How to teach myself basic soldering?

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Find and read all of the NASA training logs. If you can't solder after that, natural selection boiii

>>1100371

Find a soldering iron. Find some things to solder. Begin soldering.

No, seriously, just grab some random crap and work on it. Soldering is way easier than everyone, especially a beginner, seems to think it is. There are a few subtleties involved in getting a good joint, but they're very easy to pick up on your own if you have any observational ability whatsoever.

>>1100390
Guess that's the way to do it. My first attempts long ago were miserable failures and now I've got a handful of headphones without jacks or they're spliced halfway and I failed to rejoin the ends. Getting my own tools will probably be enough to get me going, cause before I was doing everything freehand, no clamps or anything, which probably made it a lot harder than it should've been :] Thanks for the no bullshit motivation anon.

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>>1100371
The general consensus is to buy a hakko or a weller, they're kinda pricey, but worth the money if you're going to spend many hours soldering, I have pic related (center), which is considerably cheaper at 1/5 of the price, but works fine. Just avoid flimsy tipped pieces of shit, the thermal mass of the thin tip makes them unworkable. Also avoid chinese crap, the heating element will die after a couple of months, that is if you keep using them after the tip dissolves away like butter. Don't forget to buy a desoldering pen and lots of heat shrink tube to cover the connections.

>what type of wire to get
~22 and 26 AWG solid core are the ones I use the most, but that is probably because 95% of the wire I use is from hundreds of meters of old telephone and data lines. It's fine for almost everything unless you want higher amperage, like for wiring speakers, then buy stranded from 16 down.

>what material to buy so I can some solid practice splicing and rejoining audio cables and jacks before I start tearing into the real thing
There are small projects sold as soldering practicing kits, I learned just by soldering and desoldering things over time. There are hundreds of tutorials out there.

>>1100396
Thanks anon, that's exactly the type of information I was looking for, cheers man.

>>1100395
aw man, headphone cords are the worst to learn on.

headphone wire is too fine and flexy to scrape the almost invisible coat of enamel insulation off with a knife edge, it cuts right through the wire.

you have to gently burn the tip of the wire with a cig lighter until the enamel turns black, and then you can scrape it off with a fingernail. now solder will stick to it.

>>1100420
>headphone wire is too fine and flexy to scrape the almost invisible coat of enamel insulation off with a knife edge, it cuts right through the wire.

>you have to gently burn the tip of the wire with a cig lighter until the enamel turns black, and then you can scrape it off with a fingernail. now solder will stick to it.

You're doing it wrong, I have fixed many broken headphones and earphones, burning the wire only anneals it and makes it softer and weaker. The trick is to put a big blob or solder on the tip of the soldering iron and stick the wire inside, eventually the coating will burn off and the wire will be tinned, it can take some seconds, but I've found it's the best way to tin small wires without spending lots of time scraping them with a razor blade, which in many times creates small dents on the wire which are potential failure points.

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I bought a $40 Weller soldering station that works well for me, pic related. I needed to buy an extra tip for working with PCBs though. For wire, I use 18 gauge stranded because that's what I have, along with some wire scavenged from an old power supply. I learned to solder just from practicing on soldering bits of wire together. Cheap and it works well

One thing to consider: for solder, get around 1mm diameter. I made the mistake of buying some really thick solder at first and wasted a bunch of time before I bought some decent stuff.

>>1100371
OP, you don't say where on the planet you are.

I bought an X-Tronic 4000 series some years ago. 60 watts, temperature controlled with LED readout and ESD safe. It came with a selection of tips, a spare heating element, some tweezers and a (disposable) magnifying lamp. It has been totally reliable (I use it mostly on weekends for hobby stuff, but I also used it every day for about two weeks straight building a sensor network for one project).

60 watts is plenty for most hobby work, though I don't use it for harvesting parts (for that I have an old Hakko 707 desoldering station).

They also have some less expensive models in the 3000 series for $40-$50.

I went with them because 1) price and 2) they can actually provide service if it's needed (not that you wouldn't learn how to DIY most fixes needed).

Have fun no matter what you get!

The 4010 model is what looks to be the current replacement for mine, it's about $90 on Ebay.

>>1100518

OP here: Thanks for the advice. I've been looking at getting the same one since it's readily available from my local electronics supplier. WLC100 specifically. Seems to be what a lot of people use as standard from all of the videos I've been watching the other day. About wire thickness, gotcha. All of the measurements I see listed are in imperial but after some quick conversion I see that it's 0.042in to 1.06mm, so I trust I'll be safe if I stay at or below that thickness.

