A beginners guide to soldering.

Helpful hints on how to build 'em, and where to get the stuff you need.
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Grant Bunter
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#16 Post by Grant Bunter »

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:
Grant Bunter wrote:Is it worth a sticky Bill?
Wrong section, it should be in Tips and Techniques.
Arrr, well, you're correct!

Please move it there and pin it.
Rather than have it fall off, it could help many...
Built:
DR 250: x 2 melded array, 2x CD horn, March 2012 plans.
T39's: 4 x 20" KL3010LF , 2 x 28" 3012LF.
WH8: x 6 with melded array wired series/parallel.
Bunter's Audio and Lighting "like"s would be most appreciated...

88h88
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#17 Post by 88h88 »

Anyone got any recommendations for stuff to put on a tabletop to stop solder damage? If there's something nice I can acquire then I'll do that as I prefer to solder in the house rather than in the garage. If not then I guess I'll just hack up some ply.
4xOT12s, 2xT39s@22", TTLS@18", 2xT60@18"

Bruce Weldy
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#18 Post by Bruce Weldy »

88h88 wrote:Anyone got any recommendations for stuff to put on a tabletop to stop solder damage? If there's something nice I can acquire then I'll do that as I prefer to solder in the house rather than in the garage. If not then I guess I'll just hack up some ply.

Old bath towel....that's what I use to solder on all the time. Things don't roll away or slide.

6 - T39 3012LF
4 - OT12 2512
1 - T24
1 - SLA Pro
2 - XF210


"A system with a few knobs set up by someone who knows what they are doing is always better than one with a lot of knobs set up by someone who doesn't."

byacey
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#19 Post by byacey »

Robin_Larsson wrote:
Bruce Weldy wrote: Well, this is definitely a "to each his own" moment. :)

My Weller station gets very hot on the max setting - no problem soldering 12 ga wire to Speakon chassis mount connectors. I typically turn it down a little for 20-22ga wire when doing xlr and trs. And I do build a bunch of 'em.
I agree with there Bruce, I´m rather happy with my 48W soldering station, havent tried it on max temp, 450C, yet, I´ll do that next time I solder 12-14 ga to speakons:) I usually run it at around 300C I think when soldering XLR/TRS, works like a charm :D

But, aside from price, is there any reason to not use crimped Faston/spade-sleeve connectors? I found somewhere that the 4.8mm version only handles up to 15A, which is a bit low, the speakons themselves handles 30A.. Not that we get anywhere near 30A with Bills speakers!
These connectors are OK for some purposes. However, they are a spring loaded connection and rely on the spring to provide good electrical contact. As current increases the connector will start to heat due to the contact resistance, which in turn weakens the spring, exacerbating the resistance situation, thus generating more heat.

This is an extreme example that you likely wouldn't see too much of a problem with loudspeakers, but there is the potential for vibration coupled with spring fatigue and the weight of the wire to loosen things up and having the sleeve connector fall off. A well soldered joint has very low resistance and is mechanically sound.
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AntonZ
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#20 Post by AntonZ »

Crimp vs solder is an old debate. No intention to start a debate in the trenches here, but crimping with good tools and good spade connectors is in many environments preferred above soldering. On the other hand, our connections are mostly well covered from the elements and not exposed to serious mechanical stress or around the clock vibrations that are strong enough to cause fatigue failures. The primary determinant of the quality of the end result though is the quality of the crimp tool. Cheap crimp tools make lousy connections. Buy once cry once most applies here more than anywhere else. If you do not have a good crimp tool, then by all means solder away.

No matter if you crimp or solder, attach your wire to some surface or whatever near the connection. That takes any mechanical stress away from the connection. E.g. at a driver I zip tie the wire to the driver chassis, thus taking stress off the connection. Same for connectors, don't leave your wires dangling freely inside your cabs from the connectors - the connection is likely to fail at some point in the future. Nail it to the cab wall or whatever. It just should not move. Ever.

Not going to discuss the solder vs crimp subject at length, it has been :horse: in so many other places. Anyone interested just do a web search for crimp vs solder and read any of the countless debates.

Last but not least I happily admit that while I'm convinced good crimping is better, I solder most of my connections :oops: (I never seem to have the correct size spade connectors in stock when I need them).

