always cover my soldering tips in solder before puting away saved all my tips for more than 20 years now. still as good as new. quality education and tools made in germany.
I just ordered a real soldering iron. I threw away the one i got at Walmart 15 years ago when i was 18. Things could barely melt anything i never understood what i was doing wrong. TH-cam has been a blessing thanks to people like Mr Carlson.
I've been soldering for a few years now, and I just found this video today. I wish I found it when I started, you really explain things well and in depth. Love your videos
THanks a million, I used this method to build a tiny wristwatch kit that was all SMD. It was much easier then I anticipated, in fact I surprised myself when I put the batteries in her and she came to life! I had thought that I put way to much heat through the processor for it to have survived as the pins were extremely close together and I could not tell for sure if I had all the little shorts cleared, I took over 2 hours getting that first chip in, but I was determined to finish the kit even if it didn't work in the end. I am so proud of my work, I am wearing the little toy-like watch as my daily wear now, just to show off that I actually succeeded! Love the videos, I have joined Patreon a couple of weeks back, sadly today when I came for another dose of knowledge Patreon said it was down for maintenance or some such excuse.
Mr. Carlson, i couldn't agree more. I have preached to colleagues for years about protecting their tips with solder while iron in standby, but they look at me like i have OCD. My tips are beautiful after years of service while their tips look like hobbyists' tips. I will be sending them link to this video. Cheers
Thanks for the good tips. I learned good things and I've been soldering for over 50 years.. One "trick" I learned about doing repairs on lead free solder joints is that by adding a bit of lead solder to the joint can help make de-soldering faster and easier. A few months ago I had to replace the antenna connection in a Yeasu FTM-100D radio and that made it go much quicker to be able to get the heat out of the area. Was an SO-239 soldered to a big pad on the board edge that sucked up heat like crazy.
As always, thank you very much, Paul, for the great video! I can't stress enough how important is to wet an iron tip before turning a station off, so next time you'll turn it on, a tip will be precoated with some solder, drastically extending its lifetime. Cheers! Phil
Hi Mr Carlson's Lab, this video you posted 21.11.2017 exactly on the day of my 40 birthday :-) date as well as a demonstration of how to properly solder me was pleased! Thank you Mr Carlson's, a great video!
Great explanation and lots of useful tips. RA Type flux was the best tip ever! As you said: once you get started with SMT you will never go back to THT if not necessary. Many thanks for sharing this and what you do for us on Patreon as well!
Thanks for uploading this video. I just purchased an iron and some other gear to start learning (just for personal use) and this is the most informative video ive seen so far! you are very calm and easy to listen to and explain everything very well!. Thank you
I always dipped the soldering iron tip and the end of the solder in flux before what we called, 60 years ago, "tinning" or coating the tip with solder. I've only soldered a few connections during the past 40 years so I appreciate the tip about "don't file the tip." They were all just plain copper in the olden days and filing was a necessity.
*_"So you've purchased yourself a brand new soldering iron, what's the very first thing you should do before turning the soldering iron on?"_* Well, if it looks like that, *return it.* 😂 Jokes aside, Paul, you are an absolute *master* of your art. Thank you so much - watching your videos always reminds me of the coziness of Christmas (since I first discovered your channel last December.) God bless you Sir! Matthew, England.
Mr Carlson's Lab hey there, I had a quick question on this if you could help me out, i fell asleep with my little miniature synthesizer in my lap last night and it fell off and accidentally broke what appears to be the headphone amp out of the casing, so I decided to solder it back on, now normally I’m a welder this was my first time ever soldering, it was a surface mount board and I really just let the iron get hot and ever so slightly touched it to the old beads while at the same time adding a single drop of rosin core to ensure the contacts on the amp were covered, when I plugged my headphones in, It Worked! But then I watched your video and saw that you recommended always using flux for surface mount, you think I’ll be okay in this case? Normally I wouldn’t worry so much but this little guy set me back $1,500 so I have a vested interest in keeping it out of harms way
@@justinkinter8651 as long as you believe you've got well bonded joints it should stand the test of time. The flux is for getting the solder to flow into joints easily, you don't always need it.
after months of research.. i finally found two good Soldering irons.. one is the TS100 that brought me to the direct heating element.. that is the heating+temp is all in the tip.. i found a different STM32 based station.. and got one that hasen't a build in power supply this was by design.. as i bought the best laptop power supply i could get my hands on... i could use that to also power my second STM32 (ship) based soldering iron.. and a found that certain aliexpress vendors sell extremely good tips.. the reason why i needed a different station from the TS100 was that i needed i smaller chisel tip. as i like to build my own keyboards.. this was an awesome adventure really love soldering.. for those getting in to it.. try buying a few practice kits on aliexpress..start with the hourglass kit ..good luck
Insanely good tip for people that solder: Make a mini bobbin of solder around your soldering iron tip and when it heats up everything will melt evenly = thus perfectly tinning your tip.
