Your solder skill can be determined through the
examination of your finished product. Things to look
for is the shiny-ness of the end solder connection,
and the amount of solder needed to make a good
electrical connection as well as physical connection.
The best solder joint is the one with the minimal
amount of solder, but with the maximum amount of
physical/electrical connectivity. don't blob the
solder on. Another thing to look for is how long did
you have to leave the iron on the joint to get a good
connection? Also, is the insulation on the wire still
intact? No Insulation melt? did it bubble up? did the
solder flow up under the insulation? On stranded wire,
can you still make out the strands under the solder?
When I reconnected my Newt serial port (surface mount
w/several dozen connections) I used no aditional
solder. I brushed some flux onto the board and just
re-flowed the solder that was already there. This
helped in preventing solder bridges between the
connections.
The key to concentrating the maximum amount of heat to
the very tip of your iron, is in tinning your tip. You
need to keep the tip wet with fresh solder and shiney!
Clean it often and bath it in fresh solder. When you
shut your iron off, always leave a small ball of
solder on the tip. This will help in preventing
oxidation of your tip and aid in tinning when you
start your iron up the next time.
How good is considerable?
Well, when you solder onto a board, does the board
show burn marks? When was the last time you lifted a
pad? Melted insulation? Used more solder than
absolutly necessary? If you can't honestly answer
these with the knowledge that 90% of your soldering
never shows the above, then you should have the skills
needed. But if not, hire out!
Ed
--- Drew Loker <lokerd@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >Well OK, I agree about the magnifying lamp and
> steady hand
>
> Magnifying glass I can get...and need for other
> things in the future anyway.
> Steady hand I got.
>
> >but I did the job
> >with no problem with a $25 dollar 20W soldering
> iron
>
> 20w Iron I got.
>
> >with replacable tips.
> >I used a very fine tip.
>
> Which tip specificlly? I would rather spend $100
> getting a good iron I will
> use the rest of my life than paying somebody $50 to
> do it for me.
>
> >onsiderable experience with soldering is highly
> >ecommended though.
>
> Ah ha! Now this is the problem. I have lots of
> experience...but I am not
> very good! I have gotten better recently, but I am
> just an amature. I have
> worked on surface mount things before, but usually
> removing things. THe
> other day I soldered a jumper in place on a very
> small drive Jumper (much
> smaller than the ordinary jumer pins), and then
> removed. I mean, how good is
> considerable? If I get the right iron, and then
> practice with it, could I do
> it???
>
> Thanks for the feedback!
>
> Drew
>
______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at
> http://www.hotmail.com
>
> ******************************************
> This NewtonTalk Message brought to you by:
>
> EVOTE.COM, the ESPN of Politics on the
> Internet. Visit EVOTE.COM for all the latest
> news on Campaign 2000!
>
> Visit http://www.evote.com today!
>
> ******************************************
>
> Need Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info?
> visit http://www.planetnewton.com
>
> ******************************************
>
=====
this is a temporary sig file until I can figure out a more clever one to use
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
http://im.yahoo.com
******************************************
This NewtonTalk Message brought to you by:
EVOTE.COM, the ESPN of Politics on the
Internet. Visit EVOTE.COM for all the latest
news on Campaign 2000!
Visit http://www.evote.com today!
******************************************
Need Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info?
visit http://www.planetnewton.com
******************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed May 03 2000 - 09:41:18 EDT