I built my first pedal over the weekend.

Neat -and clean :>)
Did you have to do the solder connections to the board as well?

Only time my irons's been hot in a long time is cables.
 
Neat -and clean :>)
Did you have to do the solder connections to the board as well?

Only time my irons's been hot in a long time is cables.

Yes every single bit of solder was applied by myself.

I invested in a Hakko FX888D a couple years ago for Christmas. It's a fantastic iron and I find it easier to use (much easier) than the cheap $15 radio shack ones I used to use.
 
Yes, top job!

I used a Hakko FX-951 station when I worked at J.Beam Aerials for a few weeks. Quite the best solder iron I have ever used and I have been using one, practically every day for over 50 years.

Best up till then was the Welle Magastat and I would certainly say it is the "Jaguar" of irons but the Hakko is the "Aston" (or 911,or fill in top dream motor!)

Dave.
 
very cool. being a tech the quality of tools can make a job so much better.
i dont solder, but i hear you...the globby bulky solder guns verse the fine tips, verse the super hot that can do damage versus a lower watt with the correct solder ....smooth

looks clean and sharp. $35 and some solder time! :thumbs up:
 
very cool. being a tech the quality of tools can make a job so much better.
i dont solder, but i hear you...the globby bulky solder guns verse the fine tips, verse the super hot that can do damage versus a lower watt with the correct solder ....smooth

looks clean and sharp. $35 and some solder time! :thumbs up:

Couple of misconceptions in there CC...if I may?...

Agreed, solder guns are fit only for use on cars and bikes but you cannot really have "too hot" a solder iron. To be more accurate it is the power rating that matters more than the actual tip temperature* For general PCB work, even down to SMT (!) you need a 50W iron (the Hakko I used was 80W) as a minimum.

Reason? A lower heat capacity will be cooled by the job, (pot cans but I HATE the practice! Use 20G bare wire!!) this means you will need to leave the bit on the job longer thus allowing heat to travel further and cause possible damage.

While I am here I might as well drone on about soldering in general!

Keep it clean! The tip of the bit that is. Allow to come up to temp' then tin then wipe. NOT on a damp sponge tho!

Use either brass wool or, my fave, kitchen paper. Once clean tin again and have at it.

Keep up the tin/wipe/tin regime throughout the soldering process. When done, wipe, flood the tip with solder then DO NOT wipe but allow to cool.

Al this is to keep the tip from oxidising, goes black and useless. NEVER file or sand the bit!! That will remove the Iron plating and make it very hard to use. If the tip does go black you can buy a tiny tin of cleaner but it is very aggressive so use very infrequently.

If you MUST solder to a pot tin or similar surface, file off the plating to get to the underlying copper ('er emery boards work well!) If soldering to new stripboard (Vero) or PCB scrub the copper with a PCB cleaner block or a plastic pan scourer. Once bright, clean with ISOPROPA or meths.

*Lead free solder need a higher
perature than Tin/Lead 60/40 but I would urge hobbyists to seek out the old stuff. Much easier to use and especially if you work on old kit/cable/ less chance of melting things!

Lead solder IS safe if you refrain from eating, drinking and smoking when slobbering and wash hands after. Naturally keep all such materials away from kids and pets.

Dave.
 
thats some good advice on soldering.
so a 80w and lead solder is the key to "getting in and out of there fast"?

its so easy to melt stuff on the pcb boards. usually not much room either.

guitar cables and large stuff is more forgiving. the emery board is an interesting tip too, seems I was soldering onto a can the other month and it didnt want to grab or stay in place and the wire and solder just was repelled off it.
 
thats some good advice on soldering.
so a 80w and lead solder is the key to "getting in and out of there fast"?

its so easy to melt stuff on the pcb boards. usually not much room either.

guitar cables and large stuff is more forgiving. the emery board is an interesting tip too, seems I was soldering onto a can the other month and it didnt want to grab or stay in place and the wire and solder just was repelled off it.

80W is probably overkill for a hobby iron. I was soldering PTFE cable (lovely stuff!) to screens to earth tags bolted to a bloody great 2mtr ally heat sink!

I shall let you all into a secret. I can no longer solder! Well, I only have one eye now effectively and tho' I can put a ball of paper into a bin 2 mtrs away 9 out of 10, I have real trouble at 200mm which is about where job, solder and iron should converge.

