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My kit arrived today! It's even better than I thought it would be, with enormous pads and vast spacing between components. This is a great kit for learning to solder! The one I got didn't come with a soldering iron: I already have soldering irons coming out of my ears. I'm hoping that the iron y'all get is up to this task. It should be. It's just a metal stick that gets hot. |
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Aug 15, 2021 05:25
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if it smells like burning chicken, you’re holding it wrong |
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Aug 16, 2021 04:07
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manero posted:if it smells like burning chicken, you’re holding it wrong Ohhh, I was wondering about that. |
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Aug 16, 2021 14:41
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Should be getting mine tomorrow. Getting psyched to jab a board with the hot metal. Gives me hope I can fix my launch PS3 one day... |
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Aug 16, 2021 21:52
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JetSetGo posted:Should be getting mine tomorrow. Getting psyched to jab a board with the hot metal. Gives me hope I can fix my launch PS3 one day... There's a decent chance you just have to replace a failed capacitor! These are very easy to fix. I've repaired a blown up amateur radio and a blown up wireless router in the last year by replacing a single failed capacitor. http://www.robotroom.com/Faulty-Capacitors-1.html |
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Aug 16, 2021 21:55
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cruft posted:There's a decent chance you just have to replace a failed capacitor! These are very easy to fix. I've repaired a blown up amateur radio and a blown up wireless router in the last year by replacing a single failed capacitor. there was a time when I was almost up for re-capping my stereo amplifier . . . however it was really old and just two channel, and since I needed a new thing for A/V stuff anyway I just let it go I've never re-capped a thing in my life however, that might have been biting off more than I could chew
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Aug 16, 2021 22:13
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Manifisto posted:there was a time when I was almost up for re-capping my stereo amplifier . . . however it was really old and just two channel, and since I needed a new thing for A/V stuff anyway I just let it go I tried this once. It didn't work. Amplifiers need fancypants special capacitors in certain places, but I think my issue was simply that I didn't locate all the blown capacitors. I think there was a lightning strike. |
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Aug 16, 2021 22:27
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My kit came in today |
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Aug 16, 2021 23:41
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Jinh posted:My kit came in today Sweet! Does the iron feel sturdy enough? Like, if you shake it, does it rattle? |
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Aug 16, 2021 23:45
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cruft posted:Sweet! Does the iron feel sturdy enough? Like, if you shake it, does it rattle? It seems to be plenty sturdy, no jiggle at all. I'm sure fancier more comfortable models are available elsewhere for more money, but this seems like it will do the job just fine! |
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Aug 17, 2021 03:56
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Jinh posted:It seems to be plenty sturdy, no jiggle at all. I'm sure fancier more comfortable models are available elsewhere for more money, but this seems like it will do the job just fine! Echoing this, mine came in too. No jiggle to it. So far so good. |
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Aug 18, 2021 01:17
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nice... this is how all good sex toy startups begin... |
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Aug 18, 2021 01:23
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Okay, in the instruction booklet, pages 1-5 are actually fantastic. Let's talk about your workstation here. First, you're going to need a decently big space with room to operate. Clear some crap off your table and set down something difficult to light on fire that you don't mind getting junked up. An old dinner plate isn't a terrible idea, just mark it with a sharpie first so you remember never to eat off it. If you can go outdoors over concrete or bare earth, that works too. A plastic storage container lid would work. You just want to not have it go up in flames if you goof up and leave the iron touching it. You should have gotten a flimsy metal piece you can bend into a soldering iron stand. It looks like this when you fold the Y out:  What you do with this is set it down on your plate or storage container lid, and rest the iron against it so the hot part is in the air. Then you can use your hand for something else, and not worry about the hot iron rolling away. You're also going to want something to get the solder off the tip. For this, I recommend getting some newspaper or paper towels damp, folding it over a few times. I know the book says don't put the tip in water, and you shouldn't put it in water, but the wet rag is going to help you get the solder off. Once you get really fancy, you can buy yourself a brass sponge for this, but I used a wet sponge for decades and it works just fine. Before you go laying solder down on anything, I suggest plugging your iron in, pulling some solder out of the tube, melting it onto the tip, and then cleaning it off. Do this a couple times until you're comfortable with the procedure. Take time, if you need it, to rearrange your workspace to better fit how you're gonna be using it, too. I haven't started anything yet but I'll post a photo of my workstation once I have it all set up. I'd love to see y'all's too. |
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Aug 18, 2021 01:43
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cruft posted:Okay, in the instruction booklet, pages 1-5 are actually fantastic. Getting a little ahead, it's also a good suggestion to melt some fresh solder all over the tip of your iron when you're done with a session, so that it will keep the tip from oxidizing. Just melt a bunch of solder on the tip, and then unplug it. When you start next time, heat up the iron and either wipe it off with your damp wiping medium, or bang it gently on the stand, to shake the solder off.
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Aug 18, 2021 02:56
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Robot Made of Meat posted:Getting a little ahead, it's also a good suggestion to melt some fresh solder all over the tip of your iron when you're done with a session, so that it will keep the tip from oxidizing. Just melt a bunch of solder on the tip, and then unplug it. When you start next time, heat up the iron and either wipe it off with your damp wiping medium, or bang it gently on the stand, to shake the solder off. I never knew this. My dad (who learned this in the 50s) impressed on me that leaving solder on a hot tip would ruin it. Is this not the case, or maybe no longer the case? |
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Aug 18, 2021 03:26
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To be clear to those learning, you probably shouldn't worry too much about your $6 soldering iron! We're just nerding out over here. |
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Aug 18, 2021 03:27
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cruft posted:I never knew this. My dad (who learned this in the 50s) impressed on me that leaving solder on a hot tip would ruin it. Is this not the case, or maybe no longer the case? To leave solder on the tip is what I learned in the 70s. It's also what seems to be what the internet suggests, according to a quick search.
