what kind of solder do u use for soldering mic cables?

E

earworm

New member
its time again to solder a bunch of new cables,
exactly a year ago i made me about 10 cables with real Cheap stuff,
some cables even broke down during those 12 months...

now i need more cables,and i want to improve my quality,
so i'm hunting for 50 meter canare or mogami cable,
and a load of neutrik xlr connectors

shouldn't be too hard to find this, but i wonder,
i'm using this old soldering machine that used to by my dad's,
and it still has "pretty" old solder wire in the box...

so the QUestion:

i wonder, will the kind of solder wire i use have effect on how easy i can solder all my parts? or will Cheap be good enough? (any brands or types u want to suggest? like thins without lead or something...?)

+ is Neutrik thé brand to choose, or is there stuff that is less expensive and does a real nice job.?

cheers,

earworm
 
earworm, I've got a couple articles on soldering.

Soldering 101 for Recording Studios - Part 1
http://www.digitalprosound.com/2003/09_sep/tutorials/soldering101.htm

Soldering 101 for Recording Studios - Part 2
http://www.digitalprosound.com/2003/10_oct/tutorials/soldering2.htm

Radio Shack's one of the best places to get the right kind of solder. Something like High-Tech Rosin-Core Solder .050 diameter in a 1.5 oz spool.

A lot of the lead-free solder is for art projects and not electronics.

A good place to order cables and connectors is http://www.markertek.com

Neutrik connectors are solid and I'd recommend them - also Switchcraft. Raw cable by Mogami, Canare, Belden.

Good luck with it...
 
ok, thanks,
and ehm, i didn't see it while i went trough a few "soldering threads",
so i wanna ask it now: when i buy mic cables, what does

.150 and .255 mean?

is that the thickness of the wires ?

cheers
 
When I first started soldering my own cables, I used a really cheep solder. It was a pain to work with. It was very thick, and I kept getting cold solders because I just couldn't get the flow I needed. Bought better solder, and it was incredible, how much easier, and quicker it became to make the cables.


I love my mogami. I've been using neutrik connectors, and like them alot, although they are the only connectors I've used thus far.
 
In addition to what they said, you'll probably want to use flux as well, makes solder flow and stick a lot better. I like to use the stuff that comes in a pen. Don't use the lead free stuff, it has a higher melting temp, which will just complicate things for you.
 
If you're really picky,you might try a solder having 2 to 4 percent silver (WBT,Audio Note and other brands).
...though,this stuff is pretty expensive...but it gives the neatest soldering points I ever made! :)
Good luck,
 
Cheap solder usually uses a very poorly refined / contaminated rosin flux which produces clouds of noxious smoke, just buy a decent coil that has a no-clean flux.

Under the future regulations on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (2006 in Japan, 2007 in EU, US later) we'll all have to get used to lead free solder, now might be a good time to start :)

It is usually not the soldering that fails, the wire usually cracks due to lack of sufficient clamping and support in the connector. I recomend Neutrik connectors.
 
I use a silver solder found here:

http://www.welbornelabs.com/solder.htm

Go down to welbornelabs silver solder. Very nice, professional looking joints, which are stronger than regular one. Flows very nicely, and leaves little residual. Make sure to read a solder primar on very bottom.

$28 a pound is worth every penny. I have been using the spool for over a year, and I solder... I mean it--a lot.
 
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Just to pick nits, with regard to the soldering not failing, that's only true if you know what you're doing and are careful. Many a cold solder joint fails prematurely. That said, any decent solder joint is unlikely to fail before the wire attached to it. :D

Personally, I use lead-free solder whenever I can, for safety reasons. This is particularly a good idea if you have any young kids, but it's not a bad idea in general. There are electronics-quality lead-free, rosin core solders out there, but you have to hunt for them, and sometimes traditional lead solder is more convenient, particularly when soldering to PCBs and silicon devices where overheating is a concern. (Lead-free solder typically flows at a higher temperature.)

However, if all you're doing is soldering cables... I'd say use the lead-free stuff, if for no other reason than because if it ever ends up in a landfill, you probably don't want lead leaching into your drinking water.... Just my $0.0198 (adjusted for inflation).
 
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