has been suggested it will probably take a while.  Patience (with yourself), lighting and appropriate work surface will go a long way to creating great solder joints.  You can most always retouch a solder joint to assure you have a good electrical connection.

[t0cableguy]

I was watching this topic before I built 3 expresses. All of these guys give great advice. I bought a digital station out of the for sale section here from one of the members and I did try to use some of my old solder that was bigger than the .031" stuff. The larger stuff was lousy for anything but the heatsinks and the power lead connectors. It really helps to use the smaller solder as you can really control how much you use, and it heats up FAST. I was really wary as my parts looked pretty much like yours without the station and the smaller wire, but the temperature controlled station and the smaller solder wire really makes a HUGE difference.
I really think you would regret not doing it yourself as it is a huge accomplishment to get this thing built. I have shown a few of my coworkers my boards completed and they look at me and say "I would have given up before I started" I almost did the same myself but now I have the confidence to build anything RJ can design for this group.