Beginner's guide to helpful mic building accessories

[JerryS]

Honestly one of the better investments. It's simple really - with regular tweezers or pliers you have to tense your muscles to grip the item, which makes it inherently less steady. Letting the tweezers do the work for me has made me much more accurate.

I tried helping hands for a long time and found them to be finicky. I use pairs of reverse tweezers on the desk to hold things, or my panavise, or one of my 3D printed mic cradles (or a 3d-printed wire soldering jig for joining wires). I've tried the gooseneck helping hands and the more traditional wingnuts + alligator clips + magnifier one. I found the second one is too finicky and slow to set up, and the gooseneck ones i've used don't support much weight and the alligator clips are too small for some tasks.

One other important item - which i believe has a separate thread - is a good work light. I use an LED ring light mounted around a magnifier which is on a desk-mounted boom arm. I finally gave in and bought a boom magnifier instead of using one of the magnifying helmets and glad i did.

Two things...

Is the foam inlay made of an ESD safe material?

Soldering/desoldering heat sink tweezers have been around a long time. Check ebay for items - the Clauss 'bullet head' design are for specific wire gauge sizes and are excellent, but the cheap ones are fine, and even alligator clips (possibly more than one at a time) will do. Just remember that their function is to absorb heat; look for copper or aluminum construction - medical rated tools are almost all made of stainless steel which is a poor heat conductor, jewelery (hobby) tools are usually described as 'heat resistant' not heat conductive.

Jerry

 

[VanguardAudioLabs]

Two things...

Is the foam inlay made of an ESD safe material?

Soldering/desoldering heat sink tweezers have been around a long time. Check ebay for items - the Clauss 'bullet head' design are for specific wire gauge sizes and are excellent, but the cheap ones are fine, and even alligator clips (possibly more than one at a time) will do. Just remember that their function is to absorb heat; look for copper or aluminum construction - medical rated tools are almost all made of stainless steel which is a poor heat conductor, jewelery (hobby) tools are usually described as 'heat resistant' not heat conductive.

Jerry

(I think you added the wrong quote?)

I was lucky enough that my father-in-law worked for an electronics company that manufactured tools and machines for electronics production. he gave me a bunch of old tools including a bevy of old copper heat clips in various sizes. We use them all the time in the office when working near heat-sensitive components. Also some great lead benders.

 

[rock soderstrom]

Is the foam inlay made of an ESD safe material?

No idea, I have “processed” two FET microphones with it so far, no problems. Actually I build 95% tube microphones, they are not that sensitive, but you are right, you should keep that in mind when working with components that are sensitive to static voltages.

 

[Roman B.]

The foam inlays are nice. I designed and 3D printed a simple adjustable mic cradle that takes two 1/4in 6" long bolts and two matching wingnuts, that gives me more solidity and more adjustability.

RE: the SS-02 - i've never really had a problem with the recoil, although yes it is strong. Usually during desoldering i mount the board vertically and add a little bead of solder to the joint if it doesn't have enough for good contact. The soldering iron heats up the joint on the bottom side and the solder sucker stays on the top side over the hole. Also like that I can reset it one-handed by pushing the plunger against my leg or the desk, making for much quicker work when desoldering multiple parts.

I am sooo glad, you recommended the SS-02!! This thing is just perfect for my needs, tiny, sturdy and powerful. And the price is a no-brainer: under 20 bucks. Wow! Amazing engineering. And this way I don't have another electronic device sitting around on our living room table in need of a power socket. My wife is really thankful

The best thing is, that it's silicon tube "nose" tightly sits on your soldering pad (as long as it is small enough to be fully enclosed) - or on the rear of it - and so all or at least most of the suction power is effectively being used.

 

[rock soderstrom]

The best thing is, that it's silicon tube "nose" tightly sits on your soldering pad (as long as it is small enough to be fully enclosed) - or on the rear of it - and so all or at least most of the suction power is effectively being used.

True. This is really the best feature - a simple solution with a big impact.

 

[VanguardAudioLabs]

I am sooo glad, you recommended the SS-02!! This thing is just perfect for my needs, tiny, sturdy and powerful. And the price is a no-brainer: under 20 bucks. Wow! Amazing engineering. And this way I don't have another electronic device sitting around on our living room table in need of a power socket. My wife is really thankful

The best thing is, that it's silicon tube "nose" tightly sits on your soldering pad (as long as it is small enough to be fully enclosed) - or on the rear of it - and so all or at least most of the suction power is effectively being used.

It really is the best. I’ve had a couple desoldering irons, the bulbs, the wick, the standard blue pumps…nothing beats the SS-02 yet. The silicon nose is indeed awesome. I can pull 3 and 4 leg components with that thing no sweat. And cleaning it is a snap, too.

 

[Bill Wilson]

Have been using a Haco 936 for the past 15 yrs. very satified.

 

[jp8]

Good pair of reverse tweezers are gold

I can second that, if only to hold and stabilize PCBAs while soldering to them. I like the ones with ceramic tips best to that end.

as well as a Japanese SS-02 solder sucker. That thing is incredible. I've tried multiple desoldering stations, multiple solder suckers, solder wick, and nothing beats the SS-02.

Am I the only one who hates this solder sucker? Too small for my hands. And my hands are not that big... Recoil was mentioned, but other solder suckers can have that issue too. But worst: the suction tube clogs after each 2nd or 3d suction. To me, this a design flaw: the silicon tube is pushed over the metal pipe, causing the sucked-up solder to come into contact with the metal pipe, where it immediately solidifies and clogs the tube and pipe. The only thing I like is the silicon tube which improves the vacuum during suction.

All the solder suckers that I know of, except the bellows types, follow the archetype of a tube with a release buttom somewhere at the top or middle of the tube. The button is operated with the thumb, often causing the sucker to make a small sideways movement and causing a failed suction movement. If you were even able to keep the tip steady in the right place to begin with... Why aren't there any solder suckers with the release button near the tip and which you hold with the pencil grip? It is a well known fact that this gives the best control over the object you want to position and maneuver with your hand. Or does anyone know of such a solder sucker? I'd rush out to buy one immediately.

Jan

 

[Johnny1234]

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?!

Chemtronics solder wick is great and under $50.