Soldering.

[SPECK]

Ok, I could not figure out why my Angel wasn't charging and I finnaly brought myself to opening up the charger.

I see a wire that is unattached from the board and need to reconnect it (obivously)

HOW do I do it? Soldering gun?

Thanks :tard:

[Muzikman]

a low watt soldering iron. 20w or so and a careful hand. I don't know what the inside looks like, but you have to make sure you don't run any solder points together. Your best bet if you have never soldered is to take it to someone who has.

[SPECK]

I have 1/4 inch at most of distance between this point and the one next to it.


I think I could do it. I have never used one before though.

[Muzikman]

Well, get a 20w from radio shack. You want an iron, not a gun. Pick up thin silver solder (Resin core if you have never soldered before). I would practice on something you don't care about before you try the charger. Soldering is not hard, but it is an art.

[ultralight]

read alot of online tutorials, go to the bookstore and read books on soldering. and most importantly, go to the goodwill or thrift store and buy some cheap electronics to practice on.
this will help to farmiliarize you with the way solder acts and moves.

you might also want to get that "cold heat" soldering iron that you see on tv. they sell it at home depot now and it only costs a bit more than a quality soldering iron.

that's another thing, you want a soldering iron, not a gun, most guns are too big for what youre doing. if you decide to go with a soldering iron over the cold heat gadget then go to radioshack and get one specifically designed for electronics, just tell them what you're donig and they'll help you get what you need. you don't want to screw up your angel because you didn't use the right tool.

good luck.

edit: ha! same time, same response, nice.

[SPECK]

Ok, thanks a bunch guys! :clap:

[Jaan]

If you're one of these "tinker" guys you might want to just buy a good one to have. You'll end up using it if you do, and you like to fix or make your own stuff. Get one at a good (NOT Radio Shack lol) electronics place. It's a basic hand tool like a drill or hammer these days.

I don't like those "cold solder" irons. Not enough mass. Once you get used to soldering you'll realize it's important to have an iron that won't cool down too fast. Some components that you solder have large areas that act like heat sinks ... some actually have heat sinks ... so you have to throw a lot of heat to get things to solder well.

[Muzikman]

I have been using soldering irons for years and except for the high end Wellers, the Radio Shack ones work just as well. And seeing as you can pickup a 20w iron from radio shack for less than $15 it's a good deal.

Personally I have two Weller stations at home, but I also have a cheap Radio Shack one that I carry my in gear box.

Also, avoid the Cold Heat. They are fine for the craft type work, but are not suited for electronics.

[Asym]

the cold irons are crap, it melts the solder real nice but it won't stick to anything if theres no heat on the piece your joining it to.

[SPECK]

Ok, so a 20W Radio-Shack. :ninja:

[Puckz]

Cold Heat soldering tools get way to hot for soldering on a circuit board. If its just wires they work great.

[slade]

i cant get the damn cold heat soldering iron to work anywhere. use a traditional one. its what works.

[MarkM]

The advice is good, get a proper soldering iron.
Practise on joing a few wires together first, also that is one of the more difficult jobs to do so helps long term, try not to "dab" with the soldering iron heat and let the solder flow. Remember to "tin" that is apply solder to the wire you are attaching first and then put the two parts together holding the iron on them to let the solder flow and be ready to add more solder when doing this.

The simple steps


Cut back the wire
Strip off the insulation slightly longer than you will use
Twist the wire
"Tin" the wire
Use the soldering iron to make the "tinning" neat
Cut off a little from the end of the "tinned" wire
Apply the wire to the board being prepared to add more solder and allow the solder to flow
The wire should be poking right through the board now, so trim off the excess wire with a pair of side cutters


The charger is one of the more simple parts of an Angel as there is plenty of fresh air inside so you shouldn't have any problems.

[Tunaman]

The advice is good, get a proper soldering iron.
Practise on joing a few wires together first, also that is one of the more difficult jobs to do so helps long term, try not to "dab" with the soldering iron heat and let the solder flow. Remember to "tin" that is apply solder to the wire you are attaching first and then put the two parts together holding the iron on them to let the solder flow and be ready to add more solder when doing this.

