Solder Iron and Stuff???
- Thread starter badrisuper
- Start date
Paste or liquid flux has a very short shelf life. I am always amused when a client brings me a tin of paste that has Gandhi's (Mahatma's at that) finger prints on it. I explain this is not useful, but is a true relic of the empire.
The VOC's are gone in 6 months and dust in the air ends up on your work. You use much more than is desirable, and it not only gets everywhere by accident, it also has capillary action distributing it far from the joint. Because of the quantity it is more difficult to remove. Impossible with water, difficult with alcohol.
The rosin flux in multicore solder is "sealed" until you heat it and melt the wire. Your joint should already be clean, and the flux will allow more active wetting of the joint. The flux will be easier to remove. Your solder can be a 20 years old and still work well.
Flux still has uses. Mostly for attaching sheet metal shields to circuit boards or attaching wires to chassis. It is also indicated for tinning large number of wires. You heat bar solder in a special pot. You then strip the wire, dip it in the flux, then dip it in the pot.
Some other info that are practically observed :
(In Bangalore) there are many SOLDRON fakes selling that you cant make out
they will get useless in 1-2months
most fluxes sold are in tin cans here real crap , so never use those , use the paste flux
found for mobile repair neat and good [make sure you take care as there are harmful
chemicals in paste flux], also paste flux lasts long,easy to apply,clean
if one is living in delhi Kolkata grab a Toni brand Soldering ,
even the 22Rs models also were very good ,heats fast lasted long
low cost good Indian solder solder is Sincon
Best solder imported is WBT , low melting 3% silver solder I use this
I use :
aluminum tip + original soldron + sponge to clean the tip
(In Bangalore) there are many SOLDRON fakes selling that you cant make out
they will get useless in 1-2months
most fluxes sold are in tin cans here real crap , so never use those , use the paste flux
found for mobile repair neat and good [make sure you take care as there are harmful
chemicals in paste flux], also paste flux lasts long,easy to apply,clean
if one is living in delhi Kolkata grab a Toni brand Soldering ,
even the 22Rs models also were very good ,heats fast lasted long
low cost good Indian solder solder is Sincon
Best solder imported is WBT , low melting 3% silver solder I use this
I use :
aluminum tip + original soldron + sponge to clean the tip
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I would not go with toni or any soldering iron which comes with a bakelite handle . The reason being the tips are lousy and you need to "tune" the tip a bit with a file .
I normally buy the lowest solderite or whatever is avaliable and get a few soldron tips . ironically the tips are costlier than the soldering iron .
Liquid flux is better used when you are going to use something on the lines of wave soldering rather than point to point soldering .Liquid flux is more suitable for tinning PCB with hot solder .
I normally buy the lowest solderite or whatever is avaliable and get a few soldron tips . ironically the tips are costlier than the soldering iron .
Liquid flux is better used when you are going to use something on the lines of wave soldering rather than point to point soldering .Liquid flux is more suitable for tinning PCB with hot solder .
The toni story :
come on in Toni in 22Rs range what ever comes is usable for casual work , dont compare with ceramic heater ones
toni guys have ceramic heater variants also ..
If you do cheap iron + soldron tip there are chances that the ceramic heater getting damaged evry 2 -3 month
Most preferred:
SOLDron is dependable (if u know the where to get original ),160Rs or so
FYI : soldron tip [Aluminum variant,highly recommended] is just :50Rs
The good:lasts looong,easy replacement tips
The bad : tips dont fit that nice after a while,the 3 pin plug is hassle,chord is notso flexible , basic copper tip is not so good
my paste flux->
i use for all DAc smd /PSU/Amp building , very clean and usable
Tips :
-never drop heated iron on the floor or keep there
-never melt rubber/plastics with the good iron
-clean area/wires with IP alcohol before soldering
-get a real stand
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sasmit
New Member
cheap soldering irons are cheap, they may heat very fast and last long but they are no good if you're going to solder delicate IC's and semiconductor devices. A lot of these cheap irons have a lot of leakage which damages ic's.
Find and buy a genuine soldron it will last longer and has very little leakage. You can also buy dc irons commonly used for mobile repair. A good local brand is MAX. They have very reasonably price vari-watt/temp dc solder stations.
