Beginner's guide to helpful mic building accessories

[Roman Beilharz]

Hi everybody,

as a former newbie with very little mic building knowledge, I have evolved to a more experienced builder with a lot more understanding of what's going on under the hood - thanks to this amazing forum. So it is time for a big THANK YOU GUYS and a series of posts to give something back to the community - and to be as helpful as possible in times when more and more people seem to establish a solid "it's all about me" attitude.

So if you have cool tricks up your sleeve to share with beginners, that make your mic building life a lot easier and you wish you had come across earlier, this is the place to add them. I'll make a start with a random collection of accessories I wish I had had right from the start:

MUST HAVE (BEGINNERS)

1. Get a decent soldering station with controllable temperature and a hot air gun. I know the affordable ones are not always of great overall quality, but this is a game changer compared to the good old stick types. If you know how to do it right, you might also get along well with just a plain old stick, but the hot air gun is sooo great to have - not only for shrink tubings, but also to soften glue etc.

2. Get a decent middle class DMM. I am happily using an ASTRO AI DMM, but I've heard that if you want to invest more, get a decent FLUKE. Either way, you want one that does "6000 counts" (=more precise).
Astro AI DMM on Amazon

3. Get a goldsmith set of small pliers of all kinds: round nose, flat nose, long nose, bent nose... and clippers with small heads as well.

4. Set up a solid mic boom stand and attach a Manfrotto super clamp to it. This bugger is great to help you soldering cables, PCBs, or tampering around with parts and capsules. To be able to mount the Manfrotto clamp on a mic stand, you will also need this spigot adapter:
https://www.manfrotto.com/us-en/female-spigot-for-026-1-4-20f-and-3-8-f-31mm-long-adapter-119/



5. Get a PCB holder like this one


6. Get a package of 0.25 watts resistors (1% tolerance) in a variety of values (10R - 10M). You will also need the higher values like 100M - 1G, but they are hard to get and can be outrageously expensive, when you just need 4 of them...

7. Get a set of shrink tubing in a variety of colors and diameters.

8. Get a set of stranded wire (0,25mm diameter & 0,5 diameter) in a variety of colors



9. Get a set of tweezers, a small one with bent beak and another bigger straight one will be all you need. Something like this:


I have not yet tried them, but user VanguardAudioLabs recommends reverse tweezers, which self-hold unless you press them. Currently on sale for like NOTHING, really:
Reverse Tweezer Set: https://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Soldering-Tweezers-45-Degree-90-Degree/dp/B073SJD7L5

10. Get a "rubber ball" type air pump for cleaning - works better and is safer to use than canned air and maybe a brush for cleaning optical lenses (do not brush away on mic diaphragms!!).

11. Get a bottle of IPA (yes, a bottle of Indian Pale Ale is great to have at home as well, but I am talking about isopropyl alcohol to clean up your soldering work and PCBs with a toothbrush).

12. Get some small plastic zip bags to protect mic capsules while soldering or part mounting (thank you user My3gger).

13. Get a good desoldering sucker pump, thanks to the recommendation of VanguardAudioLabs this specific one seems to be of great value:
https://www.amazon.com/Engineer-SS-02-Solder-Sucker/dp/B002MJMXD4?th=1&tag=forumyield-20


NICE TO HAVE/ADVANCED USERS

1. Get a headband with at least 5x lenses like the one user doorunrun recommended further down (Donegan OptiVisor).


Alternatively, you might prefer a lighted magnifying glass on a gooseneck to put above your work. I just ordered this one
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09FJLVK12?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

and shrink-tubed it to a gooseneck holder. Haven't used it much yet, but looks promising, see



2. Get a set of M3 brass standoffs in a variety of heights.

3. Get a set of M2, M2.5 and M3 screws and nuts in a variety of lengths.

4. For point-to-point building and as a general problem solver to reliably connect parts mechanically, a set of nickel plated single leader sleeves in a variety of diameters and lengths with a matching crimper wrench (used for leader bait building for fishing!) came in handy quite often for my builds:




5. Collect tinplates like the bottoms of Pringles tubes or coffee cans. You can easily cut those with household scissors - or even better with some goldsmith scissors, see pic - and manufacture all kinds of holders and special parts.



6. To shield parts or beef up poor shielding connections of mic bodies, a roll of self adhesive copper foil tape comes in handy:




EDIT: I keep this list growing and will add more helpful items in the near future.

Alright, feel free to add more helpful stuff in your postings and happy building!

Ro

 

[Khron]

the good old stick types.

