What kind of solder?

[Hdale85]

Was wondering what kind of solder you guys use? I was thinking about the dayton silver solder.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=370-038&scqty=2

And I've been looking for a decent but cheap soldering station and was pointed to this.

http://www.web-tronics.com/cispdeesdsas.html

Anyone got better suggestions for either of these?

[joetama]

Iron wise I only use Weller, they seem to always work for me with out having any issues. I have a different solder sucking station at work but it always gets clogged and the glass tube inside of it has broken about 5 times now.

Solder wise usually just use plan-jane Radio Shack stuff in my tool bag or Kester solder, unless I'm doing something really special.

[Ludvig]

I was thinking about the dayton silver solder.

Generally speaking, try to avoid silver solder since these have higher melting temperature than ordinary Sn/Pb solder. The higher soldering temperature put more temperature stress on the components you are soldering.

[Glen B]

Was wondering what kind of solder you guys use? I was thinking about the dayton silver solder.

Anyone got better suggestions for either of these?

Cardas quad-eutectic solder is all I use.

http://www.cardas.com/content.php?area=faqs&content_id=6&pagestring=Cable+Materials

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

[BobEllis]

If you think you might be soldering in a few years, buy a pound or two of your favorite lead bearing solder. It's about to get pretty scarce.

I'm a run of the mill solder user, too. I've never tried Cardas, but Radio Shack silver bearing solder didn't seem to make an audible difference. It may be a bit stronger physically, but I've never had a problem with 60/40 speaker solder joints in 30+ years.

[Hdale85]

Well the weller soldering stations are prettys expensive. PE has one for like 50 bucks though which isnt too bad.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=372-120

Donno what you think of this one? Is it worth the extra money? And im building an amp. The cardas stuff is really expensive. How far will a gram of it go? cause its 20 bucks for a gram but like 100 for 1lb.

[JonMarsh]

That's a nice hobbyist iron, but for myself I use a true temperature controlled Weller soldering station. In comparison to what I've spent on wood working tools, and considering I build amplifiers and other electroncis, it's a no-brainer.

Solder- like GlennB, I'm a quad eutectic, not neceesarily because of "sound", but because it's almost impossible to make a slurried cold solder joint, due to the four metal alloy composition and it's solidifying all at once at one temperature. Highly recommended, I only have two 1 lb spools, so I'm buying more soon.

[Hdale85]

Yea i dont know if I'll be soldering enough in the near future to justify spending 100 bucks on a spool of solder

[Dotay]

Check out this thread for a link to the Cardas solder for half of what most places sell it for. The thread also has a link to the soldering station I purchased along with some great tips for those of us who are n00bs to the soldering world. :T

[Hdale85]

Well im in no means a noob to soldering But just dont have a ton of money at the momment I've been soldering for years.

[Dotay]

Well im in no means a noob to soldering But just dont have a ton of money at the momment I've been soldering for years.

Sorry for the assumption ops:, but there are still good links to some of the supplies you're looking for.

[dyazdani]

That's a nice hobbyist iron, but for myself I use a true temperature controlled Weller soldering station.

What temperature do you use for most work (PCBs and such)? Mine is temperature controlled, but I don't really know where to set it, I feel like it often takes too long to heat the joint properly. I usually have it set around 400 C.

[ThomasW]

Jon uses a Weller WTCPT solder station. Temp is controlled by the special tips. Temps are fixed at 600, 700, or 800 degrees depending on which tip is being used

[joecarrow]

Our EEs use the temperature controlled Weller on most of our surface-mount rework. We had one guy who insisted on getting a Metcal station, and that puppy cost well over $800. I tried it out a few times when I was building a 41hz AMP1 digital amplifier.

I definitely noticed the difference with the $800 station, versus the $100ish temp controlled Weller- but it was hardly useful for most of the stuff I was doing.

I find that 400 C is about the right temperature; but sometimes it's really rough when you're soldering to a ground plane, or to a large componenet like a crossover inductor.

For crossovers, I have a switchable 20W/40W Radio Shack iron.

Sorry, that got really far off topic! To bring it back a bit, we use flux free solder (not silver) on our boards where I work, and we apply a low-residue liquid flux. They sell flux pens, and these are pretty handy. We only do this because we have a really sensitive analog section that gets whacked out by flux residue, also there are concerns about long-term corrosion. Nothing a good isopropyl alcohol rinse can't fix- but it saves time.

[Tommythecat]

You should be able to use from 375-425C (or 700-800F). That's right around where I set my temperature when i use 60/40 solder. Haven't tried the silver stuff yet.

BTW, please do yourself a favor and throw away any sponges that come with your solder kit/station. Hot iron - -> cold water? How do you think they sell so many tips? Use a rough paper towel(brown stuff) or rough tissue.

I'd rather get the Weller 35W iron and then someday go for the Weller station when you can afford it.

[TacoD]

I prefere Sn/Pb solder, cheap and you get good joints.

It is a shame it's forbidden in the near future in Europe. There is a Dutch company making electrical installations for ships, which say that Sn/Pb solder is mechanical superior to any other solder they tried (They are lobbying to keep this type of solder, otherwise they cannot keep up their high quality standards).

