Soldering before making a mess

[sjb]

So, here I am with being fortunate enough to get into the first express coop of the year and thinking "I have never soldered an electronic part in my life <fp. " so before I really poop myself and wreck a perfectly good board from the coop. What would you recommend for myself to practice on? Wondering if there is something to practice soldering and to confirm that the soldering job worked and did not mess anything else up.

Thanks

Steve (In Edmonton)

[mmciver]

When you go to the wiki and look up the assembly instructions for the board, there is a link to some soldering tutorials.

That would be a great place to start!

Mike.

[Rod R]

Did you check out this page from the WIKI Manual.

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Yes I would suggest that you practice on a smaller project.  There are some really cheap hobby boards out there maybe two three bucks.  Better yet, you can even pick up a blank PCP bread board (the ones with a bunch of holes in it) Like the one in the video, Radio shack has them (cost a couple bucks).  Then you can practice your thru hole solder skills with roll of buss wire.  Take your time and you'll be OK.

[kgustafson]

Another cheap solution is going to Radio Shack and buying one of their smaller LED projects (They had christmas trees and the like for the holidays).  These are under $20 and a good place to practice your soldering skills.

Kurt

[sjb]

I have watched the tutorial and read the WIKI, I was just wondering how someone could get in some practice and confirm that their soldering worked and also did not damage the board. I will try the breadboard and work on the skills.

Thank you

[Steve Gase]

RadioShack, Frys, and other places have inexpensive kits... a mini LED christmas tree, wheel of fortune, etc.

grab one or two of those kits and experiment away!

[chrisatpsu]

two tips i would give is to place your component, (like a resistor) press the iron on the leed where it is to be soldered, (press the leed, and the hole it came through on the board) and wait about 3, or 4 seconds, and then touch the area (with iron still on) with the solder for about 1/2 a sec to one second. you want that leed side to have a nice shiny patch (use solder with lead, to get started) but you don't want the solder to come pouring through the other side. (filling the hole is ok, but don't make a mound on the side where the resistor sits.

i'd recommend getting a 30 or 40 watt soldering pencil to startout with. that way if gives you the basic, and if you end up not really liking soldering, then you're not out with buying a more expensive soldering station.

make sure you get soldering braid too.  we ALL make mistakes, and that's almost like an erasor for mistakes 

[sjb]

Thanks everyone in regards to the kits, I will look for them.
Thanks chrisatpsu, this is great information.

[OkieJay]

Start with cheap kits and a good solder station/iron, you will get the hang pretty soon.  I have the Radio Shack digital station and I have been very happy with it.  Not your best bang for the buck, but a good unit at a fair price.  I would not (this may be just me) use a simple $10 soldering iron.  I use different heat setting for different components and you need an adjustable station for that. 

Good Luck

[tbone321]

I have to agree with OkieJay, don't waste your time or money on a pencil iron.  While they work well for small projects, they really don't supply enough heat for larger components.  The voltage regulators and the triacs on the express require much more heat than a resistor or LED.  As also said in this thread, the Radio Shack solder station is a good value for the money and will handle the requierments of any of the kits here.  Just make sure that you can get the replacement tips for it.  That used to be a big issue with that unit in the past but the shack seems to be fixing that an is stocking replacement tips in many of the stores now. 

[chrisatpsu]

i have to say that i've only used pencil irons in all that i've built here so far...

you don't need a professional iron to get professional results.

granted it not a weak iron, but it really doesn't have to be a station.  it's easier to do this stuff than it seems at first, but still some people wont want to continue to do it. and you wont know until you try it. but at least if you try it, and don't like it. you only bought an iron that wasn't expensive.

and a soldering pencil can be handy at times, as it's more portable. so even if you later get a soldering station, the pencil can always be a convenient backup, or even used for use with a different tip than your main.   the stations can be good, but they're not the end all of soldering guns.  Since i've been doing this for about a year and a half (soldering), i'm most likely closer to being closer in expierence to someone starting out, compared to guys that have been doing this for years.  my tips were for someone starting out for the first time.

btw, i've never had issues with triacs, or even heatsinks.

i use this iron
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[lineman]

Well all I can say is this is my 2 yr and when I started I had not soldered anything my practice came with my first board . You will be fine once you see how the solder flows on the first couple of resistors you will understand . RJ,s video is all I wathched and everything turned oout ok . trust yourself YOU CAN DO IT  >.d9

[jnealand]

Ask around for people who have soldered and see if one of them will sit with you when you start the first board.  I had not done any soldering of this type before I started with my first board 3 years ago.  Now I have multiple dongles, expresses, SSR4s, SSC hubs and controllers, etc.  Just go slow and follow the directions.

[thestig]

I agree with lineman. i had never soldered before attempting my first lynx express. I watched RJ's Videos and followed along the manual. I found myself skipping RJ's Videos and just using the manual until I got to place where I wanted to see how RJ did it. You will be surprised just how easy it is to solder. I take my time and have soldered two LE's and a dongle without a single problem. no solder bridges, no need to use a solder wick... (knock on wood).

I have the weller WLC100 and it has worked flawlessly. Like others have said, buy extra tips. I prefer the chisel(I think that's what its called) tip in the really small size.


Good luck, nothing makes you feel better than powering up your first LE and having it work!


Grant

[Gary]

Better yet, you can even pick up a blank PCP bread board (the ones with a bunch of holes in it) Like the one in the video, Radio shack has them (cost a couple bucks).  Then you can practice your thru hole solder skills with roll of buss wire.  Take your time and you'll be OK.

Back in high school when taking Electronics, we made our own circuit boards and I remember that soldering them was a b*tch! Remembering these horrible experiences, I found an old bread board to practice on before attempting my first Express and it felt like high school again. I knew that I had to break down and start on the Express at some point... and I could not believe how easy it was in comparison. The green coating (whatever it's called) made soldering soooo much easier!