[NubCake]

Hey all

As the title say, i just ordered a mini3 kit from glass jar audio, and it's gonna be my first DIY project. I'm a 17 years old student, and i have no soldering or electronics knowledge at all

Its gonna be my "learning" project

Yesterday i finally had a bunch of free time and i went to a few shops looking for the soldering tools that ill need.
After about 2 hours i finally found a shop that had exactly everything i was looking for. I'm reading a lot of useful suggestions on tangent's site, but i still can't decide which tools i should take.

1) The soldering iron. There were a bunch of different soldering irons in the shops, spacing from 15 or 20 W, i don't remember exactly, to 40W or more. There was a 20W soldering iron which looks nice, costs about 13€ and has something "ceramic" i couldn't understund. Im reading on tangent's site that i should pick a soldering iron in the 15-30W range, the smaller the part im working on the lower the W should be. Should i buy the lowest one?

2) Same goes for the solder. I'm most likely going to buy 63/37 solder, but i can't decide the diameter of the wire. Should i pick different diameter wires (for example a smaller one for SMD and larger one for the rest of the board)? Could you suggest me the diameter?

3) Should i buy some rosin flux as stated on the site?

4) Is desoldering braid enough, or should i pick a desoldering pump either?

5) I just found this cheap multimeter (or at least, it looks like a multimeter in my noobish eyes) at home. I think that my father bought it, i dunno why and i don't even know if it works to be honest >.< Is it enough or should i buy a better one?

I have already tweezers, knives etc... i bought most of them a few years ago when i used to paint soldier models. I'll try to find what the site calls "helping hands". Do i need anything else??


What scares me the most at the moment is the opamp soldering.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[size=xx-small]I apologize for my lame english, as always[/size]

 

[JamesL]

The 20w iron should be fine for general-use.. I wouldn't go any lower as it gets starts getting difficult to solder onto ground-planes and some larger components that likes to sink the heat. Watch the tip as well.. when I first started, I thought I wanted a very fine tip for more precision but now, I almost exclusively use a medium sized chisel tip.

I use .032" solder and I've never felt the need for anything smaller or bigger. I use a eutectic solder but honestly.. I probably wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference if someone switched it out for the regular 60/40.

I'd definitely get some rosin flux. The flux core in your solder will work for normal soldering but there are many situations in which some extra flux will come in handy..

I often see people that prefer desoldering braids but I prefer my desoldering pump by far.. it sucks up extra solder on pads and cleans out through-holes with ease whereas I hardly ever use my desoldering braid.

A cheap multimeter will suffice for most the things you will probably be doing.

If you do get helping hands, put some heatshrink over the alligator clips so they don't scratch up the solder mask on your boards. I only use my helping hands to grab a length of solder so it's there when I want to tin wire.. (i haven't found much other use for it though)

You should check this site out for supplies Electronix Express - Electronics for Schools and Industry (EDIT: probably won't do much good since you're in Italy)
They have some reasonable prices on all the stuff that you've listed. If you're getting just a soldering iron, and not a soldering station.. at the very least get a decent stand for it(C,D,E,F) as well.

for your mini3, you might want a needle file for the battery tabs (you can also find that at the site I recommended)

 

[particleman14]

1. . my first iron was this one Parts-Express.com:*Stahl Tools STSSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station | soldering soldering tools soldering station solder station stahl tools stssvt variable temperature soldering station soldering iron solder pcb circuit board gift ideas Aar ...
you don't need an expensive one, just one that will work, preferably adjustable but not required. 40 watts is a good general purpose iron.( just don't hold it on some parts for too long!)

2. 63/37 is good and ez to work with (google, eutectic , if you really wanna know.) .025 diameter is good unless ur doing rly small stuff then get smaller a diameter.

3. yes buy flux.. you'll want it for smd and to help heat transfer..

4. desoldering braid is bare minimum..you might consider buying a cheap solder sucker as well for getting some through hole parts removed.