Having learned old school point to point soldering I can tell you what i had been taught. Wrapping the lead around a standoff or terminal is to ensure good mechanical connection so that you are not relying on just the solder to provide strength to the joint. Solder is there only for the electrical connection and continuity. Another thing to keep in mind was that I learned this in the military in the early 70's. Electronic equipment took a lot of beating and vibration hence the mindset of really making sure the components never ever come loose.
Rick Goebel Couldn't agree more. Solder should never be depended on for mechanical strength, especially todays brittle lead free solders. Wrapping the lead around the terminal is a important part of making a strong mechanical connection. Learned that in a NASA training video at electronics course in high school Vo-Tech in the 80's. If the teacher caught you not wrapping the wire around he would give you a good slap on the back of the head.
Nearly fifty years ago, when I was first learning this stuff, my dad, who served as a radar technician on a carrier in the Navy in WWII, emphasized the importance of always making a solid mechanical connection in wiring as he had been properly taught. On a warship, where getting bombed or torpedoed was a very real possibility, this, of course, made a lot of sense and could well make the difference between victory or defeat. More recently, and given the realization that the stuff I am now working on is unlikely ever to face such potential abuse, I am resigned to simply sticking component leads through lug holes, or making a casual half-wrap, and soldering away. It might not survive a nuclear blast, severe earthquake or other calamity, but it sure makes taking things apart much easier. Oh, well.
Phil Mann But in mobile two way radios I see broken out solder joints every week. The introduction of high speed wave soldering destroyed solder connection reliability in my opinion.
I think Senor Carlson himself once pointed out the pitfalls of wire-wrapping point-to-point connections too tightly. Yes, it helps maintain solid conductivity in the short term, but the constant physical tension in the wire eventually fatigues it to the point of failure.
I agree with what you have said but one other point that wasn't mentioned was pre-tinning of the components prior to soldering. When the components have been lying around for a while you get surface oxidisation. If you don't either remove this manually or pre-tin (therefore using the flux in the solder to chemically clean the lead) you can end up with dry joints. I notice in the video that there is a blow hole evident on one of the legs probably as a result of this.
Very good tutorial on soldering. I agree with you regarding not necessarily having to wrap the wire around the tube socket connection lug. I read in an article there the writer claimed that one needs to wrap the wire tightly to get a good metal to metal bond because solder is not glue. I thought and wrote him that no solder is not glue... it is weld. I had another discussion years before that when manufacturers were using wire wrapped studs for the wiring that no, even though it seems to make the metals bind, and that the edges of the studs seem to bit into the wire, there is still a little gap between then and will oxidize. I have myself improved the performance of those components after a few years by soldering them all. That idea of wire wrap connecting only lasted a few years. It was a bad idea especially in computers.
dang son... you have some darn fantastic vid's.. I even went out and bough an old tube radio from the early 50's.. But I think it a to much of an ammeter to attempt a rework of it.. do it sit's in my shop and I listen to it while I am out there for as long as it will work.. it hums rather loudly as I go down the dial but the upper stations come in fine thanks for all of your hard work my friend..
Neat... a Hakko iron fits into an olde Weller stand... good to know! One thing i see is just about every instruction video on You Tube for soldering seems to be hit with "that's wrong", "not how i was trained", "i'm a trained and qualified...." "you're not right on the..." For myself and what must almost be nearly 40years in electronics where i have been soldering together so many components in repair to design prototype, wire ends, wire to wire joins , smd manual prototype and smd replacements all the way through to solder-joining large aluminum cable clamps to copper lands on heavy guage circuitboards, i've never personally had a failure. OK i don't have to work on really specialist stuff as example medical or aircraft where i can see a real reason you need to have passed some kind of ability test but at the end of the day its about technique and putting it into all together each time you make that join. Knowing and understanding what's going on is probably a good thing too. (i've heard people say things like letting the solder dry... which says to me they don't understand what's happening)... Mr Carlson has shown us his well learned techniques he uses to ensure a close to 100% so-perfect-that-it-doesn't-need-to-be-discussed-kind-of-join. I must add though that like almost everything in life it pays to PRACTICE and PRACTICE purely to keep your skills experience up so you don't skip any of your learned techniques in what is almost a Craft next time you bring out the iron...
Ik this is 4 years late but thank you for this you explained it excellent and showed different types of soldering not just one I want to get into soldering and this helped out a lot and gave me a lot of inspiration. If you see this I have a few questions.
Great job! It appears that many others in the comments section are experts with strong opinions for the home gamer. Funny how they don't offer a single video that visually highlights their expertise on the subject.... hmmm.
Many people have different tallents in different areas, perhaps some of them are less tallented at making videos, or just don't have the equipment. I have 3 cell phones, I dont use any of them ... Thats my wife's field of expertise per say. I do have several radios, I use those with a license, she knows nothing about radio even though we have been together for over 40 years, how odd; wouldn't you say? Yet no matter the situation, nearly everyone has an opinion, just my observation nothing more.
