Newbie questions: Wire, solder and tinned holes.

Hi,

Just got a Purple Audio MC76-kit that I'm about to start working on. I have a few newbie questions:

1. What type of wire should I buy for this project, and what gauge?

2. What kind of solder do you prefer for soldering components to a pcb?

3. This is my first time soldering a professional made pcb. All the component holes are tinned. Do I have to use extra solder or can I just heat the solder that is already there? What is best: soldering the top or bottom of the pcb?


Thanks in advance

Richard

Try going to the search function at the top of the page. It's pretty handy :wink:

1. Type in "Hookup wire" and check the "search for all terms" button (hint: look for a topic called "hookup wire")

2. Type in "solder" (hint: look for a topic called "reel of solder..."

3. Yes you will need solder. Usually the bottom of the board is soldered, but there are instances where you may need to solder both sides, or just touch up the top side.

BTW who was the kind feller that was in charge of the Newbie meta? I saw that there wasn't anything about solder or hook-up wire--two things that come up pretty often. I would add them myself, but you know how the saying goes: "Don't mow another man's lawn!"

Thanks Ethan,

I spent a couple of hours last night searching and I found very little on the subject. I always use the search-function and usually I find something. This time I decided to start a new topic.

I agree that it would be nice to have something about this in the Newbie meta.


Thanks again

Richard

1. i got Teflon (the exterior housing doesnt melt like plastic when heated) stranded hookup wire. 26gauge i think. remember larger the guage smaller the wire. sometimes stranded is good, others solid. i prefer stranded, easier to work with and less spring back so it stays put.
you might want colored hookup wire in several colors to help you sort which is which later down the road after wiring (having a board full of black wires and having to trace them all out is no fun.)

2. 63/37 is good stuff. try to get good Kester solder, dont bother with the radio shack, once you use the good stuff with a nice iron its hard to go back to anything less.

3. they "pads" are tinned, but not enough to melt like your thinking to your leads. the traces are tinned to help against corrosion, or sometimes they are soldermasked (green film on top of traces).
your going to have to solder directly to the pads unless its a double sided board which is tricky sometimes cause you have to flow enough to reach the other side. i dont think youve got one of those though.


what kind of iron do you have? if you plan on doing a bit of this. then invest in a used 50-75$ weller and it will save you ALOT of headache and time down the road, trust me on this one.

goodluck!

taylor

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what kind of iron do you have? if you plan on doing a bit of this. then invest in a used 50-75$ weller and it will save you ALOT of headache and time down the road, trust me on this one.

Click to expand...

Very good advice.
Just finished first project (4ch preamps) with rat shack iron.
Then a buddy lent me his Weller for opamp mods (after seeing my poor excuse.) HUGE difference.
For one, some of the cheap soldering kits don't offer a tip small enough for what you want to do. Usually i think smaller is better for circuit boards.
And adjustable temp is great. Some parts are sensitive to heat when soldering (transistors, diodes, etc), so you must be careful. Easier to use a lower temp for these than figure out later which components you have fried.
Also (very important for me) try to get an iron with the shortest possible distance between insulated handle and tip. Having the handle (and your hand) closer to the tip makes it easier to control the tip.

BTW not sure if this was exactly mentioned, but the solder pads are there to give the solder something to stick to. Solder won't stick on the board itself. This makes your solder joints 'self-contained' and less liable to run across traces (causing shorts). When you start soldering you'll see what i mean.

Uh, in case it wasn't found in search, good method is to heat the component leg and pad first with iron tip, then apply solder. This way the solder melts directly to the pad and lead, forming a solid connection.

Thanks guys,

Ordered some Kester solder today.

[quote author="asm"]
what kind of iron do you have? if you plan on doing a bit of this. then invest in a used 50-75$ weller and it will save you ALOT of headache and time down the road, trust me on this one.

taylor[/quote]

I have a Ersa Analog 60 soldering station. I'm pretty happy with it. Never used enything else though.


Thanks

Richard