I'm dying to start building my gainclone kit, I've got some 60/40 on order over the internet. I was in the hardware store where I picked up some 20swg solder. It has no information on the packet but It's lead, that's all I can tell.
I've built a few things before so I can make a good joint but I've only ever used 60/40 from Farnell.
I have nothing else to solder to test apart from this gainclone kit, would you start building or wait? I can just imagine soldering and getting cold joint after cold joint, having to clean up my pristine gainclone PCB :-(.
I've built a few things before so I can make a good joint but I've only ever used 60/40 from Farnell.
I have nothing else to solder to test apart from this gainclone kit, would you start building or wait? I can just imagine soldering and getting cold joint after cold joint, having to clean up my pristine gainclone PCB :-(.
Just cut some copper wire, and solder them together .... maybe it will be a nice sculpture
If the solder you bought at the hardware store is intended for use on electronic equipment, then it's likely 60/40 solder. However, if it's intended for pipe soldering (it'll be fairly fat, 3~4 mm diameter) it doesn't have flux in it and is basically useless for electronics. I suppose you could get a flux pen and hack something together, but why bother?
~Tom
~Tom
Q 'Can you get bad quality solder?'
Firstly are you sure that this is electrical solder and not plumbing solder?
If it is 60/40 solder it should melt at a low temperature -If it is lead free solder it will require a higher temperature.
The real difference between 60/40 solders is in the flux. A good quality solder will wet the components easily, and leave a residue that is easy to clean, or be safe to leave on the solder joint.
The more expensive electrical solders tend to have some silver content along with the tin / lead.
Firstly are you sure that this is electrical solder and not plumbing solder?
If it is 60/40 solder it should melt at a low temperature -If it is lead free solder it will require a higher temperature.
The real difference between 60/40 solders is in the flux. A good quality solder will wet the components easily, and leave a residue that is easy to clean, or be safe to leave on the solder joint.
The more expensive electrical solders tend to have some silver content along with the tin / lead.
Look for SN63 eutectic alloy solder, 63/37. It will work better. It will have a very clean transition from liquid to solid. Other eutectic alloys are SN62 with silver and SN96 with silver and no lead. SN96 needs much more heat since its a higher temperature melting point.
There are a number of fluxes for electronics. The activated fluxes usually need to be cleaned off of the circuit after use in critical applications. There are water soluble fluxes for production environments that work real well but must be washed.
ROHS stuff is a pain and life is easier if you can avoid it. However lead is considered the modern equivalent of Kryptonite and has people really scared. However its still used in avionics and military applications where failure isn't tolerated.
I was told years ago that Ersin solder uses more corrosive rosin since its from European trees. That may be total shuck but it seems Kester was less likely to have problems if left on the circuit.
There are a number of fluxes for electronics. The activated fluxes usually need to be cleaned off of the circuit after use in critical applications. There are water soluble fluxes for production environments that work real well but must be washed.
ROHS stuff is a pain and life is easier if you can avoid it. However lead is considered the modern equivalent of Kryptonite and has people really scared. However its still used in avionics and military applications where failure isn't tolerated.
I was told years ago that Ersin solder uses more corrosive rosin since its from European trees. That may be total shuck but it seems Kester was less likely to have problems if left on the circuit.
For many years I worked my way through a reel of Ersin Multicore solder. All OK, soldering fine. When it ran out I bought a reel from Maplin, their own brand solder - much cheaper. Soldering suddenly became more difficult, and the tip of the iron seemed to disappear more quickly. It's good enough for big stuff, like point-to-point valve circuits, but I had to buy another reel of Ersin for PCB work.
I now know that you get what you pay for; all 60/40 solders/fluxes are not the same. It is unlikely that a hardware store will sell good quality solder for electronics, although I suppose it is possible.
I now know that you get what you pay for; all 60/40 solders/fluxes are not the same. It is unlikely that a hardware store will sell good quality solder for electronics, although I suppose it is possible.
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