[Mudjock]

I started out with the radioshack station Joe mentions (about $20). It blew up just before my last solder joint on my DIY Iowa 2004 project (the crossover on one speaker actually has a wire nut to this day 8O). I replaced it with a Weller WES50 that I found on ebay, which is night-and-day superior to the RS unit.

As for solder, I like the basic Kester stuff (I have used 60-40 or the 2% silver content). The company I work for used to be a sister division to Kester, so I have actually toured their facility and talked to their engineers - I am comfortable with them.

I have used the RS lead-free solder for audio connectors. It works fine as long as you can supply enough heat (i.e. not the RS soldering station for big, bulky connectors). In some situations, the amount of heat needed might be risky for components, but I would think it is safe for passive crossover work.

[Hdale85]

WOW 38 bucks for 1lb of the cardas solder :-D

http://www.soniccraft.com/products/connections/solder/cardas.htm

But has anyone orderd from here before? i could deffinately probably handle a 38 dollar 1lb spool especially if its that good Jon Marsh where do you order yours from?

[ThomasW]

Jon and I both get our Cardas solder from SonicCraft. That's why I posted the link in the other thread

It's excellent solder, highly recommended ... :T

[Hdale85]

Its so much cheaper the diycable....Its like 101 dollars at diycable which is crazy. But 38 bucks is reasonable

Thomas did you order that soldering iron that was in that thread that was linked to? the 35 dollar one the same one thats in the top of this page? I saw several people said they orderd one. If so what did you think of it? Perform well?

[ThomasW]

No I've had a pair of Weller WTCPT solder stations for forever, so I'm set.

[Hdale85]

Yea i just dont have that much money at this very moment I'm still waiting to see how much these amp boards and parts are going to cost from this guy that has them left over from a group buy. Thats going to depend a lot on how much i can spend on a soldering station and what not.

[JonW]

OK, this is a good thread. I think I'll buy a pound of that Cardas solder for building my first crossovers.

Question:
I don't know the first thing about electronics. Trying to learn to make my first crossovers. I've got a cheapo 30 watt soldering iron:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062758&cp=&pg=2&origkw=soldering+iron&kw=soldering+iron&parentPage=search

It served me well for making my sub cables. And if I never use it again, that's fine. It doesn't owe me a cent. If I use the Cardas fancy solder and am only making crossovers, should I spring for a Weller soldering iron/station or will the cheap iron I have work OK for the job? I'm pretty sure I know what the answers will be, but I thought I'd ask before spending $150. Thanks.

[joecarrow]

I think if you're just making passive crossovers, the existing iron will work... but if the solder isn't melting and flowing properly, don't be afraid to admit defeat and upgrade.

It's hard, I know, to stop in the middle of a project an get a new tool- but chances are good that you'll make it through your crossover without needing to spend the money. If you're not getting a good joint and you end up cooking a capacitor due to overheating... well then, ouch!

[ThomasW]

Something like this is fine for most people's needs.

Link not available

[Hdale85]

BobEllis Has the soldering station at the top of this thread thats 35 bucks and he says it works graeat, the other thread also said its identicle to the hako (i believe it was that or somthing simaler) soldering station which costs like 90 bucks. I'm not sure which i'll order as I'd like to get the well just not sure i'll have that much extra

[JonW]

Something like this is fine for most people's needs.

Link not available

Hey, that one is quite cheap. Looks like 40W. So maybe my 30W one is close enough, for a weekend guy like myself. If opinion states otherwise, $50 shipped ain't bad. Thanks.

[ThomasW]

So maybe my 30W one is close enough, for a weekend guy like myself.

Only if you want to suffer severe scorn and ridicule from your peers...:wink:

[JonW]

Only if you want to suffer severe scorn and ridicule from your peers...:wink:

Oh, I'm used to that by now. That's why I built my massive sub. To try and get some respect from my peers. :P

OK, I'll try my 30W soldering iron and the fancy Cardas solder and see how that goes. Unless anyone advises otherwise. Although I'm not sure if I'll know it's not going well. We'll see. I guess that's why I want to try all this- to learn something new. :T

[Jed]

I'm using the Welbourne Labs solder. I've never used Cardas, but the WL solder is much easier to work with than RadioShack silver solder. Flows really nice.

[JonW]

I just ordered up a pound of that Cardas solder. We'll see how it all works with my whimpy 30W soldering iron.

[cobbpa]

Hey Jon--get to do some of that soldering yet? Did the 30 watt work or was a new iron necessary?

[TacoD]

For big solderjoints using a 30W iron and silver solder you have to heat longer. But most x-over parts can withstand that. A big soldering bit will help.

[JonW]

Hey Jon--get to do some of that soldering yet? Did the 30 watt work or was a new iron necessary?

Sorry for the slow response- been offline traveling for work...

I have not had a chance to try any soldering yet. Some of the inductors I ordered in May are still not in. Parts Express keeps sliding the arrival date back. No biggie because the cabinets aren't close to being done yet.

I hope my 30 W iron is OK. If not, I don't mind buying a better one. But I'd kind of want to do that ahead of time.

[Ethan]

You can heat coils and resistors as much as you like, but caps are more easily damaged by excessive heat.

I usually put small locking pliers on the lead when soldering sensitive components (as near to the component as possible), the pliers will dissipate the heat before it reaches the component.