whats the point of soldering?

[LoArmistead]

I don't think I've ever bought leaded solder in the US...do they still make it?

 

Yeah, I put some in my Wheaties every morning.

[romeo55]

I've tried lead-free solder... I immediately went back to my Rosin Core 60/40 solder, it's just easier to work with.

[hardnrg]

I used some multi-core the other day .. and yeah, it's way better for soldering onto silver/gold

I'm pretty sure it's the silver in the solder that makes what I use better for silver/gold... for soldering silver conductors it's pretty much required... flux is just better all round for *any* soldering job

 

Yeah, I put some in my Wheaties every morning.

 

solder fumes are bad enough... I'd rather not be inhaling lead.... I used to hold my breath when walking past cars as a kid lol

 

I've tried lead-free solder... I immediately went back to my Rosin Core 60/40 solder, it's just easier to work with.

try multi core silver solder... it contains flux (you call it rosin stateside) and the silver gives it a lower melting point and higher conductivity

[lost]

So if I'm doing something like wire to circuit board, a LED to a board, or a LED to a resistor, thats when using soldering is good for the connection?

 

But if I'm going to connect two wires together, then soldering isn't needed? Or you can still solder for a better connection after you twist the wires together?

 

Edit: Oh and another thing, the wire that came with the fan isn't long enough to reach the fan controller, so can I cut the 3 wires in the middle and increase the length with some wires?

 

Original Wire (= and =)

=================|

=================|

=================|

 

Cut it in the middle, strip the cover, and add some new wire (-) to increase the length

======----------===========|

======----------===========|

======----------===========|

 

Do I have to use anything special for the 3 wires?

Edited January 15, 2008 by lost

[lost]

So I'm trying to connect the fans to the Zalam fan controller, but the weirdest things: (check the picture)

 

The bottom part that I circled in red is a bit longer on the 3-pin fan connector and it won't go in the plugs that are in the fan connector. The 3-pin connector on the fan is like B, but the can controller only takes A. Should I try to cut off the extra stuff?

[hardnrg]

I tin the wires, and offset the inline solder joints... that way i can just heatshrink over the whole thing instead of individually... individually is easy enough though... heatshrink is ace

[lost]

I tin the wires, and offset the inline solder joints... that way i can just heatshrink over the whole thing instead of individually... individually is easy enough though... heatshrink is ace

wait, what?

 

Things I don't understand:

You tin the wires?

Offset the inline solder joints?

Heatstrink over the whole thing?

Edited January 15, 2008 by lost

[Bleeble]

try multi core silver solder... it contains flux (you call it rosin stateside) and the silver gives it a lower melting point and higher conductivity

I thought silver raised the melting point...

[markiemrboo]

I've tried lead-free solder... I immediately went back to my Rosin Core 60/40 solder, it's just easier to work with.

 

I'm with him. I got some Stannol 60/40 a few months back out of curiosity. It's just infinitely better than the few different "lead-free + silver" brands I have used in the past... Here's to hoping the leaded stuff doesn't disappear for good any time soon :thumbs-up:

[Verran]

wait, what?

 

Things I don't understand:

You tin the wires?

Offset the inline solder joints?

Heatstrink over the whole thing?

These never really got answered, so I'll do it now

 

1) Tinning wires: When you've got two wires you want to join together to make one, you use solder. The best way to do this is to first "tin" each wire separately. Essentially, this means to coat the bare wire with solder, so instead of copper wire, you see shiny silvery wire. A lot of people try to do this by getting a big glob of solder on the tip of their iron and then "smearing" it over the surface of the wire. This is bad, and the solder will probably not hold. Instead, you should first apply heat to the bare wire using the iron. Then, touch the solder to a different spot on the wire. At first, nothing will happen. But when the iron heats the wire enough, the heated wire will "pull" the solder, and you'll see the wire start to coat with solder. You'll know you've applied the solder correctly because it will be very shiny. If it's dull gray, it's not bonded tightly.

 

2) Offsetting solder joints: I'll explain this using your diagram from above. (Red and Black are the wires, Green is the solder joint connection)

======----------===========|

======----------===========|

======----------===========|

If you heatshrink these connections together, they're going to get squeezed tight, and all three of the green solder joints are going to be touching, which will cause a short. One way to solve this problem is to put a small piece of shrinkwrap over each of the three wires. Usually, people will then put a bigger piece of shrink wrap over all three to make the cable look nice and neat. This works fine, but uses a bit more shrink wrap and takes a bit more effort too. Another way would be to offset the connections, like this:

==----------====================|

===========----------===========|

====================----------==|

This way, the connections won't touch when squeezed together, and you can just use one big piece of shrinkwrap over the whole thing.

[Comp Dude2]

nd you hope you dont bend it loads or tug one wire and not the others lol

[lost]

Verran

thanks a lot! a lot of these terms r new to me, like tinning process, and heatshrinking.

 

but question, wouldnt heatshrinking the entire wire make it a little stuff? what size sleeve or heatshrink would u recommend for the 3pins? and maybe 4pin wires? 1/8? 1/4? 1/2? http://www.jab-tech.com/Wire-Sleeving-c-69.html is the size the diameter?