Thanks for your advice and tips mr. Carlson I really do enjoy all your work clean precise very educational thanks again for being a great teacher. have a great Thanksgiving
For those big chassis grounds, some pre-heat with a heat gun (equipped with a concentrating nozzle) can make a huge difference. Hit it with the hot air for 30-60 second, and you might find you can use a basic 70w-80w station. Preheat really does help, if you can just knock most of the chill out of the primary sink points.
I am having trouble soldering the 12 gauge power wire to a quadcopter 4n1 ESC power inputs. I have watched many of your video, including the one on solder. I have ordered some items, I think you have given me some great advice. Thank you.
It's obvious you have been soldering for quite a few years and you've probably learned a few things that you do automatically when you solder that helps you makes a good solder joint like in your video at 9:00 when you make a solder connection. You placed your iron to make good contact on the component lead and the copper trace. Then you made a slight sawing motion with your iron to get the heat to conduct to the component and the board. Your information on maintaining the iron and the tips are right on.
I use very cheap iron for couple of years now, I clean old solder off with wire sponge and then touch the wet sponge for extra shininess, I never wet the tip before putting it in the holder and it still looks and works like new :)
My hands are sometimes shaking which makes soldering more difficult. And I prefer doing SMD work only. Some people think hole mounted would be better, but it is actually not. It's like threading a needle. So now all my designs use SMD. With realy tight spaced leads lots of flux is needed just as shown here. The flux increase the surface tension of the solder so it will stick tenaciously to the leads and bridging them is less likely. My way is to presolder one pad, then solder the appropriate lead by placing the component and heating it. Then adjust if necessary and solder another lead diagonally. Then solder the rest. This is what works for me. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the method shown. Just suggesting to try it and choose what suits you best.But as MrCarlson tells us: try SMD and it will become your preferred method. And with modern components becoming the only way.
Thanks again fo a very interesting video. Sometimes we forget how much we know and back to basic videos are just great for youngsters and newbies. However, we sometimes also forget that we owe others for spending the time to educate us and that we have a duty to pass this information on to the next generation and not pass it on only to those who can afford a monthly patreon fee. Would you consider maybe a weekly 5 minute back to basics video series where the funtionality of a component type was covered e.g. transisters - npn, pnp, diodes, caps, or even simple 5 minute circuits 555 timer, flip flop. Please consider. Thanks J
Greetings from a regular viewer. I don't know if you would have the time or interest, but I could use some advice if don't mind. I burnt up the instrument cluster of an old Honda CRV that I had purchased for my Daughter by trying to replace burnt out lamps with LEDs . Even though I tried to be careful and check polarity, I failed to realize to so called replacement lamp sockets had double metal contact wings that scratched into the double sided circuit board, causing instant smoke when I applied power. Believe it or not, I was able to solder small jumper wires passed all the burnt up traces. Everything works now, all lamps and gauges with the exception of the fuel gauge which works but fluctuates erratically at times. I narrowed the area down to some very small SMDs which look like three pin transistors but I can't identify them as there is only "1G" stamped on the back. I also tried Google for a component diagram from Honda with no luck at all. I would just buy a new one, but I want to learn how to repair electronics, and I made it this far with a magnifying glass, multimeter, and a soldering iron. any suggestions ? I could use help identifying and testing these tiny components and where to find data sheets. Thanks
I’ve had my soldering station for 15 years. I never coated the tip after each use nor when I turned it off. Instead I clean the tip with a brass sponge and leave it that way when turned off. The original tip is still shiny and has never decayed.
Thanks very much for yet another informative video andI know it's been commented on before but thank you so much for pronouncing solder correctly. Solder should NOT be sodder, the L is not silent. Now we just need to spread the word to the rest of the TH-cam contributors :)
New subscriber today - you won me over by saying 'solder' correctly & by using Celsius, the temperature measurement scale used by most of the world. I enjoyed your tutorial & it's often frustrating being a person who loves to learn, hearing 'modern' tutorials peppered with archaic & superseded forms of measurement - I just want to get on with the learning instead of having to look up moot increments of outdated systems. Thank you.
and there is the SMD tip for the $1200+ rework set. Fluxpens & hot air! Buy German Weller or Japanese Hako, and you will have good equipment. I have a VERY OLD Weller pencil where each tip has a set temp on it. It has been relegated to the lowly task of stippling grips on polymer pistols, AKA melting plastic, to build competition race pistols. I did do an electronics project with one of my guns. It has a small GPS transmitter inside it now. If someone should steal it, a phone app will show it's location anywhere below the Arctic Circle, or above the Antarctic Circle, within about 20 feet. I noticed the extra space inside the grip, and thought, "Why not see if that GPS thingy will fit in there?". It does, but not without rebuilding it to fit. Changing batteries is, with stock or the E^2 Grips is easy, and it takes just a screwdriver.
Hey Paul could you do a video about the wattage of soldering irons and temperatures. Why do you need higher wattage and how low of wattage is too low. I have been looking for a soldering station and frankly getting a little confused about this station is 60 watts verses this station that's 120 watts or 150 watts. Will a 150 watt station do everything a 60 will do or vise versa? They all seem to reach the same temperatures.
