Tid Bit's of Helpful Hints or Beneficial Habits in Your Builds Anybody?

[djmiyta]

Just in case your like me and love tidbits of "Hey I wish I thought of that" or "that's a great idea" or not so great I think someone somewhere can benefit. I do all the time. For instance here I was told I should clean my nasty ass board with rubbing alcohol ( he didn't really say nasty but ). I've been building for years and never heard of that. Since then any troubleshooting is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much easier with a clean board just a great simple idea

I use sockets for everything modifiable on all (almost) my builds and since I swap out parts different lead thickness can make reusing the sockets difficult mainly when the sockets holes are too big (actually for me that's the only problem) and so what I do is melt some solder onto my hot iron and spread a thin layer of lovely melted solder on each leg /lead I'm putting in the socket if its too thick a few strokes of a needle file and your golden.
Some times the original part is the best and in swapping parts I liked the first one only now the socket holes from the previous swap are too big and the original part just swims in the holes sooooo.......

 

[giovanni]

I got a cheap Stahl soldering station about 12 years ago and never looked back. I’m still using the tip it came with! I may have got lucky with this one because I never felt the need to get a different one. One thing I do miss is better lighting and maybe magnifying glasses or lens.

 

[fig]

But the Hakko just aesthetically looked to me like it came from a Blues Clues toy set....... Both were $105.

Thanks for sharing! That's a nice station. A 20ms recovery clock, and please let us know how the calibration function works.

Someone did a graphic of an 888-D with a Fisher-Price name/logo. Though it looks like it walked off a cartoon set it was a solid station for me.

I know some very experienced builders ( like @Barry ) who swear by Weller. I had an old Weller iron in my toolbox for 30 years but never used it because the only time I had tried to solder I destroyed the two items I was hoping to attach, and managed to burn my hand. Don't worry, the iron was fine. I have learned a bit since then. I've convinced myself of that anyway.

If you get a chance, try a chisel tip (like the small one in the Yihua #1200 tip kit) for comparison with the screw tip. Experimentation is key to discovery.

 

[Barry]

I use a conical tip almost exclusively, I put the side of the tip against the lead and the tip on the pad, bring the solder in from the other side of the lead and boom you're done

 

[giovanni]

I use a conical tip almost exclusively, I put the side of the tip against the lead and the tip on the pad, bring the solder in from the other side of the lead and boom you're done

Samesies.

 

[pcb rookie]

and I realized that I'd been soldering at way too high a temp previously.

What temp have you settle for?

 

[MichaelW]

I use a conical tip almost exclusively, I put the side of the tip against the lead and the tip on the pad, bring the solder in from the other side of the lead and boom you're done

Maybe it’s because I was using cheap Amazon tips haha, I’ve found the quality to be all over the map.

 

[MichaelW]

What temp have you settle for?

The formula on the Kester data sheet suggests 650 for the #44 solder but Im running mine at 700 degrees, I don’t like the way some of my joints look at 650. I tend to reflow every joint anyway just to be double sure.

 

[MichaelW]

If you get a chance, try a chisel tip (like the small one in the Yihua #1200 tip kit) for comparison with the screw tip. Experimentation is key to discovery.

Do you mean like these?

These are what I'm actually using, I may be calling them "screw driver tips" incorrectly.

This particular brand "Kzerlly" seems to be better quality than some of the other "strangely named" soldering tip brands....(Like ShineNow, MetCal, SolderFun....)

 

[fig]

Yep, that's the ones! They are probably called many things. I just got one of those but the tip is angled.
I use the conical as well. I've got a spade tip for removing ICs but thankfully haven't had to use it yet. I'd rather do it on purpose at least once before having to.

 

[Feral Feline]

… But the Hakko just aesthetically looked to me like it came from a Blues Clues toy set....... Both were $105.

You don’t have to get the Fischer Prize version…

 

[andare]

The Hakko is too expensive for me. I also hate the interface. They couldn't use a simple knob?

I've been eyeing the Yihua 939 for a while. Seems great with the auto cool down and auto shut off functions. I take many breaks when building pedals to prepare and populate small batches of components. My analog soldering station sits there burning the tip. Plus it takes several minutes to come to temperature. The 939 takes 30 seconds.