Find and buy a genuine soldron it will last longer and has very little leakage. You can also buy dc irons commonly used for mobile repair. A good local brand is MAX. They have very reasonably price vari-watt/temp dc solder stations.
keith_correa
Well-Known Member
So all you guys that have been soldering for donkeys years - in your opinion, and with the experience that you have, what wattage rating for a soldering iron would be ideal for PCB hole mounted component soldering?
Would it make sense to buy a temp.controlled iron as opposed to the regular ones? Can you please explain why or why not?
A friend asked me if I wanted a 60W Goot? For free. Should I say yes or ask him to give it to someone else for whom the Goot might be more suitable/useful?
Would it make sense to buy a temp.controlled iron as opposed to the regular ones? Can you please explain why or why not?
A friend asked me if I wanted a 60W Goot? For free. Should I say yes or ask him to give it to someone else for whom the Goot might be more suitable/useful?
25W is okay for most of the works with DIY projects. 50-60W is nice for quick soldering unless you overheat some parts with slow hand.
Temperature controlled rod is most welcome but they are not cheap and I would like if somebody donates to me.
sasmit
New Member
A variable wattage DC iron would be nice, MAX had a variable wattage DC iron for about 2500/- . I don't think you'll get a better deal than that, you also get replacement spares very easily since this brand is quite popular with service people.
60 W would be good if you're going to solder battery terminals with heavy gauge wiring. For pcb soldering 25W would do fine, 60W would heat the components too fast.
Metallic lead in working electronics equipment does not get into anybody, leave alone children, unless they're in the habit of self-flagellating themselves with their TVs and PCs.
<begin rant>
Lead-free solders are *not* a good idea, and they're being promoted by countries (mainly China) which are the largest suppliers of the Pb-free substitutes, as well as companies which would like to keep selling replacement equipment when the original fails. It's very difficult or impossible to do component-level replacement on most high-temperature Pb-free soldered boards. You will have to junk it and buy a new board, say a motherboard, even if just one capacitor has failed. There's a huge incentive for companies, especially in low-cost manufacturing bastions like China, to make Pb-free boards with poor-quality components like capacitors that fail quickly (preferably just after the warranty period has expired), because the boards cannot be repaired economically and will have to be replaced.
End result: the volume of e-waste will grow exponentially in the next few years as Pb-free solders proliferate, and none of that stuff can be repaired or recycled easily. The impact on the environment is not lead alone (which is easily recycled, BTW - almost all of the lead used in electronics goes into lead-acid batteries and CRTs, and about 99% of the battery lead is recycled). Most of the impact comes from plastic casings, ABS, PVC, epoxy encapsulation, chassis mouldings, etc., and none of that can be recycled easily. Lead in solder accounts for a very small part of the total lead in e-waste, and it is easy to recycle lead.
The best way to ensure that e-waste is minimized is to build high-quality electronics equipment that lasts (almost) forever, and will not be discarded for decades. However, that's not the option that equipment suppliers prefer - take a look at PCs that fail due to bad SMPSes, usually about a year after purchase, taking the hard drive, mobo, memory and processor with it. Pb-free will make it impossible to repair/recycle any of that stuff, it will have to be junked.
Remember, stuff will be recycled only if it's worth recycling - i.e. the value of the repaired product will have to be comparable to its new replacement. That simple incentive breaks down for Pb-free equipment.
BTW, I forgot to mention that all the Pb-free electronics with tin in them are also susceptible to forming tin-whiskers, especially in low-power equipment exposed to humidity (most modern consumer electronics stuff), so they're likely to fail quicker.
About the only thing that is comparable in durability/performance to Sn/Pb solder is Indium-based solder - and China is the largest supplier of Indium as well, which is about 10 times rarer than Silver in the earth's crust. This will probably end up being used in high-end audio in the future, with audiophools touting its miraculous transparency, soundstage, imaging, etc.
<end rant>
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you know any general sources for wbt. saw some guys on ebay selling wbt or cardass solder, cut from a larger spool and sold, how do i know which one is reliable or not.
visit forums for sellers ..do paypal
or some BIG ebay group sale good stuff , 3-4m loose will last 2 dac build.
WBT Silver solder 4% 0.8 Dia -Audio grade quality | eBay
or some BIG ebay group sale good stuff , 3-4m loose will last 2 dac build.