Hi there! Nice video Mr. Carlson! For an even better solder joint to a Chassis it might be useful to clean the spot with fine angry paper to remove surfacerust, fatts and dirt. If you don't have a nice soldering gun, you could cheat by preheating the chassis with an ordinary heatgun then soldering with a normal Iron (but don't burn up all the components inside!). Years ago I bought myself an Ersa I-Con nano soldering station. That was maybe the best tool investment I've ever made. It has soldered now many kilometers of solderwire and i have not even one single dead Tip jet. They also have a tip retinning powder if a tip ever gets bad or takes no more solder. Oh and dont melt Plastik or other nasty stuff with your soldering iron, at least get a dedicated tip for something like that.
You can get a good used Weller D550 240/325 watt on eBay for around $50. I bought myself one a while back and just bought one recently for my sons Christmas present. They were both complete kits in brand new condition.
Good morning! Just watch a video you made on Stromberg Carlson radio. I recently required. It is a little bit bigger than the one that you stored has two speakers, and a record player. It is too beautiful to not get working. Just wondering if there was a way to get a hold of you, Scott
Great Video Paul. I think the origins of "wrapping" leads around sockets is unknown. I do believe however Heathkit fueled the "Wrap" craze with their instruction manuals for their kits. 73's KB8NIV
Cool vid mr. Carlson like always! Love it. I was wondering tho, you say push down on the surface mount component with the soldering iron to make sure its down first, but the heat of the soldering iron pushing down on that component even for a brief amount of time doesn't damage the component??? Does it matter what type smd component it is when it comes to doing this? Thanks.
What flux are you using sir? I love that nice long needle tip. Do you have any tips on repairing a solder tip that refuses solder? So far I have found 0000 Steel wool will save it if there is any chance at all, that flux and a sponge to clean with and repeat. Thanks for sharing.
On some of those larger tube sockets and thick steel chassis, I just use a a blowtorch with a small welding tip - either oxy-propane or oxy-acetylene. Out in the field, it's usually gas soldering irons, as well (butane). But on the bench, yeah, it's the good old 40 watt Weller or 25 watt Archer. LOL
This 5 year old video is better than most videos about tip maintenance. It's on point.
This is like watching Bob Ross teaching Soldering, great videos man. :)
LOL😎
LOL😎
I miss the happy little trees!
You are absolutely correct!
@Marcus Sullivan rofl
always cover my soldering tips in solder before puting away saved all my tips for more than 20 years now. still as good as new. quality education and tools made in germany.
I just ordered a real soldering iron. I threw away the one i got at Walmart 15 years ago when i was 18. Things could barely melt anything i never understood what i was doing wrong. TH-cam has been a blessing thanks to people like Mr Carlson.
I've been soldering for a few years now, and I just found this video today. I wish I found it when I started, you really explain things well and in depth. Love your videos
You are welcome!
THanks a million, I used this method to build a tiny wristwatch kit that was all SMD. It was much easier then I anticipated, in fact I surprised myself when I put the batteries in her and she came to life! I had thought that I put way to much heat through the processor for it to have survived as the pins were extremely close together and I could not tell for sure if I had all the little shorts cleared, I took over 2 hours getting that first chip in, but I was determined to finish the kit even if it didn't work in the end. I am so proud of my work, I am wearing the little toy-like watch as my daily wear now, just to show off that I actually succeeded! Love the videos, I have joined Patreon a couple of weeks back, sadly today when I came for another dose of knowledge Patreon said it was down for maintenance or some such excuse.
Mr. Carlson, i couldn't agree more. I have preached to colleagues for years about protecting their tips with solder while iron in standby, but they look at me like i have OCD. My tips are beautiful after years of service while their tips look like hobbyists' tips. I will be sending them link to this video. Cheers
Thank you !!! For me, electronics is just an enjoyable hobby. Yet learning from a pro is extremely educational and enjoyable !
The most complete tutorial I have viewed on soldering. Great job well explained.
I really enjoy jessa from ipad rehab. After watching this video I have a new knowledgeable professor available. Thank you.
You are welcome!
This seems like a video that should be shown in any electronics class. Very thorough.
Another outstanding tutorial. I wish my teachers in the '70's were as good as you. Thank you so much for another brilliant post.
Thanks!
Hello again. I watched this video on my pc at work. I will be changing the way I solder from here on. Thank you so much for sharing that info.
Glad it helped Andrew!
Thanks for the good tips. I learned good things and I've been soldering for over 50 years..
One "trick" I learned about doing repairs on lead free solder joints is that by adding a bit of lead solder to the joint can help make de-soldering faster and easier. A few months ago I had to replace the antenna connection in a Yeasu FTM-100D radio and that made it go much quicker to be able to get the heat out of the area. Was an SO-239 soldered to a big pad on the board edge that sucked up heat like crazy.
I'm learning a lot from your channel, so great to keep these running in the bg while i'm working. I can't always pay attention to every bit
As always, thank you very much, Paul, for the great video!