I've seen some Stamos stations as well. No affiliation with the actor apparently.

Do you gurus recommend 75W or is 60W enough?
My current station is a 48W cheapie and it struggles to keep hot.

 

[Feral Feline]

I had out-grown my simple solder-pencil and wanted to upgrade to a solder-station. I looked at Weller, Hakko and a few other lesser-known name brands. Couldn't afford what I really wanted, so started looking at some Chinese brands. I'd narrowed down my research to a few reputed companies/brands, Yihua was in the running for me, glad to hear MichaelW's had a good experience with it, but then by chance I had to interview a company that made solder-stations, DMMs and other related doohickies etc for an industry business mag...

I bought a cheap knock-off from that company, got a "good" deal but the iron didn't match-fit the station and, and ... to cut the story short it was garbage and they were a nightmare to deal with trying to get it sorted. It was never sorted and I was so fed up I gave it to my friend who builds/repairs amps, I knew he could McGyver it to work, but I wanted nothing more to do with it.

I found an Italian dealer that had the silver Hakko on sale, but wouldn't ship to HK (Hakko has dealer territories, I guess, and I could've bought more local but didn't want the Blue-Yellow), so a friend in the EU ordered it and forwarded it to me.

I've ditched MFX pedals with push-buttons instead of knobs, I don't get on well with them. Nonetheless...
The latest Hakkos have a better user interface (but don't share the 888D's tips — another tip series); the new ones were coming out about the same time I was buying mine but still not available in a lot of markets... I decided to forgo the better user interface and take advantage of all the dealers dumping the 888D — so far, I haven't minded having no knobs, it works well and the tip selection is great.

 

[cdwillis]

That Hakko FX-888D soldering station is what I use. The only mild complaint I have is the interface, but I don't really adjust the temperature enough for it to be an issue. The tip it came with is holding up perfectly and it heats up fast. It seemed like a lot of money compared to the simple Weller pen I was using, but it really is worth it if you're planning on continuing to build pedals. The Fisher Price color scheme has grown on me lol.

 

[grabo99]

I like using these connectors for power and I don't think I can ever go back. I like to use the "innie" power jacks and in my beginner days I'd constantly have to desolder to take the PCB out of the enclosure. I want to buy hundreds of these.

 

[MichaelW]

I like using these connectors for power and I don't think I can ever go back. I like to use the "innie" power jacks and in my beginner days I'd constantly have to desolder to take the PCB out of the enclosure. I want to buy hundreds of these.

Oh man TOO FUNNY I literally JUST ordered these from Amazon about 30 minutes ago! Hahah....

 

[djmiyta]

I like using these connectors for power and I don't think I can ever go back. I like to use the "innie" power jacks and in my beginner days I'd constantly have to desolder to take the PCB out of the enclosure. I want to buy hundreds of these.

Almost what I’m using these days except they’re just male to female bullet type connections for exact same reasons not so much a problem these days but still it’s really nice not having anything to desolate to take a board out so regardless I do it on every build. I get irked pulling out an old build and seeing it not done nowadays.

 

[swelchy]

Probably nothing new to most but new to me... I've struggled finding the trick to get ic's to pop right in without fiddling... found this on thingiverse and printed it.... next level..lol.. I run the ic down the jig and they pop right into the sockets now.

 

[giovanni]

Probably nothing new to most but new to me... I've struggled finding the trick to get ic's to pop right in without fiddling... found this on thingiverse and printed it.... next level..lol.. I run the ic down the jig and they pop right into the sockets now.View attachment 24923

 

[swelchy]

View attachment 24943

lol.. well if you like it that much I'll print you one and mail it to you for nothing.. PM me if you want.

 

[peccary]

Speaking of painter tape, if you drill your own enclosures you must cover them with tape before doing so otherwise the metal scraps will chip the finish.

In my experience tape has made drilling more difficult. I tended to get aluminum chips that would stick under the tape and scratch the paint and just kind of generally gum things up.

I have a soft paintbrush that I use to wipe the enclosure after drilling each hole which works for me.