Larrystick
87 posts
Dec 09, 2014
3:52 AM
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Many of my customers buy elements only, and build their mics by themselves. A number of these folks admit they, "don't know how to solder very well." Well neither did I. In fact I only learned a scant few years ago.
The web is just filled with great information on soldering. I have to say, though, I found the following links about as useful as could be. The guy behind them is an Aussie named David Jones, and he is quite weird. But he knows his electronics stuff. These videos are comprehensive and mildly entertaining in a geeky sort of way. His site is eevblog.com
So, if you want to see the tools and techniques of soldering, I recommend taking the time to watch these videos.
How to Solder well:
EEV Blog Sodering Tutorial Part 1: http://youtu.be/J5Sb21qbpEQ
Part 2: http://youtu.be/fYz5nIHH0iY
Though Weller is the biggest vendor of soldering stations, Here's the Hako station I ended up buying. (after watching the above videos),:
Hako FX-888 or FX888D. About $90 on Amazon.
The soldering tip I use:
Hako Chisel Tip which, in my limited experience, gets a bit more heat to microphone wires.
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 For questions mail james@simplemics.com
Stickman from walkthatwalk.org
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TBird
84 posts
Dec 10, 2014
4:18 PM
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Thanks larrystick! I haven't watched these yet, but I will. I'd like to ad this (http://www.fullcompass.com/product/298120.html) connector to the end of a XLR cable as a means of adding an on/off switch to my 57 mic, but I have some things to learn first. These videos should send me on my way.
T.Bird
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Greg Heumann
2909 posts
Dec 11, 2014
7:58 PM
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I'll save y'all some time. If you're interested in soldering components onto circuit boards, there is a small bit of useful information in these videos. The skills for soldering in any way related to mic building or point to point wired amp repair are NOT shown or discussed here.
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/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
Bluestate on iTunes
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PropMan
26 posts
Dec 11, 2014
9:01 PM
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I built my first Heathkit hifi in the late 60's when I was in the 7th grade after a bunch of smaller projects. Soldering is like anything else- it's all touch and feel and practice. And like anything else, once you've got the skill you'll never forget how.
If you're serious about learning to do it well, buy a decent soldering station- I have a Weller but the Japanese ones are even better.
Go slowly, keep everything clean and use as little solder as possible about 1/10 what you think you need! And heat the parts first and then apply the solder. Practice makes perfect. No video or book will help explain the "feel" like spending an afternoon practicing.
And don't even try to solder a crystal element until you know what you're doing and know what a heat sink is!
And don't wear short pants!!
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Mahcks
23 posts
Dec 12, 2014
1:50 PM
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More of a cautionary tale that may or may not be relevant:
Be mindful of future repairs. I had a large project a few years ago. It was a pretty basic music visualizer. I assembled the display from LED matrix packs and ICs. I used blank perf boards for most of it. I packed the rest (pots, jacks, power circuit, ADCs) between the perf boards. All of it was point-to-point soldered using the least amount of wire that I could.
It really is something I'm proud of. I spent hundreds of hours designing and assembling this beautiful ball of a circuit. Then one day I set it down wrong, and it got an intermittent short some where. It's probably in the display, but it doesn't matter because I didn't plan for repairs. Nearly every wire is the same color, there's hot glue covering leads. I can't trace anything or test anything. Now it's an intermittent sculpture.
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Larrystick
88 posts
Dec 13, 2014
10:32 AM
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Greg makes a good point about the EEV Blog soldering tutorial. Too much geared to printed circuit boards. So I hunted around for a soldering video that would be more useful for us harp players.
Here's one that goes over how to properly solder a guitar cable and 1/4" jack. Something we've all needed at some time.
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For questions mail james@simplemics.com
Stickman from walkthatwalk.org
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mlefree
239 posts
Dec 15, 2014
5:16 AM
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Soldering isn't rocket science. Here's some general information.
The biggest thing for novices to avoid other than creating shorts by using far too much solder is the problem of cold solder joints. They look fine but the proper heat to melt the solder was not achieved so there is not a good electrical connection.
To help avoid cold solder joints never apply the solder to the iron's tip. Instead, apply heat to both components and apply the solder to the area where you want the joint and wait until it melts onto both components into a little puddle and remove the heat, maintaining the position of the leads (or whatever) until the solder hardens.
Re: Solder wick. Even better is a solder sucker.
Amazon solder sucker
Another thing that can be helpful depending on what you are soldering is a "Third hand" device.
Harbor Freight Helping hands
Also, some sort of solder flux is needed. Flux etches the metal parts to help the molten solder adhere. You can either use a can of flux and flux-free solder or a solder with an acid core. You manually apply flux to metal parts to be soldered. Also useful depending on the project is solder resist. You apply this to areas where you don't want the solder to stick. Barring flux, or before you use flux is the idea of prepping the pieces by sanding or scraping any oxidation or foreign material off the areas of the metal you want to solder. You want bare copper wire and or lead traces on a circuit board.
Lastly, it is always a good idea to test your new solder joint with an ohm meter to make sure you've created a good electrical connection.
Have fun and don't burn yourself.
Michelle
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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
Last Edited by mlefree on Dec 15, 2014 5:25 AM
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mlefree
241 posts
Dec 16, 2014
10:48 AM
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Thanks, Joe, I misspoke.
Resin core it is.
Michelle
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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
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