Grant Bunter
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#21 Post by Grant Bunter »

Suffice to say, for the beginners, as with any task, there's a whole bunch of ways and ideas about soldering.

Feel free to ask questions if you have them :)
Built:
DR 250: x 2 melded array, 2x CD horn, March 2012 plans.
T39's: 4 x 20" KL3010LF , 2 x 28" 3012LF.
WH8: x 6 with melded array wired series/parallel.
Bunter's Audio and Lighting "like"s would be most appreciated...

byacey
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#22 Post by byacey »

AntonZ wrote: I happily admit that while I'm convinced good crimping is better, I solder most of my connections :oops: (I never seem to have the correct size spade connectors in stock when I need them).
It is open for debate if crimping is indeed superior to soldering, But If a crimp style connector must be used, a good crimp followed by soldering is still the best.

I was just thinking back to how many wire splices on my vehicles (done by previous owners or "mechanics") I've had to repair. Any crimp connectors exposed to the elements -moisture, salt, etc. succumb to electrolytic action and eventually corrode. However if you solder the wires followed by heat shrink, and it'll last the life of the vehicle.
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mino00
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#23 Post by mino00 »

Hello
How is this soldering station perform ?
http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888-FX-88 ... B004M3U0VU
Thanks

byacey
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#24 Post by byacey »

I don't know about the Hakko, but Weller is a respected name in soldering. I had one for about 22 years before it finally bit the dust. Recently I tried this and it works very nicely, and I like the slim profile iron. As well, it has a wide selection of tip sizes and shapes available for different soldering tasks.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Anal ... 81-7688351
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LelandCrooks
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#25 Post by LelandCrooks »

Hakko is a well respected name. You find their expensive stuff in most plants.
If it's too loud, you're even older than me! Like me.
http://www.speakerhardware.com

skuzz
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#26 Post by skuzz »

While unnecessary for non-SMDs, liquid electronics solder flux makes soldering much easier. It's a messy but essential part of my electrical tool bag.


http://www.amazon.com/GC-Electronics-So ... older+flux
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escapemcp
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#27 Post by escapemcp »

Thanks for all the tips. Wish i had seen all of this before i soldered my ot12s! I had never learnt in the past and always felt that i should have (i even had solder and 2 irons in my toolbox), but never had the time/inclination to learn. Thanks to the otops i can now finally add soldering to my bag of tricks.
I am now confident enough with an iron to make my own cables. i have kept some of my bust cables for years thinking that some day i would fix them, but never truly believing it deep down... however now, they are all getting butchered to make interconnects, thus saving my good cables. :D

Rickisan
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#28 Post by Rickisan »

Holy Thread Resurrection Batman!

My viewpoint.... ymmv...

Past discussions over the years have mentioned the possibility, with crimping, of corrosion developing between the contact surfaces over time and thus causing minimal connection functionality.

Hence the preference of soldering by some individuals. Seems to make sense when considering the actual metal to metal contact surface area of a crimp connector.

OTOH... HST....

I confess to having used crimp and other style mechanical connections in good confidence.

My $0.02.
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byacey
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#29 Post by byacey »

skuzz wrote:While unnecessary for non-SMDs, liquid electronics solder flux makes soldering much easier. It's a messy but essential part of my electrical tool bag.


http://www.amazon.com/GC-Electronics-So ... older+flux
Just reading some of the comments on this rather old thread. A little bit of extra flux can certainly help with oxidized connections. If the commercially prepared liquid flux can't be sourced, you can make your own by dissolving some violin rosin in alcohol; this is exactly the same as the commercial product.
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Tom Smit
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Re: A beginners guide to soldering.

#30 Post by Tom Smit »

byacey wrote:
skuzz wrote:While unnecessary for non-SMDs, liquid electronics solder flux makes soldering much easier. It's a messy but essential part of my electrical tool bag.


http://www.amazon.com/GC-Electronics-So ... older+flux
Just reading some of the comments on this rather old thread. A little bit of extra flux can certainly help with oxidized connections. If the commercially prepared liquid flux can't be sourced, you can make your own by dissolving some violin rosin in alcohol; this is exactly the same as the commercial product.
Interesting. What would be the ratio?
TomS

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