I can't stress enough how important is to wet an iron tip before turning a station off, so next time you'll turn it on, a tip will be precoated with some solder, drastically extending its lifetime.
Cheers!
Phil
The calm voice of experience. Well done!
One of the most skillful and knowledgeable in the field..and your teaching ability SIR is remarkable and captivating. Thank you so much SIR
Hi Mr Carlson's Lab, this video you posted 21.11.2017 exactly on the day of my 40 birthday :-) date as well as a demonstration of how to properly solder me was pleased! Thank you Mr Carlson's, a great video!
You're very welcome Miroslav. Happy Birthday!
Well thank you Mr Carlson's!
Great explanation and lots of useful tips. RA Type flux was the best tip ever! As you said: once you get started with SMT you will never go back to THT if not necessary. Many thanks for sharing this and what you do for us on Patreon as well!
Glad you enjoyed the video Ralf! Having people like you on Patreon makes the platform just that much better.
Thanks for uploading this video. I just purchased an iron and some other gear to start learning (just for personal use) and this is the most informative video ive seen so far! you are very calm and easy to listen to and explain everything very well!. Thank you
I always dipped the soldering iron tip and the end of the solder in flux before what we called, 60 years ago, "tinning" or coating the tip with solder. I've only soldered a few connections during the past 40 years so I appreciate the tip about "don't file the tip." They were all just plain copper in the olden days and filing was a necessity.
i really like your calm voice mr carlson. easy to listen to
*_"So you've purchased yourself a brand new soldering iron, what's the very first thing you should do before turning the soldering iron on?"_*
Well, if it looks like that, *return it.*
😂
Jokes aside, Paul, you are an absolute *master* of your art. Thank you so much - watching your videos always reminds me of the coziness of Christmas (since I first discovered your channel last December.)
God bless you Sir!
Matthew, England.
LOL, That iron is definitely no super model. Thanks for stopping by Matthew!
I'm glad I found this video. I was just soldering stuff at work today and was thinking that I could use some soldering refresher tips. Thanks :)
You're Welcome!
So nice to hear Solder rather than Soder.
Very nice tutorial Paul, Thanks for sharing your skills.
Thanks Buddy!
Mr Carlson's Lab hey there, I had a quick question on this if you could help me out, i fell asleep with my little miniature synthesizer in my lap last night and it fell off and accidentally broke what appears to be the headphone amp out of the casing, so I decided to solder it back on, now normally I’m a welder this was my first time ever soldering, it was a surface mount board and I really just let the iron get hot and ever so slightly touched it to the old beads while at the same time adding a single drop of rosin core to ensure the contacts on the amp were covered, when I plugged my headphones in, It Worked! But then I watched your video and saw that you recommended always using flux for surface mount, you think I’ll be okay in this case? Normally I wouldn’t worry so much but this little guy set me back $1,500 so I have a vested interest in keeping it out of harms way
@@justinkinter8651 as long as you believe you've got well bonded joints it should stand the test of time. The flux is for getting the solder to flow into joints easily, you don't always need it.
Mr. Carlsons lab is actually the mothership!
I very much appreciate your videos. I am a beginner need fundamentals.
I like how the size of the room and the tools and the framing, make it look like he is inside a rocket. 🚀
after months of research.. i finally found two good Soldering irons.. one is the TS100 that brought me to the direct heating element.. that is the heating+temp is all in the tip.. i found a different STM32 based station.. and got one that hasen't a build in power supply this was by design.. as i bought the best laptop power supply i could get my hands on... i could use that to also power my second STM32 (ship) based soldering iron..
and a found that certain aliexpress vendors sell extremely good tips.. the reason why i needed a different station from the TS100 was that i needed i smaller chisel tip. as i like to build my own keyboards..
this was an awesome adventure really love soldering.. for those getting in to it.. try buying a few practice kits on aliexpress..start with the hourglass kit ..good luck
Brilliant. I can't believe how small that last component was!
Insanely good tip for people that solder: Make a mini bobbin of solder around your soldering iron tip and when it heats up everything will melt evenly = thus perfectly tinning your tip.
Having learned old school point to point soldering I can tell you what i had been taught. Wrapping the lead around a standoff or terminal is to ensure good mechanical connection so that you are not relying on just the solder to provide strength to the joint. Solder is there only for the electrical connection and continuity. Another thing to keep in mind was that I learned this in the military in the early 70's. Electronic equipment took a lot of beating and vibration hence the mindset of really making sure the components never ever come loose.
Rick Goebel
Couldn't agree more. Solder should never be depended on for mechanical strength, especially todays brittle lead free solders. Wrapping the lead around the terminal is a important part of making a strong mechanical connection. Learned that in a NASA training video at electronics course in high school Vo-Tech in the 80's. If the teacher caught you not wrapping the wire around he would give you a good slap on the back of the head.
