11 Sep
2011
11 Sep
'11
11 a.m.
Top of the line units are a waste of money until you have a mastery of the
basics. Then they are a joy to use.
A soldering iron that is not good enough will be extremely frustrating,
and not worthwhile. A skilled and experienced tech should be able to
desolder using a hot rock, a non-eletric soldering iron that is heated in
a HOT fire, or a 1950s soldering pistol.
I don't know how experienced you consider me to be, all I can say is that
I've been soldering for over 30 eyars, and it now holds no fears. I don;t
worry at all about desldering an IC, soldering up a large PCB, oding SMD
rework (at least wit hthe larger components ;-)) It's just something i do.
However :
A friend of mine said that his duaghter wanted to try some electroncics.
In my box of oddments, I had some simple solder-type elecrtronic kits
(2-transistor flashing LEDs, etc) that I'd bought very cheaply when they
were disocontinued (the prices were less than that of the components, I'd
bought then to raid for parts). Anyway, the chap said he was willing to
buy some tools, so I gave them some of those kits.
I helped them wit hthe first one. What I quickly discovered was, that
having been used ot a Weller TCP for so long, even soldering simple
through-hole components on a single-sided PCB with a cheap iron was
painful. I wasn't suprised they were having difficulties. I let said girl
use my TCP for an afternoon, and she was soon making perfectly good
connecitons. The bigger problem is convincing them to buy one.
So if I have peoblems doing a god job with a cheap iron, I guess many
people do too...
But LEARNING with those handicaps is a bad idea. By analogy, automatic
transmission, automatic choke, power steering, automatic spark advance,
I believe that in the UK, if you take the driving test in a car with an
automatic transmission, you get a license to drive only cars with
automatic transimisison, but if you take the test in a car with a manual
gearbox, you can drive both manuals and automatics. But anyway
kettering style starter motor, etc. may not be
necessary for the true
expert, but they are important to reduce the number of variables WHILE
learning. AFTER a basic mastery of technique, THEN one can begin adding in
the impediments and challenges. Do NOT get started on the whole basic
idiocy of "paying one's dues" ("If it was good enough for . . .
") and/or
"if you learn with the challenges, then you will be better later".
I absolutlely agree. There are times when there are real difficulties,
and it is good to learn to overcome them. But this doesn't mean you have
to introduce aftificial difficulties. You may enjoy seeing just how much
fault-tracing you can do with minimal test gear (and it is quite fun to
be able to trace a logic fualt using a multiumeter and LED+resistor
only), but only after you know what you are doing. You amy want to lrarn
to use what'c called a 'soldering copper' in some of my older books,
effective la copper bit on a handle that you heat in a gas flame, but
IMHO only after you can use an electrically-heated soldering iron and use
it well.
An incredibly cheap Weller TCPN from a swapmeet (look for big piles of the
sickly green ones), is a good LEARNING tool. Use it until you can feel
the difference, THEN replace it with a better one.
I am not sure you will need t replace a Weller TCP unless you do a lot of
fine-pitch SMD work.
Master beginning soldering BEFORE attempting
desoldering.
My soldering was HORRIBLE until I bought BARE XT motherboards, disk
Unfortuiantely, the solder-together kits are few and far between now. And
I doubt you can get bare XT motherboards anywhere...
-tony