I've got some strip board and am trying to solder stuff to it (RGB LEDs, resistors and transistors).
Anyone got any tips? Cos it's not going well. I've got three RGB LEDs soldered on and set up for one colour and the transistor isn't on very well. The LEDs don't glow unless I poke the transistor. The solder points are shiney, I thought that was an indication of a good connection?
I'm using an antex xs25 soldering iron. I know a poor workman blames his tools, but the tip doesn't seem to get warm - just the broader flat bit at the end.
Please help. It took me hours to get this far with the strip board and it's getting me down.
Scuff the copper strips with emery paper first to make it bright, make sure the tip is tinned and shiny, heat the joint (strip and wire) well before applying the the solder.
No more than about 5 seconds per joint.
Flux is a substance usually contained in the core of solder.
It modifies the solder's surface tension properties and makes it easier to get blobs to stick to copper traces and pads.
Flux pens are typically used in Surface Mount soldering because solder is usually applied to the tip, and then the component (not at the same time as in through-hole soldering), burning off all the flux.
Extra flux can make it easy to solder tighter spaced pins.
its also mildly acidic which eats up nasties on the target
tinning is just the act of applying a thin layer of solder on the surface of the tip, you can scrub them down with abrasive to undo most damage, and this works fine unless you start seeing copper, once that copper core is exposed on the tip its going to go downhill really quick so try not to sand too hard
You should never need extra flux if you are using rosin cored solder, since all surfaces should be clean enough.
Emery will be too abrasive on circuit board, an old typewriter eraser or a "plastic" pan scourer should be more than enough to clean any oxide film off the copper. A quick rub to raise a shine is all that is required and ensure all plastic or rubber residue has been blown off before commencing soldering.
Most soldering problems with electronics will be down to having a dirty iron tip. I recommend a wet flat sponge as supplied with soldering iron stands and wiping the tip between joints. Keep the tip nicely clened and always having a film of shining solder on it. If it gets dull, the solder is wasted, needs wiping off and retinning.
Touch iron to the junction of the circuit board and component simultaneously. then offer solder to the tip face, solder should immediately melt and flow to both surfaces, lift off iron. It is essential that the solder is set before moving the joint - only takes a second.
Another common error is to use solder of too large a diameter. For delicate electronics use the thinnest you can get. It MUST be resin (or rosin) cored.
jack
My number one recommendation for learning soldering is to practice, practice, and then practice some more. It really is a learned skill that no amount of reading about will explain enough to get good results. Find old components and circuit boards and have a go at it. It will soon become apparant to you what is required to get good solder joints. It's a rewarding skill to learn but does take time.
None of the above is meant to take away from obtaining good soldering tools and supplies, they are important, but one with experiance can get good results with a wide variation of tools, equipment and supplies.
My number one rule to follow is that the joint to be soldered must be heated first before applying the solder. You want the solder to flow to the joint and that can only happen if the joint is hot enough to except the solder. New comers tend to worry about heat damage and tend to hurry this step and end up just allowing the solder to ball up on the joint, and then things get messy in a hurry.
Thanks for the replies everyone, lefty and jackrae were just what I was looking for.
I tightened the tip on the soldering iron and that seemed to help. I think I'll get a new tip - the tinning looks dull almost all of the time - and a solder station. I've been using a wetted green scouring pad instead of a sponge, cos that's what I had to hand.
I've been worried about overheating too, thanks for talking about that one lefty.
It's all working now - I thought I had a problem with my circuit as the LEDs were quite dull, so I was explaining my circuit when I realised I didn't have a common ground
I have a few quick comments about what I picked up when learning.
Buy some decent solder. I originally purchased some cheap stuff and it wasn't melting well so I thought my iron was crap, always took me ages and was difficult. I then got some decent solder and I found how much better it was. It melted immediately upon contact (and this was lead free solder too). So first, make sure your solder is good and not cheap rubbish.
Make sure you heat your part leg. Don't try and get solder on the iron the apply it to the part, it won't work. Always heat the components leg and then add solder to the leg.
Don't practice with expensive components (trying to solder on to some SMD pads on a GPS is not good when you haven't learnt to do SMD soldering). Practice with cheap stuff, resistors, cheap red LEDs etc.
Just a few bits of advice. It will come soon with practice but often it is people's tools that are being used incorrectly or something is bad. Soldering is not tricky for anyone (unless you have bad vision or a shaky hand). The art of applying a wire of solder to a hot part lead is not difficult so if you are having trouble, don't think you are bad at it, blame your tools!
Sounds like a plan.
One thing I was taught to do but I'm not sure it served any real purpose, was to make a solder tower. Melt a ball onto a perfboard or old circuit board then keep melting balls on top to see how high you can get. Great waste of solder.
Helpful to me: No ;D
I feel like that would be bad training for soldering. Hand-eye coordination and steady hand-ness, maybe, but soldering, no. Because when soldering you would want to avoid melting the solder directly with the iron.
Oh well I would class myself as pretty good at soldering now.
Despite the fact I have no flux (currently) or solder wick I have done a number of SMD things with no problems and a cheap-ish soldering iron.
I do! I picked up one with two clips and a magnifier a couple of weeks ago. It's been really useful - I could've coped without the strip board but soldering two loose bits together used to involve blutac and bulldog clips.
I bought myself a good weller iron for christmas - temperature control and very quick to come up. It felt like night-to-day better than my old irons and my soldering got much better and easier.
The funny thing is though now, I can use my old irons much more successfully because of practice and confidence!
