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General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: Joesavage1 on February 26, 2009, 11:19:23 AM

Title: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Joesavage1 on February 26, 2009, 11:19:23 AM
In the $50 tutorial, you have to solder wires to the pads, i find this REALLY HARD!, i spent 1 hour doing 1 wire. Can someone give me some tips.


Thanks

Joe
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: chelmi on February 26, 2009, 11:31:25 AM
In the $50 tutorial, you have to solder wires to the pads, i find this REALLY HARD!, i spent 1 hour doing 1 wire. Can someone give me some tips.


Thanks

Joe

If you are using stranded wire, you need to tin your wire first. Heat the tip of the wire with you iron and apply a small quantity of solder. Your wire will "absorb" the solder. Then solder it to the pad as usual. Hope this helps !

Chelmi.
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: TrickyNekro on February 26, 2009, 06:48:00 PM
There is a kind of wire that strips itself as you apply heat with the soldering gun on it with some gentle move....
It has helped me a hell to do prototyping...
I'll try to find the name and post it tomorrow....

But... it is really a matter of skill eeehhh.... It will take you some time to learn how the solder behaves....
and how to act properly....
Remember that even gravity matters when soldering...

So I'll get you the name of the wire... so you can supply yourself some... but it's a little bit of expensive so be ready...
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: pomprocker on February 26, 2009, 06:54:05 PM
tin the tip of your soldering iron as well, this helps transfer heat and makes things solder a lot quicker.
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Joesavage1 on February 27, 2009, 01:15:38 AM
Im using Copper Insulated Wire, 22 gauge (i think), just to say. And also just to say: i think it would be so much easier if you had 4 hands!



Joe
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: cosminprund on February 27, 2009, 01:33:03 AM
Get yourself some thinner, multi-strand wire. 22 gauge is thick and that would make it more difficult to use. Multi-strand wire is very solder friendly and it doesn't break so easily when you move it around. Because it's more flexible it will be less likely to brake out of the solder bead.

I also use a pair of tweezers to hold the wire down to where I want it soldered: my hand moves enough to make the job difficult + my hand doesn't like the heat of the soldering iron :)
If you don't have tweezers then do whatever you can to make the wire stay in place by itself.

And of course, as TrickyNekro puts it:
Quote
But... it is really a matter of skill eeehhh.

you need to practice...
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: SmAsH on February 27, 2009, 02:04:45 AM
if you think you need four hands  maybe you should pick up a pair of helping hands, i just made my own :)
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: superchiku on February 27, 2009, 02:48:11 AM
u ned to use some kind of solder paste(i dont know the exact name)...this helps the solder to fix to the wire ...1st heat up the solder iron and apply some paste to the tip then apply some solder to it and try to solder ur components...:D
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: SmAsH on February 27, 2009, 04:47:15 AM
aslong as you use a thin enough wire even the biggest noob will get get it right 3rd or 4th go.
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Joesavage1 on February 27, 2009, 09:24:49 AM
My wire is STUPIDLY THIN, so maybe its not 22 guage, its also extremely flexible.
I wil however be trying some of the other tips.

Thanks

Joe
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: fuzzyt on February 27, 2009, 10:01:55 AM
If you tin the pad and the wire, then apply a small amount of solder paste ( flux ) to the pad, then you should be able to just hold the wire to the pad and apply heat.  Although not a "proper" technique, you can heavily tin your iron and some of the solder from the iron will flow toward the flux on the joint as well.  This can really help in those "not enough hands" situations.
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Joesavage1 on February 28, 2009, 01:20:37 AM
Ok Thanks, ill post if i encounter more problems

(liike bridging, while i was waiting for you to reply i gave it a try, lol, did one side of pins but took me ages,  :D.


Thanks


Joe
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Admin on March 03, 2009, 05:55:46 AM
When I made that tutorial, I forgot that beginners would have trouble soldering . . . I recommend using an empty part of your board and practice practice practice. When you got it figured out, then start soldering the rest.
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: Joesavage1 on March 03, 2009, 09:25:36 AM
When I made that tutorial, I forgot that beginners would have trouble soldering . . . I recommend using an empty part of your board and practice practice practice. When you got it figured out, then start soldering the rest.

Im ok at soldering the parts in, but the wires i just find really hard. So im leavign them till the end after the bridging and stuff (ive done half the bridging or wtv, its quite hard.)



Thanks


Joe
Title: Re: Soldering Wires Onto The PC Board
Post by: dellagd on March 04, 2009, 03:09:15 PM
what I did was I got 2 PCBs and just praticed on that.
Also make sure your tip is clean!