Hi everyone , your time is much appreciated , so thank you and may I say how I look forward to sharing my soldering experiences and solutions with you all. My video's will be covering many aspects of soldering , ranging from the very basic stuff to the very extreme difficult projects, with the odd fun project to make popped in along the way I hope you like + learn from some of my unique ways of solving all kinds of problems (see my pad repair + IC pin repair video's as perfect examples) Lastly i want to be as helpful as i can to you all so if you particularly want to see a certain aspect of soldering ( build , repair or other ) please contact me by sticking a comment in one of my video's about what you want and i'll do my best to help you out with a video on your subject matter. So thanks again and dont forget to join my journey and to make sure you dont miss out be sure to subscribe.
Hi , thank you for your comment . A nice fine brush , good cleaning fluid ( ULTRASOLVE or Flux off ) are both great , not IPA , and a good fine cloth and the secret is the hairdryer . Bit of effort , amazing clean boards . Thanks again 👍
Brilliant! I'm a real newbie to electroics so this was really helpful. I especially like the tip to dip the wick in flux. Makes so much more sense but I'd never thought of it.
Hi , thank you for your comment , much appreciated . The band marking on SMD capacitors denotes the Anode ( positive end ) , SMD diodes the band denotes the negative end . So in this instance the capacitor was fitted the correct way. Thank you again for your time , take care 👍
Thank you. I really like your technique. Do you have an update on what flux you use? I've checked and everyplace I've found a listing for Electrolube SMFL200D is marked discontinued. It's possible someplace has leftover stock, but not that I have found.
Hi , thank you for watching the video and commenting , much appreciated . I'm glad you've found my channel of use , that's great to hear . Thanks again , take care 👍
The approach you demonstrate to soldering (especially Rs & Cs) is what I aim to do but, despite regular cleaning on moist sponge and with tip cleaner (Loctite TTC-LF), I could never get a small bit of solder to adhere to the point of the tip (a Metcal STTC-190, 0.25x13mm tip, fixed 390°C). The tip would oxidise quickly, would not wet with solder properly, and the surface tension of the alloy would collect much too much solder together so, too frequently, I'd end up as if I had preloaded the pad. By chance, I came across an electronics stack exchange answer explaining to someone who'd left his iron on hot overnight (and who hasn't done that?) and who'd tried sanding and then filing the tip to restore it, that use of abrasives will pit the tip which will make it corrode faster, amongst other things. I don't use abrasives, but that prompted me to closely inspect the condition of the tip under the microscope. That should have occurred to me because it gets a pretty hard life, so it was pretty scratched and marked in various ways. I wouldn't normally do this (though, by that point, there was little to lose), but I polished it under the microscope with a Dremel polishing pad and, yes, a bit of polishing compound, and it was much improved. Things were improved further by changing old, unbranded 60/40 SnPb solder with Edsyn 60/38/2 SnPbCu. The presence of copper might make some difference, but probably age, impurities and quality of incorporated flux were more significant. I also suspect that the sharp angle of that tip encourages migration of solder away from the point, but I need the 0.25mm tip for rework of 0.4mm pitched connectors and ICs. Metcal do make shorter, broader tips, but only at 0.4mm. I ought to get one anyway.
Another way to clean holes is to heat from one side and apply the solder sucker to the other side. Its tricky to line them up but it works really well.
Hi , thank you for your comment , much appreciated . I have used the method you mention quite a few times with great success, but only with a heated solder sucker ( Metcal ). I normally get someone else to hold the iron on one side while I heat and suck from the other . Even on difficult 3mm thick boards works great . The cheap manual solder suckers I have no time for . Prefer solder braid over these . Thanks again , take care 👍
Hi , hopefully this helps . You should have numbers or letters marked on top of the component in most cases . You can work out the value from these . You can Google these markings and it will tell you the value Or if there is no markings you will need a multimeter to measure them before they go on the board . Good luck 🤞
@@TroubleinZION hi , no problem . I've actually posted a video all about surface mount resistors on my channel . I talk about how to work out the numbers in this video . All the best 👍
Thanks for your video you really creative and developed my soldering skills, i still have issue to de soldering a big transformer because it absorbs heat too much and prevents solder from melting, i hope you can make a new video about those big components and how to de soldering it
Hi , thank you for all of your time you give to my channel , it really means a lot when I see familiar names returning to my videos . Thank you again , take care 👍
Hi , thank you so much for your continued support of my channel , really appreciated . I'm glad you found BLT helpful , in my opinion they are the best suppliers of solders that I have ever found . I'm glad you like the Sn100SB , I agree that it is a great lead free solder leaving lovely shiny joints and is so easy to work with . Thank you again for all your comments and your generosity , take care ?
