Is my board/component shot?

[ErikY]

Hey everyone,

Just started working on the $50 robot. This was my first time soldering. I watched the youtube videos, and read up on soldering a bit more.

However, the solder kit I bought came with all tips that I THINK were just too big for the job, or maybe I just had the iron/tip too hot, not sure.

Anyway, can anyone tell me if my board and/or DIP socket is going to be shot by looking at this picture, and if I need to start over with a new board/socket, or should I continue with this one and see how it goes?

[Pogertt]

The board looks nasty, but it may be salvageable.

I would first try to clean it up a bit with some gentle cleaning with a small wire brush.
The copper pads look like they are still there.  That is good.

Plug your soldering iron in, and allow it to come to temperature. 
Be patient and give it an extra 5 minutes after you think it is hot enuf to be sure.

It is important to have a clean and tinned tip to make a good solder joint.
After the iron is hot, use a damp sponge to clean the tip.

Pinch the tip with the sponge, and quickly pull the tip out.
It should look silvery, not black.

Once it is clean touch it to your joint and then introduce a little bit of solder.

When the tip blackens again, it must be cleaned again.

Sometimes, if you put a bit of solder on the tip, before cleaning it, you will get better results.

There is also a product called "Solder Wick"  that is braided copper.  It is used to remove excess solder. 

If you decide your piece is ruined, continue to practice on it till you become proficient, rather than starting on new materials.

Pogertt

[ErikY]

Thanks much for the advice!

I think I will use it as a practice board, and order a new socket and board.

I underestimated the difficulty in soldering.

[newInRobotics]

However, the solder kit I bought came with all tips that I THINK were just too big for the job, or maybe I just had the iron/tip too hot, not sure.

I think it was neither  I had same problems when first started. Today I use very same 30W iron which cost me £3.50 - and am able to solder without burning anything  Practise makes perfect...

This is the procedure I follow:
- Every time I pick up soldering iron I clean it on a damp sponge.
- After that, I tin the tip (if too much solderer is applied - just wipe it to the damp sponge).
- Touch the joint so that tip touches the "wire " of the part and the copper pad it is going to be soldered to, let it heat the spot for 2 seconds.
- Touch solderer to the joint (between "wire" of the part and copper pad) for  a second - as soon as the solderer starts melting - retrieve it.
- Retrieve the iron form the joint.


Get a desoldering tool - it helps A LOT if too much solderer is applied to the joint.

I advice against braided copper to clean soldering iron as it will most likely scratch the tip making soldering less effective. All I use for cleaning is damp (not wet) soldering sponge.

[ErikY]

However, the solder kit I bought came with all tips that I THINK were just too big for the job, or maybe I just had the iron/tip too hot, not sure.

I think it was neither  I had same problems when first started. Today I use very same 30W iron which cost me £3.50 - and am able to solder without burning anything  Practise makes perfect...

This is the procedure I follow:
- Every time I pick up soldering iron I clean it on a damp sponge.
- After that, I tin the tip (if too much solderer is applied - just wipe it to the damp sponge).
- Touch the joint so that tip touches the "wire " of the part and the copper pad it is going to be soldered to, let it heat the spot for 2 seconds.
- Touch solderer to the joint (between "wire" of the part and copper pad) for  a second - as soon as the solderer starts melting - retrieve it.
- Retrieve the iron form the joint.


Get a desoldering tool - it helps A LOT if too much solderer is applied to the joint.

I advice against braided copper to clean soldering iron as it will most likely scratch the tip making soldering less effective. All I use for cleaning is damp (not wet) soldering sponge.

Thanks for the tip!

I worked on the board a gain, soldering more components to practice.

I definitely did better, but as you said, I can see that this is the type of thing that practice makes perfect. My burns were WAY down, and for the most part, I think it came out pretty good.

Going to keep practicing, and will use your methods.

One other question, if you don't mind on soldering, when I am soldering my breakaway pins that will be connectors for my I/O, I put them in and turn the board over, but they are very difficult to get to stay straight, and I certainly cannot clamp the board as i need my table to hold them in place. Is there a good method for doing this?

Thanks!

[Soeren]

Hi,

when I am soldering my breakaway pins that will be connectors for my I/O, I put them in and turn the board over, but they are very difficult to get to stay straight, and I certainly cannot clamp the board as i need my table to hold them in place. Is there a good method for doing this?

Put a female connector (a dul row connector as found on IDE hard drive cables is great for this) on the pins and then hold the combo firmly against the board (a single pinky should do, or one or two rubber bands over the entire board).
This will keep the pins straight/parallel even when heated a little too much, which makes the plastic holding the pins together soften - this happens a lot for beginners.

Start by soldering a single pin at one end, check alignment, re-heat and correct if the entire row is skewed. When it's straight, solder the rest of the pins, starting from the other end.

[ErikY]

Hi,

when I am soldering my breakaway pins that will be connectors for my I/O, I put them in and turn the board over, but they are very difficult to get to stay straight, and I certainly cannot clamp the board as i need my table to hold them in place. Is there a good method for doing this?

Put a female connector (a dul row connector as found on IDE hard drive cables is great for this) on the pins and then hold the combo firmly against the board (a single pinky should do, or one or two rubber bands over the entire board).
This will keep the pins straight/parallel even when heated a little too much, which makes the plastic holding the pins together soften - this happens a lot for beginners.

Start by soldering a single pin at one end, check alignment, re-heat and correct if the entire row is skewed. When it's straight, solder the rest of the pins, starting from the other end.

Great tip! Thanks. I don't have any of those connectors, but I think I saw one at radioshack that I can buy for a few bucks. Thanks again.