Two weeks ago I was building a breakout box to patch Mdisc, Cassette recorder and DVD player in and out of my KA6, Eight TRS jacks, couple of TRS plugs. Two years ago? Hour tops. Two weeks ago? 4 hours X2 spread over 2 days and the quality of work would get me sacked at Blackstars!

Butty,but BUT! I was better at the end of the first day and EVEN better end of second. practice you see. EVRYBODY needs to do it to develop (or regain) a skill. (the burn scars are almost gone)

Dave.
 
ecc83 describes the exact habbit I have when soldering.

Turn on, wait until it gets up to temp (750 has been fine), wipe off the solder on some brass (the hakko stuff), tin the tip, wipe again, tin once more and off to the races.

Once done wipe the tip, put a bunch of solder on it, put the pen away and turn it off.

I have NEVER EVER used the sponge Hakko includes.

Tips are $10 a piece for the hakko so I intend for the stock one to last as long as possible.

I use 60/40 solder but there are times were I use supplemental flux (radio shack again) for certain things. It's (very) rare though.

For removing solder I prefer braid personally but I imagine having a good heated sucker would me amazing. I don't like the normal silicone sucker method. I also have a cheap radio shack heated sucker but I also dislike that as well. Braid just seems to do a better job cleaning things up in my limited experience doing this.

For removing large ic chips I like chip quick, but that stuff is not cheap so I like to avoid using it whenever possible. I can't think of a time where chip quick would be needed for any pedals off the top of my head though.

I don't have a good way to vent out the fumes so I am staying away from leaded solder for now even though I know it works WAY better (and you can use lower temps with it). I do avoid breathing the fumes though by using a fan to blow them away.
 
Not heard of "Chip Quick" must look that up.

If you are replacing a lot of standard DIL chips it is worth making a "form tool". A block of brass with blind holes on the pin pitch (use a bit of gash PCB as template) and a ~6mm hole opposite to fix to a bit. I made one for HT pedal switches* and had it bolted to a dedicated Weller maganstat (I "acquired" several) with a #9 tip. You need a drill press to make them mind...

Other method is to clip the pins off the chip and then clean out the bits. I applaud the use of braid! "Cold" suckers can lift print.

And yes! Cold wet sponges cause thermal shock to the Iron plating, especially damaging at Pbfree temps.

*Another fascinating story another time?

Fume? Most of you guys must have sheds of puter fans in junk boxes? A couple of strategically placed 80mm jobbies fed from a 12Vish wall rat. Job's a good 'un. Of course, you are only spreading the fume about the room but for small jobs it soon dissipates and you should keep to a workshop. I was told by Weller techs that Pbfree fume is actually more damaging and aggressive than Lead and possibly carcinogenic (but ain't every effin' thing!) . Back at the Factory of the ***ckers I maintained some complex fume extraction systems, sucked it right out, 20mm from the tip.

Pre Blackstar of course.



Dave.
 
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Fume? Most of you guys must have sheds of puter fans in junk boxes? A couple of strategically placed 80mm jobbies fed from a 12Vish wall rat. Job's a good 'un. Of course, you are only spreading the fume about the room but for small jobs it soon dissipates and you should keep to a workshop. I was told by Weller techs that Pbfree fume is actually more damaging and aggressive than Lead and possibly carcinogenic (but ain't every effin' thing!) . Back at the Factory of the ***ckers I maintained some complex fume extraction systems, sucked it right out, 20mm from the tip.

Pre Blackstar of course.



Dave.


I know this might be surprising, but I actually don't have any computer fans kicking around. I actually built my first PC in 2016 at the age of 33.

I was using mac prior to that but they always got recycled shortly after retiring them. Never thought to pull the fans out.
 
I know this might be surprising, but I actually don't have any computer fans kicking around. I actually built my first PC in 2016 at the age of 33.

I was using mac prior to that but they always got recycled shortly after retiring them. Never thought to pull the fans out.

Aw shucks! Still, a bog standard 80 miller is cheap enough, does not need to be "be quiet"!

Dave (am I the only guy with boxes of wall rats as well?)
 
I built another one. This is a muff clone, but IMO not a very good one. I would show a gut shot but this one doesn't show all the components like the first one does. The bottom basically looks like any boss pedal, it's just solder joints and a battery area at the bottom.

Also first time painting an enclosure.

Fuzz.jpg
 
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