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Aug 18, 2021 04:40
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cruft posted:To be clear to those learning, you probably shouldn't worry too much about your $6 soldering iron! We're just nerding out over here. This is very true, but good habits will go far.
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Aug 18, 2021 04:41
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soldering kit just came in!
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Aug 18, 2021 05:12
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Here's my setup, as promised! I'm not finding time in the evenings to do this, so I'll probably try to knock it out, with photos, on Saturday. |
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Aug 19, 2021 14:22
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Modern electronics are so small you'll probably need to add some soldering clamps and a magnifying lamp to your kit. I was trying to bypass a tiny fuse in a 360 controller PC adapter and it was an absolute pain. |
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Aug 19, 2021 15:05
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modern electronics are so small you'll probably get mad and quit. stick with stereos and poo poo for a while imo or at least finish the kit first lol ---------------- |
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Aug 19, 2021 15:11
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itry posted:Modern electronics are so small you'll probably need to add some soldering clamps and a magnifying lamp to your kit. I was trying to bypass a tiny fuse in a 360 controller PC adapter and it was an absolute pain. We're not going to do SMD stuff in this thread, at least not yet. But if folks are interested, we could totally do one for surface mount stuff! I used this practice kit to figure out how to do it, and it wound up being not as bad as I had imagined. I even managed to get the 0402 components hooked up correctly, after fixing a couple of shorts. All I really needed to transition to SMD work was a new tip for my iron, a flux pen, a pair of high-magnification reading glasses, and a multimeter. I actually found it easier to not use clamps. But for now, we're just going to do PTH (aka "thru hole") components, which are larger and easier to learn with. And the pads on this practice board are enormous, making it even easier. By the end of this kit, you should be able to repair failed capacitors and the odd Zener diode, which has been 100% of the stuff I've needed to replace so far in order to repair stuff. e: oh, and I borrowed Ms Cruft's eyebrow tweezers. cruft fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Aug 19, 2021 |
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Aug 19, 2021 15:15
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cruft posted:e: oh, and I borrowed Ms Cruft's eyebrow tweezers. 
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Aug 19, 2021 15:47
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my soldering kit arrived today! i'm gonna melt so much lead... e: or non-lead core, i guess. whatever it is, i'm gonna melt it! |
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Aug 19, 2021 23:17
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Prof. Crocodile posted:whatever it is, i'm gonna melt it! this is verbatim what I said when I got my MIG welder
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Aug 20, 2021 00:23
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cruft posted:Here's my setup, as promised! I really need to get one of those silicone work mats, those things are great. So many lost teeny tiny screws... |
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Aug 20, 2021 00:57
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Glad I haven't missed anything yet, been in the same camp having trouble squeezing in time to finally mess with the kit. |
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Aug 20, 2021 21:56
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Same, my weekdays are busy! I'm free all weekend though. |
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Aug 20, 2021 22:02
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Gonna knock this baby out today. |
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Aug 21, 2021 14:51
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Okay, I've done some pads! I've never been very good at making intentional solder bridges, which I guess is the point. The way I have to do it is by using an assload of solder. This booklet is really good, we got the right kit. |
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Aug 21, 2021 15:17
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 These great big pads really soak up the heat. You're going to have to hold the iron in place for a while before the solder will melt. Because the metal on the pad is such a good heat conductor, you have to heat up the entire thing to the same temperature, which will take longer than the little pads to the right. Time to attach some wires! |
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Aug 21, 2021 15:39
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Okay, stripping wires with cutters (left) sucks. I did five this way and got so frustrated I pulled out the wire strippers (right), which makes this job easy. If you decide to only do two of these, you have my blessing. 
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Aug 21, 2021 15:57
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cruft posted:Okay, stripping wires with cutters (left) sucks. I did five this way and got so frustrated I pulled out the wire strippers (right), which makes this job easy. If y'all really want to up your wire stripping game, get something like this:  It looks like a crazy contraption (it is). You put the wire in, squeeze the handles, and it gives you a nice clean strip every time. I got tired of trying to strip wire with one that worked like the one on the right, since some of the wire I have has some tough insulation. The Klein strippers are buttery smooth every time! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BC39YFQ |
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Aug 21, 2021 16:02
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stripping wire with cutters p much doesn't work if you don't have real strippers cut around the wire with a razor or w/e and pull the end bit you separated off with your teeth ---------------- |
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Aug 21, 2021 16:04
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lmao @ the ultra-strippers. ballin af
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Aug 21, 2021 16:05
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 I'm glad I did all seven, though. Look at how much better I got as I went up! The trick, for me, was to get a big ol gob of solder on the pad before I tried to put the wire in. The ones on the bottom were a real pain in the rear end because they wouldn't stay. The ones on the top went right in. Tweezers helped immensely here. |
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Aug 21, 2021 16:11
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manero posted:If y'all really want to up your wire stripping game, get something like this: Holy poo poo, this orb is not loving around when it comes to stripping wires! |
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Aug 21, 2021 16:12
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I'm probably not gonna get to playing with my kit until tmw but for those of us who are complete and utter beginners, do you think you could describe/explain the 'how to get solder on the board' part?
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Aug 21, 2021 16:13
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| # ? May 5, 2024 07:35 |
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ok starting! did the resistor reading exercise real quick to familiarize myself with it.
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Aug 21, 2021 16:14
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