The simple steps


Cut back the wire
Strip off the insulation slightly longer than you will use
Twist the wire
"Tin" the wire
Use the soldering iron to make the "tinning" neat
Cut off a little from the end of the "tinned" wire
Apply the wire to the board being prepared to add more solder and allow the solder to flow
The wire should be poking right through the board now, so trim off the excess wire with a pair of side cutters


The charger is one of the more simple parts of an Angel as there is plenty of fresh air inside so you shouldn't have any problems.Marks advice is good, but I wouldn't tin or solder the wire BEFORE sticking it through the board. You may need a de-soldering pump to get the old solder off the board before inserting the new wire. Keep the solder to a minimum, as loads of solder tends to heat up real fast and ruin components. ;)

[rkjunior303]

Marks advice is good, but I wouldn't tin or solder the wire BEFORE sticking it through the board. You may need a de-soldering pump to get the old solder off the board before inserting the new wire. Keep the solder to a minimum, as loads of solder tends to heat up real fast and ruin components. ;)

you may be able to just tack the wire to the preexisting solder on the board, too.. try putting it on where it connects and heat up the wire with the iron -- if there is enough solder there, it will heat up too and fuse with the wire.

[latches109]

.... allow the solder to flow......


Solid advice mark, make sure it flows, you can solder all you want and still not get a good contact. so desolder, clean, before you start.
Here are some good pictures:


Number 1 a pdf (http://www.robotstore.com/download/How_to_solder_1.pdf)
desoldering and bad soldering pictures (http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/desolderpix.htm)

[Jaan]

You may need a de-soldering pump to get the old solder off the board before inserting the new wire.I perfer solder wick myself ... but if you have the board out you can just heat the solder up and then whack the board on the table (c:

[wanna-b-ballin']

if the wire just came loose, then you should just be able to heat up the sauder and keep the iron touching it as you place the wire in the puddle. then remove the iron, let it cool, then let go of the wire. simple.
if you want it to look prettier, use a sauder wick. its a braided copper thingy. then re-do the whole joint.

why does everyone thing the cold heat is crap? i've got one, and find it alot easier to use than a standard iron. no worrying about burning yourself or whatever you set it on, no cord to deal with, no accidently melting your project; and its almost fool-proof. and it actually works great on electronics. i used it to fix my friends warp feed and re-do the saudering on the battery harness on mine. the joints i did look better and are alot cleaner and also hold stronger than the origional ones.

[Jaan]

if the wire just came loose, then you should just be able to heat up the sauder and keep the iron touching it as you place the wire in the puddle. then remove the iron, let it cool, then let go of the wire. simple.
if you want it to look prettier, use a sauder wick. its a braided copper thingy. then re-do the whole joint.Solder man ... S-O-L-D-E-R :D


why does everyone thing the cold heat is crap? i've got one, and find it alot easier to use than a standard iron. no worrying about burning yourself or whatever you set it on, no cord to deal with, no accidently melting your project; and its almost fool-proof. and it actually works great on electronics. i used it to fix my friends warp feed and re-do the saudering on the battery harness on mine. the joints i did look better and are alot cleaner and also hold stronger than the origional ones.My personal opinion is that there isn't enough mass in the soldering iron to hold in heat. Maybe if I only soldered something once in a blue moon that cold heat thing might work for me, but I solder all the time. Since Saturday I've gone through a roll of solder already. There's a zen to it man ...

[Muzikman]

Isn't sauder a partial board furniture company?:)

The best thing thing to do is just practice. Like I first said, Soldering is an art.

[MarkM]

Marks advice is good, but I wouldn't tin or solder the wire BEFORE sticking it through the board. You may need a de-soldering pump to get the old solder off the board before inserting the new wire. Keep the solder to a minimum, as loads of solder tends to heat up real fast and ruin components. ;)

Yeah I forgot about the desoldering the hole bit...trouble is it comes as second nature to me so it makes a little more difficult to write down the steps but I do have to disagree with you saying about not tinning before putting through the hole, this will make for a messy joint as you will have to solder from the reverse and definitely add solder instead of tidying up on the reverse plus the lack of solder in the wire will possibly draw way too much solder into the wire and in turn often overheat the insulation and then things start to get real messy. When soldering surface mount switches and the like then yes I agree but wires going through, no always tin before.