[fajimr]

gordy

I sure will.... anybody have any input on how important the soldering iron is.  I didn't get the one the BillyM suggested as I have a 'garden variety' one at home (i.e. plug it in and it works.. I'm not sure what the rating is) that I bought to install my car stereo.  I figured I would at least use it for this first project ... just in case it didn't suit me.

Hopefully I'll have a little time open up in the next couple of weeks and will report back.

[PSP]

Hi Fajimr,
I ignored the usual audiophile advice to buy a big buck soldering station and started out with a cheap Radio Shack soldering iron with a swtich that toggles between 15 watts and 30 watts.  I just about never use the 15 watt setting, 30 watts (at least for this iron) is about right for most circuit board work.

However, when I started making cables and soldering 18 gauge wire to the barrel of a big Cardas RCA, my puny little soldering iron wouldn't cut it.  So, I went back to Radio Shack and bought a cheap 40 watt iron... this does pretty well when I need more heat.  Still, there are times when it takes a long time to get things hot enough for the solder to flow (the star earth on the AKSA power supply board is a good example).

I bought my third iron (a 40 watt Weller) when I needed to buy something additional to get the order above the minimum; this "40 watt" Weller is enormously hotter than my 40 watt Radio Shack iron... and it serves very, very well when I need to solder a large load (single point ground, soldering speaker outputs to the binding posts, etc.).  So, now I have three irons, and it works very well.  I probably have $60-70 in the three irons, so I still came out ahead.  It's really not a pain to keep two of the irons hot at once, so it works well.

When you buy your soldering iron(s), buy a few spare soldering tips too... they wear out fairly quickly (but I do a lot of soldering too).  Keep a wet sponge nearby to clean the tip... otherwise that black crud will end up in your solder joint.  Finally, not all solders are created equal... I like Kester 63/37 (recommended by Jon Risch on Audio Asylum), Mouser part number 533-23-6337-18, $8.50 for half a pound, last time I bought it.

I second the advice to go buy a cheap kit, put it together (learn what the parts look like, make mistakes on something unimportant), and don't quit until you have made it work properly (you will learn problem solving, persistance, and gain confidence).

Good luck,
Peter

[Gordy]

I have an adjustable Weller ($30?) and it has worked out just fine so far.  It came with sm. and lg. tips...  One suggestion my inst. repair tech. at work gave me was to always re-tin the tip after use, this prevents the flux from attacking the tip.  He claims he's been using  the same tip since the bronze age...   Can anybody confirm this?  The re-tinning, not his age!

Thanks!
Gordy

[AKSA]

Hi Gordy,

How exactly does your tech 're-tin' his tip?  What does he use?

Cheers,

Hugh

[Gordy]

Hi Hugh,

I'm presuming he meant to coat well with solder to prevent oxydation.  Doesn't make sense to you?  I'll check with him as soon as he gets back from his Chile-Panama Canal-Carib. tour that he financed with his solder sales...

Gordy

[Greg Erskine]

I'm presuming he meant to coat well with solder to prevent oxydation.

In the old days, when tips were just a piece of copper, this is what I'd do to preserve the tip. Now days, the tips seem to be (tin?) coated so it doesn't seem to matter as much. I use a short-haired brass brush to keep my tips clean as well as the wet sponge. I think the brushes are swade (sp?) shoe brushes but I am not 100% sure.

fajimr

I built a "cheap" amp and pre-amp as practice before I built my first AKSA. As it turned out, I ended up completing the AKSA before the other amp and the pre-amp is still waiting to be fired up.   Another option is to build a Gainclone, but they don't give you much soldering practice as they only have a dozen or so components.
 

[SamL]

gordy

I sure will.... anybody have any input on how important the soldering iron is.  I didn't get the one the BillyM suggested as I have a 'garden variety' one at home (i.e. plug it in and it works.. I'm not sure what the rating is) that I bought to install my car stereo.  I figured I would at least use it for this first project ... just in case it didn't suit me.

Hopefully I'll have a little time open up in the next couple of weeks and will report back.

Starting my soldering with an alcheapo I can say that ultra cheap soldering iron is not worth getting. Life is too short to be frustrated by a few dollars. My current soldering iron - 25w Goot is also in the "cheap" category but it is a big step forward from the ultra cheap. Good soldering is not longer a "myths" and this give me the confidence to take on bigger project like the Aksa100n. The only draw back about this iron is I can't find replacement tips and it is not hot enough for thick joins & cable. Oh yes! Good solder also make a difference. I like Cardes and Wonder solder as they give nice shining join and is easy to spot imperfection. Do a google search on "soldering  technique" and you will find all the tips of doing it right.
Since you are in US, have a look at this soldering station. It is a Hakko clone and received quite a bit of press over the diy forum. The only complain I saw was it can get a bit hot after prolong use.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307


Have fun,
Sam

[rabbitz]

Hugh

The best thing I've found so far for re-tinning the tips is Goot BS-2 (the BS doesn't stand for bullsh!t but smells like it).
http://www.goot.co.jp/ENGLISH/catalog/accs/chemi/BS2.html

Tips just keep going on and on now and prior to this stuff, disappeared rapidly.

It's also sold at Jaycar TS1512.

[AKSA]

Thanks Peter,

I shall get some......  My iron is on so much these days it's affecting my electricity bill!!

Cheers,

Hugh

[Gordy]

Thanks Peter...

Mr. Kojun Kobayashi, of Goot,  responded to my inquiry for a north american  distributor and it's the same one that I came up with googling  http://www.bomir.com/online/index.php?sub=4 ,  unfortunately the refresher isn't listed   Guess I'll contact 'em just to be sure...

[Jens]

My experience is that it's only tips on relatively cheap soldering irons that wear out quickly, so Peter's advice to buy a couple of extra tips when purchasing a relatively cheap soldering iron is quite sound.

I have three tips for my Weller soldering station that I bought years ago. One of the tips has seen a real big amount of use, but there still isn't any noticably wear on it. This is even the tip that came with the station when I got it, and thus the oldest of the three!

But then, I have seen soldering stations of the same type as mine in industrial applications, so perhaps it's not surprising that the Weller tips last quite long, if they are made for this.

And I don't re-tin the tips after use ...

Cheers,

Jens

[PSP]

Crazy theory, but maybe there's a contribution from the solder too.  My 40 watt Weller (the really hot iron I have) has burned through one tip and the second tip is getting sketchy, even though I use it only rarely.  

I use almost exclusively Cardas solder (and recently tried Kester 63/37 with good results).

Has anyone else seen anything to support (or disprove) this idea?

Peter

[Greg Erskine]

Crazy theory, but maybe there's a contribution from the solder too.

Has anyone else seen anything to support (or disprove) this idea?

I reckon its all to do with reaction of the flux and the tin? coating material. It's just a chemical reaction and heat speeds up reactions if I remember my high school chemistry. Once the coating is gone, copper is then exposed and I would guess disappear quicker than the coating.

I occassional dip my iron in a liquid flux if it gets very dirty. (Baker's flux)