Soldering tips

[multiweb (Marc)]

I spent probaly two hours doing my s-video power cable for my QHY8. It's a four core shielded cable. Problem was the pins in the angle plug are really tiny. The other end was a no brainer. I have attached a pic of the ends of the cable and the gear I used. I had a real hard time doing it so I thought I'm probably doing it wrong. Have a peek see what you think. Is there a better/easier way to do this kind of stuff? Not that I do it that often. Tips most welcome.

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi Marc
1st tip: Try to get someone else to do it
2nd tip: Lots of patience.
3rd tip: small soldering iron
4th tip: Magna lamp
5th tip: jig to hold the socket
6th tip: fine nose plier to hold the wire
7th tip: don't let your wife hear the swearing.
8th tip: give up and think of another idea while you get something to steady your nerves.

Baz

[multiweb (Marc)]

So ti's not just me then... it IS a pita.

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

Dont let the MOWAF find out your using her best bread and butter plate ..... kriky you would be castrated!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by Barrykgerdes

5th tip: jig to hold the socket

A pair of bull nose pliers with a posties rubber band on the handle makes for a good makeshift vice for this kind of thing.

[kinetic (Steve)]

Good tips Barry, Geoff...and Brendan

Only a few things I can add Marc:

With this sort of fine soldering work the best way to calm
yourself is to resign yourself to knowing you could bugger something
very expensive if you pass this point...and know you're ok with that
fact!

In your case it's just a cord/plug. But it could also bugger a camera
if you get a pin wrong. Am I making you nervous?

Sorry, seriously though, as Barry and Geoff have said, get everything
in order to make the job comfortable first...even down to your seat
and posture/ lighting etc.
Have a few coffees. One pin at a time, don't rush it. Work from the hardest pin outwards.IE don't paint yourself into a corner.

When you've accomplished that you can then think about modifying
webcams like me
Here's a few photos of some microsolder jobs...1st one is a typical
SMD timing chip used in webcams.
Then tell yourself you have to lift up to 3 pins of that circuit board
and solder wires to 3 of them then the pads they came up from.
Feel better?

Steve

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by bmitchell82

Dont let the MOWAF find out your using her best bread and butter plate ..... kriky you would be castrated!

Thanks Brendan. Nah... it's my dedicated soldering plate.

Originally Posted by Starkler

A pair of bull nose pliers with a posties rubber band on the handle makes for a good makeshift vice for this kind of thing.

Yeah I use that usually but this bit is really odd to solder. I need three hands

Originally Posted by kinetic

Good tips Barry, Geoff...and Brendan

Only a few things I can add Marc:

With this sort of fine soldering work the best way to calm
yourself is to resign yourself to knowing you could bugger something
very expensive if you pass this point...and know you're ok with that
fact!

In your case it's just a cord/plug. But it could also bugger a camera
if you get a pin wrong. Am I making you nervous?

I realise that yeah. I always check cables with a multimeter before and after and compare with the original. Not the first cable I've done but certainly the hardest to do.

Originally Posted by kinetic

Sorry, seriously though, as Barry and Geoff have said, get everything
in order to make the job comfortable first...even down to your seat
and posture/ lighting etc.
Have a few coffees. One pin at a time, don't rush it. Work from the hardest pin outwards.IE don't paint yourself into a corner.

When you've accomplished that you can then think about modifying
webcams like me
Here's a few photos of some microsolder jobs...1st one is a typical
SMD timing chip used in webcams.
Then tell yourself you have to lift up to 3 pins of that circuit board
and solder wires to 3 of them then the pads they came up from.
Feel better?

Steve

Thanks Steve. You're definitely on another level though. From what you guys said there's no quick easy way. Bummer! So I'll keep doing what I'm doing. Pulling my hair and cursing over my flowery dinner plate.

[acropolite (Phil)]

OK lots of tips, probably none of them will help you much.

here's what I do.

Firstly tin the connector pins, don't overdo the heat but make sure the solder has taken properly, your tinned pins shouldn't look blobby, nor should you have melted the plastic.

When you're soldering make sure the solder, wire or pin and iron all contact simultaneously, don't try to transfer the solder to the iron and then to the wire.

Remove the clips on the wire ends, strip a little back and tin those ends, once again make sure the solder flows in to the wire strands and isn't just a blob on the wire, don't get the individual strands seperated, keep them tightly wound.

Don't use any more heat on the wire than necessary as the insulation will run.

Try to get all the wires tinned with only a couple of mm of bared wire, if necessary trim a little of the wire off to give 1-1.5mm after you've tinned them.

Once you have the wires and pins tinned, carefully add a little more solder to the wires (or pins), quickly this time, if you do the job quickly enough there will be a little flux transferred with the solder.

If you're really clever it's possible to melt the solder on the iron and get a little of the flux transferred to the wire without adding any more solder to the wire

Mount the socket in something to hold it steady and place each wire on the pin and apply minimal heat to melt the solder and complete the connection. Do the rearmost pins first nothing worse than trying to solder in a tight spot behind wires you've already soldered.

If you use this method, you will have the socket held by something other than your hands, one hand free for the wires, the other the soldering iron.

The trick is getting a little flux left on one of the 2 surfaces so that when you apply heat the joint fuses neatly.

Works every time for me, I've been doing it this way for 30+ years.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Marc, you have stumbled upon an evolutionary problem.

You need an extra 2 hands half the size of your current ones, and larger, higher magnification eyes.


Good luck, if you get stuck, go over to Badgers (Barry) place and we will help you.

[kinetic (Steve)]

Originally Posted by acropolite

OK lots of tips, probably none of them will help you much.

Yeah sorry Marc, what was I thinking! What would I know about soldering.
Ignore the post.

Steve

[michaellxv (Michael)]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

Marc, you have stumbled upon an evolutionary problem.

You need an extra 2 hands half the size of your current ones, and larger, higher magnification eyes.


Good luck, if you get stuck, go over to Badgers (Barry) place and we will help you.

Couldn't agree more. you will need:

1 hand for the iron
1 hand for the solder
1 hand for the cable
1 hand for the plug
and 1 hand to poke things around to just the right spot so make the join.

and don't try doing it after youv'e been out digging post holes.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Thanks for the tips Phil. Makes sense. I have one more cable to do. I'll put your tips into practice and have another go.