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For me, the breakthrough was getting a thermostat controlled soldering iron. Suddenly I could make perfect joints every time.
This looks like a good idea, but is the wire getting hot enough? Does the rosin work to dissolve the oxidization on the wire when the solder is being melted and sucked in by surface tension, as opposed to being melted by the wire directly? I could conceive of the rosin all ending up on the surface of the blob using this technique, not touching the wires.
I was taught to heat the wire and touch the solder to it. This looks like they are laying the wire on the solder, then heating the solder - not the wire. Won't this result in a cold solder on the wire?
I run my iron really hot (750F/400c) and just get in and out. I use a curved conical tip and have never have had issues with this technique.
I was taught to heat the wire and touch the solder to it. This looks like they are laying the wire on the solder, then heating the solder - not the wire. Won't this result in a cold solder on the wire?
What you really want to do when you have dozens of jumper wires is to do an array-of-struct to struct-of-array transform on the steps. Instead of cutting, stripping, tinning, and soldering one wire at a time, cut all your wires, then strip them all, then tin them all, then solder them one by one.
Here's a pro tip: when you tin the wires, lay the iron flat on your workbench with tip out into air and tin by laying the end of the wire on top and then adding the solder.
Another pro tip: use a pair of needle nose pliers to bend the tinned leads by a little over 90 degrees to make a little hook. When you solder to the board you can apply a little tension and let the solder flow into the hole. Makes very string solder joints.
I was taught to heat the wire and touch the solder to it. This looks like they are laying the wire on the solder, then heating the solder - not the wire. Won't this result in a cold solder on the wire?
The bigger problem is that all the rosin flux in the solder will have evaporated, likely making the joint very weak. Most DIY projects lack any form of strain relief so it's a double whammy for any wire that will shift around.
and as many have already said, pretty good way to get a cold joint or pockets
For me, the breakthrough was getting a thermostat controlled soldering iron. Suddenly I could make perfect joints every time.
I have one, but I don’t know what temperature to set it to and there are probably other flaws in my technique, so it’s still trial and error.
It’s actually much harder to make a good solder joint with lead free solder, so be kind to yourself about it. No harm in re-doing a joint.
- solder fume extractor (see below)
- extra thin high quality tin
- a desoldering pump AND desoldering wire
- high quality flux
- a TS 100 soldering Iron with KU tip from ali express for 50 bucks
- optional: USB-C Power Adapter for your existing power supply (so you don't have to buy one)
- optional: a soldering mat (normaly blue colored)
Instructions:
- turn on solder fume extractor
- heat iron to 370° Celsius (but be careful depending on your workpiece)
- Tin both ends beforhand
- better slightly more flux to put on (but not for small works)
- if flux has been applied, cleaning up with e.g. toothbrush & isopropyl alcohol after you're done maybe a good idea
High quality flux is also important because of your health. Chinese sellers often don't care about ingredients...
High quality tin is much easier to work with and costs 5 bucks more than low quality tin. It is worth.