* fire-stick

I've heard that if you want to invest more, get a decent FLUKE

... Or a Brymen

 

[rock soderstrom]

Is this your soldering station?

https://www.amazon.de/Preciva-Lötst...b422d843a988a971bd3b4b61d70&th=1&gad_source=1

 

[Rob Flinn]

I've heard that if you want to invest more, get a decent FLUKE

... Or a Brymen

I have been repairing & building stuff for nearly 40 years & in that time I have never owned a fluke or other expensive meter. I'm currently using a multicom meter which cost me about £15 U.K I have never not been able to build or fix something because I haven't got an expensive meter. I do have a really good bench meter that will measure down to 1/100 of an ohm etc etc, but I rarely use it. Just saying....

One feature I find pretty useful is to have a 4000 count, or even better 6000 count meter. 4000 because when you are working on things like a Neve box which runs on 24v you get a more accurate reading of the 24v.

 

[Rob Flinn]

1. Get a decent soldering station with controllable temperature.

I've never had a temperature controlled iron & it's not stopped me building or repairing anything in nearly 40 years. I just use a weller tcp, simple & reliable. & easy to get spares. tips etc. In my view having a variety of tips is more useful than the iron being temperature controllable. YMMV.

 

[doorunrun]

Donegan OptiVisor!

I have 3 of them, picked up from various estate sales. I also have the one my dad bought in the '70s.
Their 5X is the most useful to me. A 10X helps with SMD and very close inspection work.

Accept no substitute!

 

[My3gger]

Some kind of bags for protecting capsules can be great investment. Don't ask me how i know

 

[frans]

I also use a very big magnifying glass to check small solder traces and the thinnest wires.

 

[Rob Flinn]

A good desoldering gun is very useful.

Donegan OptiVisor!
View attachment 139581
I have 3 of them, picked up from various estate sales. I also have the one my dad bought in the '70s.
Their 5X is the most useful to me. A 10X helps with SMD and very close inspection work.

Accept no substitute!

These are very useful with/or a magnifying lamp !

 

[Roman Beilharz]

Is this your soldering station?

https://www.amazon.de/Preciva-Lötstation-Entlötstation-Einstellbar-Heißluftumwandlung/dp/B08C51QRH5/ref=asc_df_B08C51QRH5/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696221651640&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1447647065052775808&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9043215&hvtargid=pla-948720016551&mcid=7bd8eb422d843a988a971bd3b4b61d70&th=1&gad_source=1

Yes! That's the one. It used to be on sale for like 50 Euros or so - a no-brainer. I have to say that after using it for a year, the plastic nut/ring holding the soldering iron together came off, because the thread was worn out - due to the large temperature differences, I guess. But with a slice of 1'' shrink tubing and some blowing of the hot air gun, I was up and running again - and I think this will never come off again

 

[Roman Beilharz]

I've never had a temperature controlled iron & it's not stopped me building or repairing anything in nearly 40 years. I just use a weller tcp, simple & reliable. & easy to get spares. tips etc. In my view having a variety of tips is more useful than the iron being temperature controllable. YMMV.

Hi Rob, thanks for chiming in! I guess as you have decades of experience with traditional/simple soldering/metering devices, this tells us how skillful you are. So sure: Your equipment does the trick, if you know how to do it.

But for me as a recording studio owner, musician and electronics enthusiast with much less experience, it turned out it was much easier not to burn up/melt styroflex caps or the like or to wait endlessly for the solder to melt while mounting heatsinks, when the temperature can be controlled. I just don't have your expertise, I reckon and make up for it with my station

This being said, I realize effective temperature control is counter-intuitive at the beginning:

It works much better to crank the temperature up to, lets say 380 C, when soldering sensitive parts - like solder lugs into acrylic PCBs, styro caps etc. - and be quick and precise and get it over with as quickly as possible, than to use a lower (you might think safer) temperature and poke around for minutes.

For heatsink mounting, you will want to crank it all the way up - choose 450 degrees Celsius if you can.

My default temperature is 360 C, for very small soldering dots and thin part legs, something like 330 C will do.

And I totally forgot about the soldering tips, I absolutely agree it's important to have different ones at hand. My station came with 6 of them, but I am using the 2mm wide and the 4mm wide "screwdriver" ones the most. The very spikey ones didn't cover enough surface to make soldering much fun, as for traditional mic building, our soldering dots/lugs are huge compared to modern SMD electronics.

 

[Roman Beilharz]

A good desoldering gun is very useful.

These are very useful with/or a magnifying lamp !

