Soldering equipment recos

adam2434

Getting ready to start my first mod project.

Looking for some recos on basic soldering equipment for replacing through-hole resistors and caps on a PCB.

I plan to buy the equipment and do a bit of practicing before I do the mods.

Iron:
What would be a good wattage? 25-30W?
What's a decent, inexpensive iron? Parts Express has a Weller 25W for around $40.

Solder:
Rosin core, I assume, right?
What's a good diameter?
What's a decent solder?

Part prep:
Do you clean the leads or use flux?
Is it critical that you not touch the leads, contaminating them with hand oils?

De-soldering:
Sucker or braid?

Thanks in advance,

Adam

Face

Weller adjustable temperature. I've done more damage using a iron that wasn't hot enough compared to one that was too hot.

Solder, either WBT or Cardas silver solder. Both have a low melting temperature and flow very well.

Solder removal, 99% of the time I use a braid.

phipiper10

Are these what would be required to do the job? Thinking about a cap upgrade myself but have no idea about this stuff.

Tell me how to make the word "here" a link and I'll do that in the future - Some HTML stuff I suspect?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310107308086&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&salenotsupported

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200316726225&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&viewitem=&salenotsupported

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dorokusai

I use a Weller WTCPT. It's not temperature controlled but I've never needed that feature for anything audio. I have a lb of WBT/Cardas and I'll die before I use all that up. Kester is another you could get on the cheap.

Get a station.....not just a pen.

Desolder? Hold it in your hand, heat it up and bang your hand on the table....solder removed. I'd only worry about braid for hard to reach areas and stuff I couldn't easily hold in one hand. Suckers are just silly. If you have that much clumped on, you souldn't solder or your working on something vintage.

treitz3

Wick? yes. Cardas? yes. Soldering iron? no.

My advice would be to find a fine tip soldering iron that is adjustable up to 900 or so degrees. I got mine at Rat Shack for around 99 bucks and it's done me well for about 3 years for all applications. It's not a Weller but it doesn't come with the Weller price tag and considering I don't use it everyday? It'll do. I would also recommend the solder sucker with some spare tips. You may not need it for this project but if you are getting into mods, it will come in handy in the future and they only run around 20 bucks.

Ricardo

Very useful videos on soldering:

http://www.tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/

dorokusai

900 watts? You're ridiculous.

treitz3

No I'm not Mark. Some applications dictate. Experience bro'.

dorokusai

Yea, Tom, I'm sure it does but it's still a ridiculous suggestion for him. But hey...it's $99 bucks and maybe he doesn't like to surf the internet.

Face

900 degrees must make soldering to large binding posts a breeze.

treitz3

Eh, maybe so. I guess my suggestion came based upon having the right tool for the job and it being able to perform to a certain standard. IME, I've never had one of those linked perform worth a damn. Maybe it was just bad luck.

Well, that and 99 smackers doesn't really break my bank when it comes to my rig. Any other suggestions on a soldering iron would be welcome.

dorokusai

Nah....that's good enough for me.

treitz3

FAAAAK I just checked and I misspoke. 900 degrees, not watts. My bad.

Face

Here's what I use: http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1238807857&sr=8-1

Tom, we knew what you meant.

dorokusai

$83 NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Who'd a thunk it.

treitz3

Damn, Weller has gone down in price since I last looked. Way back in the day, [or the catalog I had access to] the lowest price for a Weller was around $350. Just goes to show you that you learn something everyday.

dorokusai

You're spot-on Tom....they were at some point expensive.

Systems

dorokusai wrote: »

I use a Weller WTCPT. It's not temperature controlled but I've never needed that feature for anything audio.

I use the WTCPT for my home bench as well.I have a temp adjust Weller at work but never find the need to change it from 750 deg.

fredv

WTCPT +1.
I bought mine from Fry's. They had the best price years ago, less than $100.

adam2434

Thanks for the recos and tips.

adam2434

What tip size would be best for through-hole caps and resistors?

I'm thinking 1/16" or 3/32" screwdriver tip. Sound right?

The Weller station I'm looking at comes with an 1/8" screwdriver tip, which seems a little large for fine through-hole work.

treitz3

I always went with the finest [smallest diameter at the actual tip with the smallest angle of thickening that leads to the gun] soldering tip I could find. Big, bulky and cumbersome tips are a PITA when you are in tight spots, plus the solder sucker works better because you can get the sucker closer to the solder point without melting the tip.

fredv

adam2434 wrote: »

What tip size would be best for through-hole caps and resistors?

I'm thinking 1/16" or 3/32" screwdriver tip. Sound right?

The Weller station I'm looking at comes with an 1/8" screwdriver tip, which seems a little large for fine through-hole work.

I think that's what came with mine, too.
That is the tip I used all the time. I do have a finer tip as a back up for other tasks. I used the fine tip only in a few occasions. It is around 5 bucks per tip (for my model). So, I suggest to buy a finer one just in case.

adam2434

While waiting for my Weller station to arrive, borrowed an inexpensive Weller 25 watt iron this week for practice. Bought some Radio Shack silver-bearing rosin core solder (0.022” dia), desoldering braid, and some resistors and caps for practicing.

Used an old PCB board and desoldered and soldered parts on to the same pads around 8-10 times, cleaning the board with alcohol in between. I was pretty happy with the results – my new joints looked pretty much identical to the other joints on the board, and there were no signs of damage to the board, pads, or traces after 8-10 desolder and solder cycles on the same pads. This was a big confidence builder going into the DAC mods, once all the tools and parts arrive.

The tip on the iron I was using was a fairly blunt conical tip (not much taper). I don’t think it was ideal for PCB work, so I’m hoping that the 1/16” and 3/32” screwdriver tips I ordered for the station will work even better.

I also noticed that the conical tip was misshapen (gouged) when I was done. The iron was hot about 2 hours during the practice session. I’m hoping the tips I ordered will hold up better.

ben62670

dorokusai wrote: »

900 watts? You're ridiculous.

Cathy aproved, and yet lightweight.

Don't forget bandaids, and bacon grease. The metal parts gets very hot, and shouldn't be used as a handle.

dorokusai

mmmm...bacon grease, lube of champions.

adam2434

The PCB I practiced on has all the parts on the opposite side of the pads/traces. See practice pic.

The parts I'm going to replace on the DAC are on the side with the pads/traces. See DAC pic.

I assume the soldering and desolerding technique is the same for either layout, right?

I guess the only real difference will be that the clipped ends of the leads of the DAC parts will not be soldered on the other side of the board.

The pic of the DAC is not mine and I have not opened the DAC yet, but it looks like the DAC's PCB has parts mounted to both sides. Perhaps this was done to conserve real estate?

fredv

adam2434 wrote: »

The PCB I practiced on has all the parts on the opposite side of the pads/traces. See practice pic.

The parts I'm going to replace on the DAC are on the side with the pads/traces. See DAC pic.

I assume the soldering and desolerding technique is the same for either layout, right?

I guess the only real difference will be that the clipped ends of the leads of the DAC parts will not be soldered on the other side of the board.

Yes, the soldering and desoldering technique is pretty much the same. It is also possible that is is a through hole. If so, there will be pads on both sides which sometimes can be a PITA to desolder.

The pic of the DAC is not mine and I have not opened the DAC yet, but it looks like the DAC's PCB has parts mounted to both sides. Perhaps this was done to conserve real estate?

This can be one reason. Another reason is shorter path between components.

Ender

Isn't Hakko another good brand to go with? As long as it's not a counterfeit?

sinivision

Use minimal amounts of solder.