Nearly fifty years ago, when I was first learning this stuff, my dad, who served as a radar technician on a carrier in the Navy in WWII, emphasized the importance of always making a solid mechanical connection in wiring as he had been properly taught. On a warship, where getting bombed or torpedoed was a very real possibility, this, of course, made a lot of sense and could well make the difference between victory or defeat. More recently, and given the realization that the stuff I am now working on is unlikely ever to face such potential abuse, I am resigned to simply sticking component leads through lug holes, or making a casual half-wrap, and soldering away. It might not survive a nuclear blast, severe earthquake or other calamity, but it sure makes taking things apart much easier. Oh, well.
Phil Mann
But in mobile two way radios I see broken out solder joints every week. The introduction of high speed wave soldering destroyed solder connection reliability in my opinion.
I think Senor Carlson himself once pointed out the pitfalls of wire-wrapping point-to-point connections too tightly. Yes, it helps maintain solid conductivity in the short term, but the constant physical tension in the wire eventually fatigues it to the point of failure.
I agree with what you have said but one other point that wasn't mentioned was pre-tinning of the components prior to soldering. When the components have been lying around for a while you get surface oxidisation. If you don't either remove this manually or pre-tin (therefore using the flux in the solder to chemically clean the lead) you can end up with dry joints. I notice in the video that there is a blow hole evident on one of the legs probably as a result of this.
Very nice instruction. I've been doing some things wrong the whole time...LOL! Thanks for the video!
Very good tutorial on soldering. I agree with you regarding not necessarily having to wrap the wire around the tube socket connection lug. I read in an article there the writer claimed that one needs to wrap the wire tightly to get a good metal to metal bond because solder is not glue. I thought and wrote him that no solder is not glue... it is weld. I had another discussion years before that when manufacturers were using wire wrapped studs for the wiring that no, even though it seems to make the metals bind, and that the edges of the studs seem to bit into the wire, there is still a little gap between then and will oxidize. I have myself improved the performance of those components after a few years by soldering them all. That idea of wire wrap connecting only lasted a few years. It was a bad idea especially in computers.
dang son... you have some darn fantastic vid's.. I even went out and bough an old tube radio from the early 50's.. But I think it a to much of an ammeter to attempt a rework of it.. do it sit's in my shop and I listen to it while I am out there for as long as it will work.. it hums rather loudly as I go down the dial but the upper stations come in fine thanks for all of your hard work my friend..
Really good teaching. Thank you for the valuable information.
Greetings from Sweden 🇸🇪
Great channel!
You just got yourself a new subscriber 🤖
Neat... a Hakko iron fits into an olde Weller stand... good to know!
One thing i see is just about every instruction video on You Tube for soldering seems to be hit with "that's wrong", "not how i was trained", "i'm a trained and qualified...." "you're not right on the..."
For myself and what must almost be nearly 40years in electronics where i have been soldering together so many components in repair to design prototype, wire ends, wire to wire joins , smd manual prototype and smd replacements all the way through to solder-joining large aluminum cable clamps to copper lands on heavy guage circuitboards, i've never personally had a failure. OK i don't have to work on really specialist stuff as example medical or aircraft where i can see a real reason you need to have passed some kind of ability test but at the end of the day its about technique and putting it into all together each time you make that join. Knowing and understanding what's going on is probably a good thing too. (i've heard people say things like letting the solder dry... which says to me they don't understand what's happening)...
Mr Carlson has shown us his well learned techniques he uses to ensure a close to 100% so-perfect-that-it-doesn't-need-to-be-discussed-kind-of-join. I must add though that like almost everything in life it pays to PRACTICE and PRACTICE purely to keep your skills experience up so you don't skip any of your learned techniques in what is almost a Craft next time you bring out the iron...
Good tips and procedures to follow here. Anything to do with soldering creates a lot of opinions and ways to do it.
Thanks Paul and take care,
Bill
Great and very helpful video, hopefully my soldering skills will improve now I know we're I've been going wrong. Thanks.
Been waiting for ever..I dont even do this stuff but love your videos there very interesting please keep em coming
I'm working on that, Patreon is helping with the time issue.
Ik this is 4 years late but thank you for this you explained it excellent and showed different types of soldering not just one I want to get into soldering and this helped out a lot and gave me a lot of inspiration. If you see this I have a few questions.
Great job! It appears that many others in the comments section are experts with strong opinions for the home gamer. Funny how they don't offer a single video that visually highlights their expertise on the subject.... hmmm.
Many people have different tallents in different areas, perhaps some of them are less tallented at making videos, or just don't have the equipment. I have 3 cell phones, I dont use any of them ... Thats my wife's field of expertise per say. I do have several radios, I use those with a license, she knows nothing about radio even though we have been together for over 40 years, how odd; wouldn't you say? Yet no matter the situation, nearly everyone has an opinion, just my observation nothing more.
Great videos. I always watch them. Thanks.
Yes! A new video from Mr. Carlson! Xmas came early this year!
Thanks for your advice and tips mr. Carlson I really do enjoy all your work clean precise very educational thanks again for being a great teacher.
have a great Thanksgiving
You're Welcome!
