In my home the previous owner connected the wall outlets in the hobby room to the light switch. Officially not allowed but it helps as all electric stuff at the bench is powered off when switching the light off so I have not changed that.
I would change this - the light switch is not really meant to steer your bench equipment set.
Switched power strips are commercially available... 🙂
It is a sturdy type. Not the usual consumer quality. More unusual stuff is found like 3 x 80A 400V 3 phase power and a few 3 phase wall sockets.
Not forgetting to switch off stuff is best and that was rammed in our heads as a child. Still it is a kind of extra security and energy saving when going for a coffee.
The solder tips last extremely long. In fact I still use the one that came with the Weller.
Not forgetting to switch off stuff is best and that was rammed in our heads as a child. Still it is a kind of extra security and energy saving when going for a coffee.
The solder tips last extremely long. In fact I still use the one that came with the Weller.
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Interesting that solder with nickel instead of silver works better. Silver is more expensive than nickel, so why doesn't everyone switch to nickel then? Patent issues or some other disadvantage?
Problem is Marcel I’m putting down 0805 and 0.5 mm pitch IC’s. This is s new problem for me since I never used to have this issue. I guess it’s down to the solder and getting the temp right. That said, I’ll ditch the stuff I have now and try one of the recommendations from fellow diyers.
That's a great question. I don't know the answer. I do know that a lot of automated SMD assembly is done with SAC305. A quick look at Mouser reveals that a 2.5 lb bar of 100C solder will set you back $123 CAD versus $193 for SAC305, so there must be some other disadvantage. It wouldn't be a patent issue if you're just buying the solder and using it.
Nickel is a carcinogen if I remember right. So maybe it's related to workplace safety. OTOH, there isn't much nickel in the solder. There's probably more nickel in a sheet of aluminum.
I'll ask my assembly house about it.
Tom
I'd use either a tiny chisel tip (0.8 mm wide) or a bent tip for that. METCAL has some bent tips like this one:
Tom
Well, in my experience, just not. 🙂
Of course, my experience is not as great as yours and I'm fully aware of this, but I do not feel like I can share what you said.
I find the solders from SAC305 excellent and shiny, not grainy at all and the flux flows well.
Maybe it is also a question of brand, I do not know this, but it is not at all as poor as you say.
I have also recommended it to friends who have had a good experience too.
Is the 60/40 tin-lead alloy good?
Of course it is excellent, but everyone knows that, even me (as already said above). 🙄
The Cardas Quad Eutectic in my experience is unbeatable.
It contains lead, though.
Silver 3% (only) in my experience is the best replacement for the lead, and its vapors are not toxic.
I've also recommended it to friends who have had good soldering experiences.
JFYI I found the following article on AIM Solder:
"SAC305 Electropure is a high purity lead-free alloy containing 96.5% tin, 3% silver, and 0.5% copper. In solid solders, AIM’s Electropure proprietary manufacturing method reduces suspended oxides creating a low drossing, strong wetting alloy.
SAC305 is widely used in hand, selective, wave and SMT soldering. SAC305 provides durable joint strength and the lowest melting point of tin/silver/copper solders.
SAC305 alloy is available in solder wire, solder bar, and solder paste".
And there are many others articles out there with similar conclusions. 😉
https://www.superengineer.net/blog/soldering-alloy-lead-free
As long as there is air flow and filtration and you don’t eat the leaded solder then there is no real problem for a serious and careful hobby guy. Your device will have a long(er) useful life and possibly it will outlive its creator like old tube devices.
If tube devices would have been made according todays strict ROHS and from environment-friendly plastics etc. and for todays 2 year lifetime of consumer electronics we would not have a tube section here. Simple.
Just visit a recycling plant or better a plant that burns waste and see what happens there in quantities. That few electronic devices a hobbyist solders in decades are not the end of the world or the hobbyist.
If tube devices would have been made according todays strict ROHS and from environment-friendly plastics etc. and for todays 2 year lifetime of consumer electronics we would not have a tube section here. Simple.
Just visit a recycling plant or better a plant that burns waste and see what happens there in quantities. That few electronic devices a hobbyist solders in decades are not the end of the world or the hobbyist.
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Please when we talk about medical issues or chronic health risks we should be a bit more cautious with certain statements, in my humble opinion.
I'm not saying to become alarmists, but neither to minimize, because it doesn't seem like the case when we're talking about human health.
Or, it would be nice to address scientific and/or medical trials that possibly confirm certain statements, preferably published in high impact factor journals, in my humble opinion.
Just sayin'...
Empirical observation of people dying around me for the past years, indicates that walking as tourist in Amsterdam* is way more dangerous then soldering with lead. *If not drowning in a channel they get run over by a city train, get murdered or die on an overdose. Put a ban on visiting Amsterdam?
Lot of opinions here!
What’s the recommendation for
1. Lowest temperature non lead solder
2. Best lead solder
I’ll use 0.5mm for SMD and 1mm for THP
What’s the recommendation for
1. Lowest temperature non lead solder
2. Best lead solder
I’ll use 0.5mm for SMD and 1mm for THP
I usually use a temperature setting somewhere between 350 and 400 degrees Celsius, preferably on the lower side of the range, especially when soldering thin film resistors. It's higher than the specified melting temperature of the solder because the tip temperature drops as soon as you touch what you want to solder.
I once got really frustrated with my 63/37 solder. Nothing was working right. I finally figured out that there were sections of the solder that did not have rosin in the core. I peeled off about 1 meter to get to a good section, cleaned up the tip and everything worked as usual.