Back to: Developing Distributed Environmental Sensors
This video is a great guide:
Review- the five steps are:
- Heat up your iron
- Make sure your connection is mechanically stable
- Clean your iron
- Apply heat to one side, and solder to the other
- Check & Inspect the joint
And step 0: SAFETY
- check the irons cabling
- make sure tip is secured and in good shape (before plugging in)
- make sure sponge is damp BEFORE using it to clean the tip 😉
- safety glasses
- work area check – cables are free to move, and won’t be pulled into the hot zone while working
- type of solder (leaded vs lead free)
- leaded solder is easier to work with, but has lead in it
Some More Tips
Be careful not to overheat components. Start with a maximum of a five-second count for heating and a couple more for applying the solder. Adjust this as you get to know the soldering iron and the circuit board you’re working on. (E.g. a 4 layer board with big copper areas can draw away more heat than a single sided board.)
For multi-pin components try staggering the order of soldering pins. E.g. start at one corner, then do the opposite corner and work in alternating directions. This also helps keep things physically seated nicely.