Hi, Thanks for another great video. I contacted Greg & Andres who sorted me out with some 0.25mm SN100sb. I'm delighted with it and appreciate your recommendation. Can you tell me the current flux your using, is it too from BLT? Thanks for sharing with us.
The quality of the video is so good that I could literally see the flux and solder flow under the ends. I am in awe of your hand eye co-ordination, it is amazing, feeding just the right amount of solder onto the pins.
Good idea. It could be made easier yet by first individually heating each of the four corner lugs and untwisting them with needle-nose pliers while the solder is still melted. This would free them from being mechanically bound to the board, which should then make the remainder of the process a breeze.
Thank you for sharing a great update to the old just flood it method, its so much more controlled with the extra wire pieces. I just wanted to share these anecdotes as a safety consideration for those using this method. When I was 10 I was doing the just flood it with solder method to remove something from a PCB. The PCB was taped down to the edge of the table I was sitting at and the connector I was trying to remove was overhanging the edge. The tape came loose during the process and the board shifted when I pulled on the connector with pliers spilling a pool of molten solder the size of 2 stacked quarters on my knee while I was in shorts. Lets just say molten metal burns really suck and can have a lot in common with molten plastic burns. Later in life I used this method quite a bit while working at an electronics repair shop. I used a bench mounted PCB vice as to not to spill it no myself again, but during one PS4 repair I ended up learning that molten solder can go up too... The corner of the board was flexed while preloading the connector a bit and it sprung back when the connector finally came out and threw molten solder about 2ft in the air which splashed little droplets everywhere when it hit the desk. Lucky no one was hurt that time because I was standing and not looking down directly over it and my coworkers where far enough away not to catch the splash either but I learned I should at least be wearing safety goggles or a face shield and make sure I'm not near some one next time I have to use this method. This method works very well pretty consistently but considering I've had one incident and a close call with the basic version of this method now I try and save messing with large molten blobs of solder for known stubborn connectors, fragile boards or for when other tools haven't done the job. Hopefully this helps someone to be aware of one more of the little unexpected risks others have encountered so it doesn't catch ya by surprise too. I hope everyone has fun and stays safe in the electronics hobby! Happy making!!
How about a how to for a qfn package like sic437a whiith multiple pads. I love your videos they have really helped me improve my SMD skills but I still struggle with that package never really sure if it's done properly.
Brilliant video as usual. I've been soldering for over 40 years but there's always something new to learn as long as one has an open mind. By the way what microscope are you using?
You mentioned you don’t recommend drag soldering for that kind of connector, and I’ve heard you at other times say you don’t prefer drag soldering. I would be interested to hear you talk about it more, maybe even a “pros and cons of drag soldering” video or something. I recognize the awesome quality and consistency of your pin-at-a-time technique - truly impressive and obviously more than adequate! I’m just wondering… what do you not like about dragging? It could be as simple as not feeling like you need it, so you’ve never invested time in developing the techniques, or… who knows? I’m curious! So to do a proper video, maybe you would have to work on the technique a bit. Whatever - you have a good intuitive feel for how solder is going to behave and so on, and maybe you could show how to do it wrong and how to do it right! It’s just an idea; I usually try not to expect presenters to do what I want! But sometimes I ask. I ALWAYS appreciate your videos; they’re always good stuff! I trust your advice.
I've been told by repair techs that the settings on the hot air rework station might not work for other stations, so I'm thinking it would help me a great deal to know what to look for when the component is ready to remove (or is properly soldered), and how to best use the nozzle to avoid damaging the board or other components (which I have done in the past). Edit: ... Which you did, in the first connector. Thanks!
Hi , thank you for your comment , much appreciated . Some of the videos I've posted lately are older ones I've had to change the music to due to it now being copyrighted . Bit of a pain but nothing I can do . Thanks again , take care 👍
Hi , thank you for watching the video and for your support of my channel , very kind of you . I'm glad you find the videos of use , that's great to hear . Thanks again , take care 👍