Good work dear Mr Carlson ! keep it going... (watching from Singapore)
This clip is worth watching more than once.
Man you're like a surgeon...good stuff!
Thanks Sammy!
For those big chassis grounds, some pre-heat with a heat gun (equipped with a concentrating nozzle) can make a huge difference. Hit it with the hot air for 30-60 second, and you might find you can use a basic 70w-80w station. Preheat really does help, if you can just knock most of the chill out of the primary sink points.
Welcome back! We missed you but support you in what you had to do. Oh, and the video is great too.
learning a lot Mr Carlson and top marks for pronouncing solder properly a lot of other channels annoyed me when they say sodder
It's alot easier on the ears when its pronounced properly.
Great tutorial for a newbie like me. 👍
Many great tips, and so relaxing to watch. Thanks!
Thank you for this, and the upcoming Desoldering video. My 808 is waiting!
Thanks for taking the time to make youtube videos from The International Space Station
I am having trouble soldering the 12 gauge power wire to a quadcopter 4n1 ESC power inputs. I have watched many of your video, including the one on solder. I have ordered some items, I think you have given me some great advice. Thank you.
Use a point to point node for it.
It's obvious you have been soldering for quite a few years and you've probably learned a few things that you do automatically when you solder that helps you makes a good solder joint like in your video at 9:00 when you make a solder connection. You placed your iron to make good contact on the component lead and the copper trace. Then you made a slight sawing motion with your iron to get the heat to conduct to the component and the board. Your information on maintaining the iron and the tips are right on.
You noticed the saw motion, very good! You are absolutely correct.
Hakko iron with Weller stand... best crossover :P
Mr.Carlson thks for the tip I did exactly as per tutorial and all is good
WOW! What a workstation 😮👍😍
I use very cheap iron for couple of years now, I clean old solder off with wire sponge and then touch the wet sponge for extra shininess, I never wet the tip before putting it in the holder and it still looks and works like new :)
My hands are sometimes shaking which makes soldering more difficult. And I prefer doing SMD work only. Some people think hole mounted would be better, but it is actually not. It's like threading a needle. So now all my designs use SMD. With realy tight spaced leads lots of flux is needed just as shown here. The flux increase the surface tension of the solder so it will stick tenaciously to the leads and bridging them is less likely.
My way is to presolder one pad, then solder the appropriate lead by placing the component and heating it. Then adjust if necessary and solder another lead diagonally. Then solder the rest. This is what works for me. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the method shown. Just suggesting to try it and choose what suits you best.But as MrCarlson tells us: try SMD and it will become your preferred method. And with modern components becoming the only way.
almost 1000 views in almost one hour...... Congrats Paul !
Metaxa 7..and who in the hell would down-vote a video like this?
Minecraft kid or so....
Thanks again fo a very interesting video.
Sometimes we forget how much we know and back to basic videos are just great for youngsters and newbies. However, we sometimes also forget that we owe others for spending the time to educate us and that we have a duty to pass this information on to the next generation and not pass it on only to those who can afford a monthly patreon fee. Would you consider maybe a weekly 5 minute back to basics video series where the funtionality of a component type was covered e.g. transisters - npn, pnp, diodes, caps, or even simple 5 minute circuits 555 timer, flip flop. Please consider. Thanks J
Another message from Mr. Carlson's space capsule! ;) Houston: We have a signal.
Thank you Mr Carlson.
I really enjoyed this video.
You're Welcome!
Thank you Mr Carlson.
You are very welcome!
Greetings from a regular viewer. I don't know if you would have the time or interest, but I could use some advice if don't mind. I burnt up the instrument cluster of an old Honda CRV that I had purchased for my Daughter by trying to replace burnt out lamps with LEDs . Even though I tried to be careful and check polarity, I failed to realize to so called replacement lamp sockets had double metal contact wings that scratched into the double sided circuit board, causing instant smoke when I applied power. Believe it or not, I was able to solder small jumper wires passed all the burnt up traces. Everything works now, all lamps and gauges with the exception of the fuel gauge which works but fluctuates erratically at times. I narrowed the area down to some very small SMDs which look like three pin transistors but I can't identify them as there is only "1G" stamped on the back. I also tried Google for a component diagram from Honda with no luck at all. I would just buy a new one, but I want to learn how to repair electronics, and I made it this far with a magnifying glass, multimeter, and a soldering iron. any suggestions ? I could use help identifying and testing these tiny components and where to find data sheets. Thanks
Mr Carlson Lab...An oasis in a sea of TH-cam mediocrity ......
Harry Stevens so so true.
Thank you for your ⏳
I am an smd fan as well. My limit is 805 :) I love your work Mr Carlson.
Nice video mr Carlson big thumbs up mate
"you sneeze and this one disappears" HAD me laughing forever! LOOOL
Hi Mr Carlson thanks for the great vid and tips, by the way I like the look of your spacecraft control panels.
Thank you so much for your videos.
You're very welcome!
This helped me to do soldering thanks Carlson's
Very thorough and wonderful video. I learned a lot.