5. multimeters are cheap and you don't need a really nice one to make ur measurements. but you will absolutely need one to help troubleshoot and calibrate your build. i got mine for like 10 dollars at the local shop.

for opamp smd soldering please refer here.
YouTube - Surface Mount Soldering 101
this really helped me before my 1st smd attempts.

where in Italy are you? I'm moving to Rome this september can't wait...

 

[SiBurning]

Do yourself a favor and blow a handful of euros on a small prototype breadboard with holes and copper strips or pads on one side and a bag of 50 or more resistors and get some practice before starting on the mini3. Learn a little about your iron, solder, time, heat, and how the tiniest drop of liquid flux changes things. If you can find a cheap integrated circuit or two, even better. Practice soldering, testing with the meter, desoldering, and resoldering them until they're destroyed. It won't help you with the smd parts, but it'll still teach you a lot. A small practice SDM kit with some cheap 8 pin soic would be great practice for that, and probably not cost any more than one 8 pin soic amplifier.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

Like Si says, DO NOT try building your mini 3 before you mess around with soldering some other stuff, learn how to solder first than build the kit.

When I built my mini3, I was no different than you except for the fact I had much more soldering experience. Practice before you dive in!

 

[Beftus]

Nubbie,

Soldering the opamps without added liquid flux is possible but needs some skill, thin solder wire and a pencil point style tip in the iron. Oh, and a steady hand!

Think ahead and buy a soldering iron that allows you to change tips. Ersa and Weller sell good irons. A 20 or 25 Watt iron is OK for this kind of work. 60/40 or eutectic solder will both do fine. For delicate jobs I use 0.5mm wire, for normal stuff 1mm, both rosin core, Stannol is a good brand. Do NOT buy lead free solder, it sucks big time!

A cheap multimeter is fine for now. When you're gonna do more DIY stuff you'll likely buy a better second one. Some jobs really require two multimeters!

A desoldering pump is really good to have and they don't cost a fortune. Buy one and learn to use it.

Before you start: get some soldering skills on some cheap stuff first, then make your Mini3. Good luck!

 

[alphaphoenix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefroastbeef /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like Si says, DO NOT try building your mini 3 before you mess around with soldering some other stuff, learn how to solder first than build the kit. When I built my mini3, I was no different than you except for the fact I had much more soldering experience. Practice before you dive in!

Heed the warning. I built some simple amps (cmoys) and tried the Mini3 and fried an opamp, which I then sent the kit to MixterX to cleanup my mess. I suggest starting with a cmoy before attempting the Mini3 unless you have a lot of Mini3 parts for mishaps. Good luck and may you have a steady hand.

 

[NubCake]

Thank you all for the answers!

I've found in a market a black&decker solder for 25€. It has a stand, helping hands and 2 different temperatures. Too bad that its almost impossible to find the tips!!

I'm going to grab one of the solder that i've found in the electronic shop, probably the one with the lowest number of Watts ( 20>= tho) and changeable tips.

I'll post an update once i go to the shop

Hopeful I'll find everything.

@JamesL: thanks again for the help and the links, too bad that I'm in Italy!

@particleman14 That iron looks nice and it's cheap. The only irons i can find here for the same price, don't have the stand neither the adjustable temperature.
Thanks for the youtube link

I live in Cagliari

@SiBuring, chiefroastbeef, Beftus, alphaphoenix Thank you for the tips. As i said, what scares me the most is the SMD soldering. I'll probably do as you guys suggested.
I'm going to ask the shop if they have a simple SMD kit, or i'll just bring with me the list of items that i need for a cmoy ( Using this thread. I bet that finding the RadioShack protoboard used on tangent's site here in cagliari is almost impossible.).

UPDATE: I just got back at home from a soccer match that i refereed, and i decided to phone the shop.

Guess what:
- They didn't even know what a rosin flux is, it took them 5 minutes to find out that they don't have it.
- When i asked for the 63/37 solder the guy answer was: oh yes, thats the normal solder with lead. He was most likely talking about 60/40 solder.

Damn. I'm considering ordering all those tools on the internet.
Anyway, I'm going to phone another shop here in Cagliari on Monday.