[Br777]

Hi all
 
i would like to know how ya'll feel about the following questions.  please explain your answers if necessary
relate these questions to someone who is only going to be making cables and LOD's
 
thanks a lot.
 
Solder:
-rosin core Y/N?
-lead or no lead?
-with flux or without?
-any benefits to certain "gauge/thickness" of solder over others?
 
soldering
-ideal soldering temperature
-ideal solder iron wattage?
-variable temp necessary? if so why?
 
shring tubing
-what to you use to shrink your heat shrink tubing
-some people put heat shrink on the outside of their connectors, usually overlapping onto the wire ends... a good example is ALO twag cables
what is the purpose of this? asthetic or something else?
-do you ever put heat shrink over the inner area of a mini jack covering all the solder joints as way of added strain releif?
 
thanks again.
 
 
 
 

 

[Magedark]

Solder:
-rosin core Y/N? Yes
-lead or no lead? Lead
-with flux or without? Yes
-any benefits to certain "gauge/thickness" of solder over others? Smaller is easier to work with, larger for large parts. For your case, small is fine.

soldering
-ideal soldering temperature? 600 F or so, if your have variable.
-ideal solder iron wattage? Weller SP23L is what I used, 25 watts.
-variable temp necessary? if so why? Not necessary. Fine tips are more important.

shring tubing
-what to you use to shrink your heat shrink tubing? Heat gun. Or hair dryer. But heat guns are better.
-some people put heat shrink on the outside of their connectors, usually overlapping onto the wire ends... a good example is ALO twag cables
what is the purpose of this? asthetic or something else? Strain relief.

-do you ever put heat shrink over the inner area of a mini jack covering all the solder joints as way of added strain releif? No, the ones I buy have built in relief.

thanks again.

 

[Br777]

thanks - that mirrors all the opinions I had. 
 
here is a good photo of the shrink tube over the connector.. clearly not for strain releif as its not touching the cable.. only thing i can gues is so they can print their name on it. (which you cant see in this photo)

 

[Uncle Erik]

I agree, too. My solder preference is Kester 60/40, rosin core. It always gets the job done.

As for an iron, I love the old Hakko 936.

And a little advice: you'll probably enjoy making cables for awhile. Then you're going to start thinking about building an amp. A good iron now will save you from upgraditis. The solder fumes will get into your head and start suggesting more projects.

Don't worry, it happens to a lot of people.

 

[Magedark]

Yes, I would advise that good iron now. You only think you're going to make cables.

 

[jr41]

 

Solder:
-rosin core Y/N? Yes
-lead or no lead? Lead. I use 63/37 solder. This is known as a eutectic blend and it essentially means the solder "sets" quicker, reducing the risk of cold joints.
-with flux or without? With flux (rosin core = with flux)
-any benefits to certain "gauge/thickness" of solder over others? I use 0.7mm. This is fairly fine, but this makes it flexible. You may benefit from having a couple of gauges of solder, depending on what you're working on.
 
soldering
-ideal soldering temperature? I typically work at 375C
-ideal solder iron wattage? I have a 35 watt iron
-variable temp necessary? if so why? It's perhaps not essential for cable work, however if you're doing fine work close to small plastic components you might be grateful for the option to turn the temp down a bit. Similarly, when working with large gauge wire the extra heat helps ensures a good joint. I use Aoyue 937, which is basically a Hakko clone.
 
shring tubing
-what to you use to shrink your heat shrink tubing? I use a 1500W heat gun, on low setting (350C). This makes short work of the job with good results.
-some people put heat shrink on the outside of their connectors, usually overlapping onto the wire ends... a good example is ALO twag cables
what is the purpose of this? asthetic or something else? I'm not sure. If I'm using something like techflex sleeving and the jack cover hole isn't big enough to slide over the cable and sleeving I'll use heat-shrink tubing over the sleeving and jack cover to hold the sleeving in place.
-do you ever put heat shrink over the inner area of a mini jack covering all the solder joints as way of added strain releif? I put tubing over every joint made to reduce the risk of a short circuit.
 
thanks again.