I’ve had my soldering station for 15 years. I never coated the tip after each use nor when I turned it off. Instead I clean the tip with a brass sponge and leave it that way when turned off. The original tip is still shiny and has never decayed.
Thanks very much for yet another informative video andI know it's been commented on before but thank you so much for pronouncing solder correctly. Solder should NOT be sodder, the L is not silent. Now we just need to spread the word to the rest of the TH-cam contributors :)
A great tutorial help. Thanks 👍😜😎🤓
New subscriber today - you won me over by saying 'solder' correctly & by using Celsius, the temperature measurement scale used by most of the world. I enjoyed your tutorial & it's often frustrating being a person who loves to learn, hearing 'modern' tutorials peppered with archaic & superseded forms of measurement - I just want to get on with the learning instead of having to look up moot increments of outdated systems. Thank you.
Welcome aboard!
and there is the SMD tip for the $1200+ rework set. Fluxpens & hot air! Buy German Weller or Japanese Hako, and you will have good equipment. I have a VERY OLD Weller pencil where each tip has a set temp on it. It has been relegated to the lowly task of stippling grips on polymer pistols, AKA melting plastic, to build competition race pistols. I did do an electronics project with one of my guns. It has a small GPS transmitter inside it now. If someone should steal it, a phone app will show it's location anywhere below the Arctic Circle, or above the Antarctic Circle, within about 20 feet. I noticed the extra space inside the grip, and thought, "Why not see if that GPS thingy will fit in there?". It does, but not without rebuilding it to fit. Changing batteries is, with stock or the E^2 Grips is easy, and it takes just a screwdriver.
Solid advise as always! Have a great Thanksgiving !!
Hey Paul could you do a video about the wattage of soldering irons and temperatures. Why do you need higher wattage and how low of wattage is too low.
I have been looking for a soldering station and frankly getting a little confused about this station is 60 watts verses this station that's 120 watts or 150 watts. Will a 150 watt station do everything a 60 will do or vise versa? They all seem to reach the same temperatures.
Wow that tiny component and how easy you make it look
Hi there! Nice video Mr. Carlson! For an even better solder joint to a Chassis it might be useful to clean the spot with fine angry paper to remove surfacerust, fatts and dirt. If you don't have a nice soldering gun, you could cheat by preheating the chassis with an ordinary heatgun then soldering with a normal Iron (but don't burn up all the components inside!). Years ago I bought myself an Ersa I-Con nano soldering station. That was maybe the best tool investment I've ever made. It has soldered now many kilometers of solderwire and i have not even one single dead Tip jet. They also have a tip retinning powder if a tip ever gets bad or takes no more solder.
Oh and dont melt Plastik or other nasty stuff with your soldering iron, at least get a dedicated tip for something like that.
You can get a good used Weller D550 240/325 watt on eBay for around $50. I bought myself one a while back and just bought one recently for my sons Christmas present. They were both complete kits in brand new condition.
Robert-I did the same thing-with some #10 wire as a tip as Paul advocates I can puddle solder on a steel chassis in about 5 seconds-it is a beast!
I made some also out of #10, but I shaped mine similar to the way the stock tips are made. I guess it's just the perfectionist in me...
At school in the Air Force in 77 we spent two days exclusively on soldering.The class for NASA certification was two weeks.
V nice Sir. Thank you very much vedio is helpful. .appreciated 👍need some more vedio .
what is the kind of hard flux we can see on the pads at 9:35 ? and what brand and model?
Good morning! Just watch a video you made on Stromberg Carlson radio. I recently required. It is a little bit bigger than the one that you stored has two speakers, and a record player. It is too beautiful to not get working. Just wondering if there was a way to get a hold of you, Scott
Great Video Paul. I think the origins of "wrapping" leads around sockets is unknown. I do believe however Heathkit fueled the "Wrap" craze with their instruction manuals for their kits.
73's
KB8NIV
Great information and tips Paul, thanks.
Your're Welcome Shaun!
Cool vid mr. Carlson like always! Love it. I was wondering tho, you say push down on the surface mount component with the soldering iron to make sure its down first, but the heat of the soldering iron pushing down on that component even for a brief amount of time doesn't damage the component??? Does it matter what type smd component it is when it comes to doing this? Thanks.
Absolutely. Any plastic parts will melt.
What flux are you using sir? I love that nice long needle tip.
Do you have any tips on repairing a solder tip that refuses solder?
So far I have found 0000 Steel wool will save it if there is any chance at all, that flux and a sponge to clean with and repeat. Thanks for sharing.
A fan that take the smoke in is needed? what type of soldering helper will be required?
On some of those larger tube sockets and thick steel chassis, I just use a a blowtorch with a small welding tip - either oxy-propane or oxy-acetylene. Out in the field, it's usually gas soldering irons, as well (butane). But on the bench, yeah, it's the good old 40 watt Weller or 25 watt Archer. LOL
Does soldering iron tip need a earth connection sides to eliminate any frequency voltage of damage to component ?