I'm still working on the PSOne LCD in a PC mod. It turns out that royally suck at Soldering. Or maybe i'm doing it wrong. OK I sorta knew that b4 hand.


Do those of you who do this sort of thing a lot have any tips.?I suppose I need smaller and steadier hands. Maybe and extra set...

Yea, soldering iron + skin = painful.

agreed, tips

get something to balance your hand on, get a book and let you hand rest on it, easier to solder

let it warm up first

and pay attention

get soldering flux (liquid stuff that removes oxidation from wires) i use a technique called tinning. basically get the iron hot a put a little solder on the "blade" of the iron. the solder on it will heat the wire faster and almost 100% of the time the solder on the "blade" will coat itslef on the wire. it take a little practice but in 15minutes you can be a pro.

Duh



Will do.

Will try that.

I did.

I am.

What is the trick to getting the iron, circit bord, wire , and to be in the same place at the same time?

gir, I used that trick by accadent. but the solder hardens almost instly. it won't stick

haha, guess what? there is a tool called "the third hand" !!



incredibly useful for tiny soldering jobs... a tapered point solder bit makes things a lot easier, as does a variable heat iron...

I've had quite a few (expensive) soldering accidents myself, but after almost two years of in-depth voltmodding and Xbox modding I've definitely gotten a very good hang on things. After getting a new Weller iron for xmas I'm seriously debating if I want to set up a small online shop for Xbox modding/repair and voltmodding. In any case, here's some tips:

-ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS USE FLUX. It may be messy, but it makes life 100% easier.
-I heartily agree on the tinning technique Gir posted above. I almost always tin the wire before soldering.
-A high quality, variable heat iron is an excellent investment-avoid cheap irons at all costs.
-Never use wire too small or too big for the job. If the wire's too big you'll risk damaging the component from stress and torque, and if it's too small you'll run in to resistance/conductivity problems.
-Helping hands are one of the best things too keep in your soldering arsenal.
-Stranded wire is best for PCB work IMO, as it has a good deal more give than solid wire.
-For starters you might want to practice by soldering wires together, or soldering wires to random points on old ISA cards or nails. I went through about 3 modems, 20 nails, and several feet of wire when I was learning to solder.



You probably don't have a hot enough iron for the job-I recommend a good quality 30 watt for light soldering and PCB work.

Good luck.

What i like to do is file done the tip of the soldering iron to a point, so that it is easyer to vmod.

Extra hands are great for soldering, for the most part everyone has already said alot of good tips, like stated above, a good iron is essential.

Don't be stingy with the solder either.

You need stedy, dexterious hands for a good solder (my hands are big and clumsey lol) they always turn out like crap.

Yes solder pencil+hand=pain .

Don't forget to file any solder off the tip of the iron before you start soldering, the excess solder can make the solder not get hot enough to melt.

Thats all i got.

also, get yourself one of those irons with a ligth that points to the tip attached. That little light is very helpfull

and practctice you iron swings.ex: if you are right handed practice swinging your iron to the right, for at least 2 hours a day. in about 5 years you wil master the elusive art of 'non-self burning solder king fu'

Heres what I do when Im sodering wires. Take the cap off a spray can, cut 2 V shaped slots on both sides of the cap, the slots hold the wires in place, and the cap catches any slag that falls off, so you dont have to pick it out of your carpet.

I've made myself diffrent versions of those extra hands, i once needed to solder something a foot or so off the table and no help in sight, so i've made one with a magnifying glass

Edit : pic

I can only add one more tip here but it'll make what you're trying to do a little easier. Pay close attention to how you have your soldering tip situated, remember you have to heat up the wire and the point that you want to solder it to, otherwise the solder won't flow between the two. Once the solder has flowed between the wire and contact point hold the iron there a second or so longer to make sure the solder completely melted. When you are finished the solder joint should be shiny. If it looks a dull grey then you probably have a cold solder joint and need to redo it.