Oh YES! Desoldering gun is important. Will add that to the list. Any good recommendations anyone? I am just using a cheap air pump/tip type, that get's stuck every once in a while - not convincing.

 

[Rob Flinn]

Oh YES! Desoldering gun is important. Will add that to the list. Any good recommendations anyone? I am just using a cheap air pump/tip type, that get's stuck every once in a while - not convincing.

I have used Hakko for some time now. originally an 808, which I wore out. I replaced it with an FR301. I have been very pleased with both. These are much more expensive in the U.K than elsewhere but I ordered mine in Europe & got it sent to my house in France, where I changed the plug & voila. They are even cheaper if you go for a 115v version. I think the only difference is a couple of internal resistors on the circuit board.

 

[capacitorless]

Great thread, not just for mic building of course. Didn't know about the Manfrotto clamp, thank you!

 

[Roman Beilharz]

I have used Hakko for some time now. originally an 808, which I wore out. I replaced it with an FR301. I have been very pleased with both. These are much more expensive in the U.K than elsewhere but I ordered mine in Europe & got it sent to my house in France, where I changed the plug & voila. They are even cheaper if you go for a 115v version. I think the only difference is a couple of internal resistors on the circuit board.

I've heard they are good. Hakko FR301, uh? - Indeed, the US version is way cheaper - $ 280 vs. € 380.

But still: Around 300 bucks for a beginner's budget?! Hmm... is there a product in the 50 bucks range?!

 

[Roman Beilharz]

Great thread, not just for mic building of course. Didn't know about the Manfrotto clamp, thank you!

Thank you. And the addition of the magnifying glass/head bands to the list made me want to buy a cheap 5x "senior reading" type mag. glass and shrink-tube it to a goose-neck mic holder, that can be tilted into the sight line above the clamp maybe!?!

 

[bremusound]

I have used Hakko for some time now. originally an 808, which I wore out. I replaced it with an FR301. I have been very pleased with both. These are much more expensive in the U.K than elsewhere but I ordered mine in Europe & got it sent to my house in France, where I changed the plug & voila. They are even cheaper if you go for a 115v version. I think the only difference is a couple of internal resistors on the circuit board.

The 115V Hakko FR301 version has a different motor.
I bought it anyway and are using a stepdown transformer 230 to 115V with it.
Great tool.
My experience with tools is that you will never regret buying good quality stuff. Buy cheap tools and you will buy something better later anyway.

 

[Roman Beilharz]

The 115V Hakko FR301 version has a different motor.
I bought it anyway and are using a stepdown transformer 230 to 115V with it.
Great tool.
My experience with tools is that you will never regret buying good quality stuff. Buy cheap tools and you will buy something better later anyway.

I could not agree more and will definitely consider your recommendations. But I am actually making money with my recording studio and production plus I am teaching at Uni, so I also can afford it. This being said, I am still reluctant to recommend the Hakko for DIY beginners, that most of the time are willing and able to invest 300 bucks for their first builds in total as "basic equipment".

 

[mjmajilton]

Hi Rob, thanks for chiming in! I guess as you have decades of experience with traditional/simple soldering/metering devices, this tells us how skillful you are. So sure: Your equipment does the trick, if you know how to do it.

But for me as a recording studio owner, musician and electronics enthusiast with much less experience, it turned out it was much easier not to burn up/melt styroflex caps or the like or to wait endlessly for the solder to melt while mounting heatsinks, when the temperature can be controlled. I just don't have your expertise, I reckon and make up for it with my station

This being said, I realize effective temperature control is counter-intuitive at the beginning:

It works much better to crank the temperature up to, lets say 380 C, when soldering sensitive parts - like solder lugs into acrylic PCBs, styro caps etc. - and be quick and precise and get it over with as quickly as possible, than to use a lower (you might think safer) temperature and poke around for minutes.

For heatsink mounting, you will want to crank it all the way up - choose 450 degrees Celsius if you can.

My default temperature is 360 C, for very small soldering dots and thin part legs, something like 330 C will do.

And I totally forgot about the soldering tips, I absolutely agree it's important to have different ones at hand. My station came with 6 of them, but I am using the 2mm wide and the 4mm wide "screwdriver" ones the most. The very spikey ones didn't cover enough surface to make soldering much fun, as for traditional mic building, our soldering dots/lugs are huge compared to modern SMD electronics.

Agree. Have enough heat to get in and out fast.

 

[Renzo]

I would also find a desoldering iron with a solder sucker very useful to avoid wasting solder around.