WBT Silver solder 4% 0.8 Dia -Audio grade quality | eBay
Look these guys have all u need for small soldering projects Prototyping : Probots - India's Electronics and Robotics Superstore
wires/boards/solder
for best solder get it from a industrial supplier like (incase they dun do small qty ask for retailers ):
Soldering Materials Manufacturer India,Solder Manufacturers India,High Performance Solders,Fluxes & Solvents,PCB Chemicals,SMT Solder Paste
wires/boards/solder
for best solder get it from a industrial supplier like (incase they dun do small qty ask for retailers ):
Soldering Materials Manufacturer India,Solder Manufacturers India,High Performance Solders,Fluxes & Solvents,PCB Chemicals,SMT Solder Paste
probots.co.in is fraud, I had very bad experience dealing with them. They list a lot of items on their website and at low prices, but they don't ship. I had ordered Rs.2000 worth of items from them and they sent about half of the items without bothering to even let me know that they aren't sending the rest. The guy Pratheek doesn't pick up the phone nor replies to mails. Most of the items sent were either wrong or damaged. Out of the Rs.2000 I paid them, I got stuff worth only about Rs.500. Stay away from this website!
Most importantly they accept payment only through bank transfer, so there is no way you can get your money refunded.
Oh , no probots, ignore the prev link .
Looks like i need to do the buy and ship part , most people will say i cant buy soldering iron, roam around for solder etc....
But i do go to local market, if one more member joins is there i will offer a solder kit for practice , i dont want the 100s -200s extra
all i will put on MRP + shipping:
----solder tools kit-----
One iron SOLDRON,
Good Solder , wires of common types u need,
Cutters , all in one screw driver set
Tested paste flux ,even suitable for SMD
Assorted metal film resistors 1% .if needed few Panasonic type low cost caps
STEP BY STEP GUIDE-- by the great MEE!~
(optional) MASTECH DMM [with backlit]
(optional) OPAMP solder practice ckt +diagram , on GP board
Details: 10Rs opamp + components for a practice ,
(optional)+/-9V Linear Supply practice ckt +diagram , on GP board
Details: diode and LM317series + components for a practice ,
etc
What you guys say ?
Looks like i need to do the buy and ship part , most people will say i cant buy soldering iron, roam around for solder etc....
But i do go to local market, if one more member joins is there i will offer a solder kit for practice , i dont want the 100s -200s extra
all i will put on MRP + shipping:
----solder tools kit-----
One iron SOLDRON,
Good Solder , wires of common types u need,
Cutters , all in one screw driver set
Tested paste flux ,even suitable for SMD
Assorted metal film resistors 1% .if needed few Panasonic type low cost caps
STEP BY STEP GUIDE-- by the great MEE!~
(optional) MASTECH DMM [with backlit]
(optional) OPAMP solder practice ckt +diagram , on GP board
Details: 10Rs opamp + components for a practice ,
(optional)+/-9V Linear Supply practice ckt +diagram , on GP board
Details: diode and LM317series + components for a practice ,
etc
What you guys say ?
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keith_correa
Well-Known Member
Count me in for:
Soldron - 25W-30W - with chisel, pencil and bent chisel tips
Soldering Stand with sponge/cellulose
Good DMM with capacitance, transistor, diode test functions among others
Jackly JK-6032-A - 32 in 1 screwdriver set
Instead of a general practice that doesnt get anything, it might be a better idea to identify a small project, gather parts for that. something small but useful. maybe a charger for batteries, or a small power supply, maybe a variable one, or any small useful project. might motivate people more.
isnt this a rohs solder, the unleaded one, very hard to unsolder i heard?
@doors you have a point the ckt can be simple CMoY,NE5532 preamp etc .But i guess we can use 20-30 useless ckt as basic like 741 preamp for learning, +-9V linear supply also useful ckt
Silver solder:
I have WBT,very easyto work ,remove too as low melting point.. ask anyone wbt is worldwide fav,RhoS complience doesnot mean solder will be sticky .
Most OEMs will use RhoS compliant materials,as per guidelines else they cant sale.
@keith
we will try our best ,but to avoid cost for most newbies we will limit to basic DMM so it is optional
Silver solder:
I have WBT,very easyto work ,remove too as low melting point.. ask anyone wbt is worldwide fav,RhoS complience doesnot mean solder will be sticky .
Most OEMs will use RhoS compliant materials,as per guidelines else they cant sale.
@keith
we will try our best ,but to avoid cost for most newbies we will limit to basic DMM so it is optional
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