>>1100537
Hailing from Ontario, Canada. I'll keep those X-Tronic models in mind as I keep looking. Online purchases are out of the question for me for the time being but again I'll note the brand and models. Glad to hear you've had a good experience with them though.

>>1100438
Roger. I've seen both methods used as I was going through repair videos. Having contact with the soldering iron rather than a flame would make for a more controlled burn for sure not to mention you don't risk cutting bits of the wire off. I'll keep to that method when I get started.

Really great stuff so far thank you all :)

The most important thing is keeping your tip clean and tinned. Temp control is crucial too, but a decent iron does that for you. I would definitely go electric, butane irons tend to be way to hot and are sometimes hard to get going. I use a $25 Weller and I have a backup butane iron in case I don't have power somewhere.

Are battery powered soldering irons shit?

I am also very new and find a big thick cable drags and gets caught on things, as well as weighting down the iron in my already unsteady hands.

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Hi! I can solder pretty well and own about €400 worth of solder gear. However, I keep my Weller WS81 for the critical jobs, and use extremely cheap fake Hakko irons for my usual soldering, and they work amazingly well. Here's the solder station I built for them:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/simple-diy-soldering-station-for-hakko-907-iron/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk1ttUM5XTQ

The critical part to make fake Hakko 907 irons work is the copper mod, as I describe here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtgjhz5sLA8

Now, you don't have to build the control into a case at first, it will work plug and play. Choose one of those:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Digital-Soldering-Station-Temperature-Controller-DC-for-HAKKO-907-Iron-Handle-/121941589001?hash=item1c6448fc09:g:hRUAAOSwLVZV4sBx

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Soldering-Station-Digital-DC-Controller-for-HAKKO-936-Compatible-907-Iron-Handle-/140728043102?hash=item20c40b865e:g:srUAAOxyRHdR0QLp

And this soldering Iron:
http://www.banggood.com/907-Soldering-Iron-Handle-for-HAKKO-907ESD-907-936-937-928-926-p-943998.html?rmmds=search

I recommend two, as changing tips is difficult with the copper mod. Use this cleaner:
http://www.banggood.com/Weitus-WTS-1025-Soldering-Iron-Tip-Cleaner-Clean-Ball-Remover-p-956982.html?rmmds=search

With the copper mod as well, of course. It is cheap enough not to hurt should it not work well, but if it should, you save lots of money.
Now, the right temperature is critical for correct soldering, and here most cheap stations or the iron I recommended before are off.

This is the cheapest way to get really decent soldering gear, and as I am satisfied with it despite my high standards, you will be too.

>>1100821
Part 2:
To calibrate your temperature, you need a thin, long piece of lead. I cut a long strip from a 1mm or 2mm thick sheet of lead, so at the end you should have a "lead wire". Clean the tip thoroughly from tin residues, and then "tin" it using the lead wire. It does not need to be pretty. Let the iron cool off, bend a hook into the lead wire, and let it dangle from the iron tip which is fixed horizontally. Slowly increase the temperature until the lead melts and the lead wire falls of. now you have pretty exactly 330°C which is both the lead's melting point and the temperature you want to solder at.

>>1100823
>which is both the lead's melting point and the temperature you want to solder at

thats what I was doing wrong!

I have been rubbing frozen lead all over shit and sticking the soldering iron up my nose.

>>1100438
>You're doing it wrong, I have fixed many broken headphones and earphones, burning the wire only anneals it and makes it softer and weaker

Copper wire is annealed _explicitly_ to be soft and flexible. While I prefer just setting the iron to 400°C+, a lighter works fine.

>>1100371
I just got this one
https://www.amazon.ca/Aoyue-Digital-Soldering-Station-ESD-Element/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482094953&sr=8-3&keywords=digital+soldering+station

Its great for the price. Temp is quite accurate, heats up fast, build quality is decent for non-pro use, tip it comes with is good for electronics, fits hakko tips, iron is light and cord leading to it is nice.

Just do it!

>>1100817
battery irons are barely able to function.
refillable butane irons are the best portable option, they still suck compared to corded irons.

a soldering station with a silicone cable for the handpiece is best.

Read the IPC book on solder connections so you will know what is an acceptable solder interconnect. Also there are a lot of U-tube videos on technique. Invest in a good iron ($150-250) range and assorted solder tips of different sizes.

