Soldering Temp and Gauge Wire?
Hey folks, Just looking for a few recommendations - I've finally picked up a proper soldering station where I can set the temperature.. For working on vintage hardware like Atari 8bits and installing mods (ram upgrades or video upgrades that require wires to be run) -- what kind of temps should I be running a flat-tipped soldering iron at, and what gauge wire should I generally use on the older computers? Thanks :) John
Everyone will give their opinion. Start with 80% and gage how easily solder is melted to the component on the board. Its really up to you. A good tip is just as important. Quality solder too. Higher quality, lower temp needed. Bill On Wed, Mar 11, 2020 at 7:33 AM John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Hey folks,
Just looking for a few recommendations - I've finally picked up a proper soldering station where I can set the temperature..
For working on vintage hardware like Atari 8bits and installing mods (ram upgrades or video upgrades that require wires to be run) -- what kind of temps should I be running a flat-tipped soldering iron at, and what gauge wire should I generally use on the older computers?
Thanks :) John
On 3/11/20 8:06 AM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Everyone will give their opinion. Start with 80% and gage how easily solder is melted to the component on the board. Its really up to you. A good tip is just as important. Quality solder too. Higher quality, lower temp needed. Bill
Tip one, keep the tip clean (clean it before you put it away. Get someone to show you how to keep it clean. I prefer the wet sponge, others the 'brillo ball' (it looks like a huge ball of coiled metal). Tip two, never use sand paper or anything abrasive to clean the tip. Now you see why I prefer the wet sponge. Tip two, NEVER use the soldering iron tip to melt plastic. It's really difficult to get that junk out of the tip. If you want to melt something like heat shrink use the barrel of the soldering iron. Tip three: if you smell chicken, your holding the wrong end of the soldering iron ;-). Never ever attempt to catch the soldering iron if it falls. -- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
To protect the tip of the iron and keep it working efficiently for a long time, keep it tinned (coated with solder) while it is sitting idle, otherwise the heat will cause the tip to oxidize and solder won't flow properly. Wipe the excess solder off with the damp sponge immediately before soldering something, and then re-tin it right before setting it down. I have used the same tip for years. Temperature setting is based on solder alloy. Before Lead became restricted, the "perfect" solder alloy for electronics manufacturing was 63% Tin and 37% Lead. Typically, the iron should be around 700°F-750°F. You might be able to work with it at 650°F, but then you might be tempted to hold the iron on the workpiece too long and that will cause more damage than higher temperature. Lead-free solder requires higher temperatures, probably 750°F and up. I don't recommend it for inexperienced solderers. To avoid health issues when using Lead solder, just wash your hands frequently and don't put the solder in your mouth. Also, electronics solder should have a flux core. Generally, more flux is better, and sometimes it makes sense to add flux in addition to what is in the solder. Just clean the board afterwards if there is a lot, but trust me, flux is your friend. This excellent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpkkfK937mU is one of the best explanations of the proper way to solder that I have found. Honestly, 99% of the people I see on YouTube soldering suck at it. My opinion is based on 30+ years of soldering professionally and personally. I hope this was helpful and I didn't go off on too much of a tangent from your question. On Wed, Mar 11, 2020 at 8:40 AM Neil Cherry via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
On 3/11/20 8:06 AM, Bill Degnan via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Everyone will give their opinion. Start with 80% and gage how easily solder is melted to the component on the board. Its really up to you. A good tip is just as important. Quality solder too. Higher quality, lower temp needed. Bill
Tip one, keep the tip clean (clean it before you put it away. Get someone to show you how to keep it clean. I prefer the wet sponge, others the 'brillo ball' (it looks like a huge ball of coiled metal).
Tip two, never use sand paper or anything abrasive to clean the tip. Now you see why I prefer the wet sponge.
Tip two, NEVER use the soldering iron tip to melt plastic. It's really difficult to get that junk out of the tip. If you want to melt something like heat shrink use the barrel of the soldering iron.
Tip three: if you smell chicken, your holding the wrong end of the soldering iron ;-). Never ever attempt to catch the soldering iron if it falls.
-- Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry ncherry@linuxha.com http://www.linuxha.com/ Main site http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog Author of: Linux Smart Homes For Dummies
participants (4)
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Bill Degnan -
Chris Fala -
John Heritage -
Neil Cherry