To Voyage to the Delta Quadrant (for the third time....) :)

zathros said:
Trick to soldering is lots of flux, sanding what you intend to solder, and lots of heat, and as little of solder as possible. The mechanical connection dictates the final solder. I try to wrap one aire around another, so I can slip shrink tubing on (which goes on first), and get a nice wire like solder, insulated. Of course, this will all be hidden, so who care!! :)
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I'm a Master Plumber with 30 years experience, and while copper soldering, and brazing are second nature to me, electrical soldering drives me batty. With plumbing solder you want just enough flux to help the solder flow, and high heat, but I can never get the balance of solder, flux and heat right to do electrical connections. I burn the wire, or the solder falls off, or some such... I am trying to save to get a good Weller soldering station again, they actually do seem to help me solder better, but the one I had was lost in a move...
 
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My Dad is a retired electrician, he taught me how to solder. In addition to what Zathros has said I "tin" the connection wires before making the connection. You basically coat the wire with molten soldering flux prior to making the joint. The connections are much stronger and you use less solder when making the connection.
 
Get those alligator clip third hands to hold it in position and it also sounds like your iron is too hot. Practicing helps, and youtube tutorials.
 
Most people use too much solder, or let it move before it solidifies, ruining the matrix. The trick is to Tin the wire, hold the end of your solder tip on the trace, next to what you are soldering, then touch the wire, it will melt instantly. You only need a little. With wires I use shrink tubing that has epoxy inside. I slide that over the wire, out of the way, the I usually use very thin wire for the applications we do here, so I twist the round each other, touching the solder iron to the bare wire, adding a tiny bit of solder will bring them together instantly. When it cools off, you then slide the shrink tubing over, and heat that with the Solder Iron, and it shrinks to size, the epoxy keeps out anything that might oxidize the connection.

What master plumbers do with solder is an art form. I have seen boilers repaired, two 1/4" copper plates soldered together that could not be removed. That kind of work is way above my pay grade. ;)
 
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I prefer solder wire that has flux inside it. I didn't know that when I started and everything became easy when I switched over. The alligator clamps on a posable stand was another great help. A long thin steel probe to nudge and hold pieces works good also.
 
spaceagent-9 said:
I prefer solder wire that has flux inside it. I didn't know that when I started and everything became easy when I switched over. The alligator clamps on a posable stand was another great help. A long thin steel probe to nudge and hold pieces works good also.
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Solder with Flux in it is all you are supposed to use with electronics, or the circuit board, or chip gets to hot. The other kind of solder is for plumbing. Another thing is wire gauge. If you look a the width of the LED wires, that is the size wire you can use for the LED's. You can actually go even thinner, as the forward voltage drop to turn them on is so little.

Many circuit board components these days are actually glued on with conductive expoxy. :)
 
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Many circuit board components these days are actually glued on with conductive expoxy. :)
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They even have a metallic ink pen that you can draw circuit paths. Cardboard for the circuitboard is used to draw on, and you just stick the chips in and draw the path to the pins, then out to the motors or leds.
 
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I have one of the circuit pens for making a circuit board on paper. I need to have a little fun with it and learn how I can fully use it for what I want and need.
 
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Graphite is a horrible conductor, and circuits made with graphite require a lot of amps to work. LEDs use a forward bias of up to 3.5 volts, and very little amperage. To have to use a 9 volt battery, when a 1.5 volt battery would work shows how bad graphite works. The pens the lay a trace of conductive epoxy are a much better way to go and require much less electricity to run, but for long runs are expensive. I believe that's what Rhaven told me he just got. I did the graphite experiments when I was a kid, but the limitations of current loss do the resistance makes them fun, but impractical. For lighting up a model and having no wires, the conductive epoxy pens establishing the contacts, and copper trace tape, are the way to go.

Copper trace tape can be had for pennies a foot. The Kapton tape is 1/8th inch wide, you have to buy two rolls, for $6 dollars, and it is 36" long, each roll. That's eater than wires, and you use the Conductive Epoxy to attach to the components.

Imagine the clean insides of models, all the electronics hidden, and the slightest movement of a part, like turning an antennae, and the whole ship comes to life. ;)

Copper trace tape.jpg


Kapton Tape Link = https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...VzZ-zCh1gvAPkEAQYASABEgLtwfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Kapton Tape.jpg
 
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