>>1100371
check this out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIT4ra6Mo0s
the entire series

>>1100378
>If you can't solder after that, natural selection boiii

Either that or you have very old solder with a cheap radio shack soldering iron. Rosin core solder will go bad. Make sure you have fresh solder at the least OP. >>1100371

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I have a € 10 solderstation from China, works perfectly, using it to repair old hifi amps, Just be carefull with these old traces.

Buy a simple (or expensive, depending on what you wanna invest) soldering iron/station, watch a video on how to do it. Order some cheap electronic components from china and practice.

I started with soldering pin headers to 1€ arduino clones, then soldered to some Orange Pi pads (tiny, ripped one off accidentally). Also my first headers either drowned in solder or left parts exposed, my iron was too hot/too cold, things you learn best by trying.

Once you know basics is just a calm hand and practice.

Soldering people are autistic . The good "someone asked about my interest lets me explain it to you" kind. Its why diy works despite the image board format being terrible for the subject .

>>1100371

Definitely watch these:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837

Best soldering instructional videos you'll find anywhere.

Get a cheap shit soldering iron and some 60/40 solder. Turn on the iron, tin the tip. Wipe it on a damp paper towel if it gets dirty or oxidized. Heat the part, not the solder. If the iron falls off the table, don't try to catch it.

That's basically it.

>>1100371
Random tips I wish someone had told me at the beginning:

- Use flux, plenty of it, the acid-free kind for electronics not the plumbing stuff. It helps even if you're using rosin core solder. Just clean up the mess afterwords. You can cut down on flux use once your technique improves.
- keep the tip clean and tinned. If solder isn't wetting the tip then it's dirty, too cold, or poorly tinned.
- Don't leave your iron on / hot unnecessarily, especially when it's not tinned. The tip will oxidize faster.
- Don't fuck up your tip with abrasive cleaning unless it's already fucked up and deserves it.
- Hotter is often better, especially for lead free solder. A hotter iron applied for a shorter time will quickly heat the immediate area, melt solder, and give you a good joint before transferring much heat to sensitive components.
- Get a few different sized tips for your iron
- Get good tools/clamps for holding your work. Panvise, one of those blue board-holder things, "helping hands" (I like the ones made of locline tubing) etc. Also some good little snips/tweezers/files/wire brushes.
- Preparation is everything. EVERYTHING. Taking the extra time to carefully clamp each component or wire will give you better joints and save you a ton of frustration. That's the biggest thing honestly.

TLDR: When in doubt, more heat more flux.

OP reporting in. Holy this thread blew up, well not really but considering 99% of the threads I start are 1-2 replies or dead this is quite something for me. Been a busy week so I couldn't reply back in detail. Many thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to leave a detailed response.

Again great suggestions and recommendations. I'll give that video series a look. I ended up buying a weller wlc100 like I said earlier and some 60/40 RA core .040in wire along with a bunch of tools. Definitely made the work a LOT easier than when I first began...lol can't believe how great the helping hands are.

I sort of regret not buying a temperature controlled station like the hakko models mentioned but they were nowhere to be found locally. My main gripe of course with the Weller is that the number controls are completely arbitrary and don't tell you anything other than a vague guess at the wattage. Learning through trial and error at the moment to see what works best on which dial position. It also takes a while to heat up. The hakko stations are probably what I'm aiming for next once I get a bit more work in. But overall I'm glad I did the research instead of going into the store blindly.

For now I bought 25ft 22awg audio cables (L/R channels) to practice on and it's been going alright. Again learning through trial and error what works and what doesn't as far as temperature and technique goes. I don't know if this is correct but I've been applying solder to the tip at the beginning of the joint to get the heat transfer started and follow with applying solder to the top of the joint itself for the rest of the length.

>>1103483
Sound advice. Only thing I missed out on was flux thinking that the rosin core would be enough, and generally it has been but I understand why you'd want to apply it anyway. Ah well, will drop by next time for it.

>>1100371
That pic was my first "station", except it had the Pro'sKit logo on it. Piece of shit, but it served me pretty well. A while back I opened it up, and found that the only thing connected to that switch is a zenier for the 20W mode.

Speaking of stations.
I have an old Ungar 9100

Works fine but every so often I have to replace a blown rectifier. That and the cord/handle has started to crack from age.

Every so often the ones that pop up on MPJA draw my attention, but prior purchases indicate they are the harbor freight of electronics.

Cost really isn't an issue. But I don't need much more than a rework station for connectors and pcb work.