Soldering Technique
Posted: Sun 06/09/19 7:29 am
9 times out of 10, problems with amp projects are due to solder technique or lead dress.
Here's some tips to improve your solder technique:
Whenever possible, you want a mechanical connection in addition to the solder joint's intermetallic bond. This looks different depending on the type of solder joint.
For a solder lug, bend the lead around the lug so that it can hold itself in place before you solder.
On a turret, make a J shaped hook. If connecting more than one wire to the turret, the standard is to keep the J hooks facing the same direction.
Solder joints should be shiny, and you should usually be able to see the shape of the wire in the joint.
Here's a great (ancient) video showing good solder technique with turrets:
https://youtu.be/Mrhg5A1a1mU
Here's some more with other terminal types:
Cup terminals: https://youtu.be/_GLeCt_u3U8
Bifurcated Terminals: https://youtu.be/hvTiql-ED4A
Hook Terminals: https://youtu.be/sN3V8hMiUb4
Component Soldering: https://youtu.be/AY5M-lGxvzo
If you have too much free time, here's a playlist of their videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837
Don't forget to turn off the projector when you're done.
Thanks,
Josh
Edit: Here's a video I made soldering a couple turrets to a PCB I designed: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu_GB9_A2CC/
Here's some tips to improve your solder technique:
Whenever possible, you want a mechanical connection in addition to the solder joint's intermetallic bond. This looks different depending on the type of solder joint.
For a solder lug, bend the lead around the lug so that it can hold itself in place before you solder.
On a turret, make a J shaped hook. If connecting more than one wire to the turret, the standard is to keep the J hooks facing the same direction.
Solder joints should be shiny, and you should usually be able to see the shape of the wire in the joint.
Here's a great (ancient) video showing good solder technique with turrets:
https://youtu.be/Mrhg5A1a1mU
Here's some more with other terminal types:
Cup terminals: https://youtu.be/_GLeCt_u3U8
Bifurcated Terminals: https://youtu.be/hvTiql-ED4A
Hook Terminals: https://youtu.be/sN3V8hMiUb4
Component Soldering: https://youtu.be/AY5M-lGxvzo
If you have too much free time, here's a playlist of their videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL926EC0F1F93C1837
Don't forget to turn off the projector when you're done.
Thanks,
Josh
Edit: Here's a video I made soldering a couple turrets to a PCB I designed: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu_GB9_A2CC/