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--- howtosolder [2005/08/20 10:50] – Rearranged images nfg
+++ howtosolder [2019/08/27 20:45] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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   *  You should have a safe stable place to rest your iron when it's not in use. Mind the cord. Nothing sucks like the smell of burning plastic when you drop your iron onto the carpet, and putting melt-marks on your consoles is enraging most of the time.
-  *  You shoud be using very fine 60/40 rosin-core solder. 60/40 refers to the percentage of lead and tin in the solder, but I confess I don't remember which is which. The rosin core is for flavour, the melting rosin creates a smoke which is not unappealing. It also performs some other purpose, but mostly I'm convinced it just smells neat.
+  *  You shoud be using very fine 60/40 rosin-core solder, which is cheap; a lead free solder(for environmentalists) which is slightly more expensive; or 24-carat gold, which is terribly expensive. 60/40 refers to the percentage of lead and tin in the solder, but I confess I don't remember which is which. The rosin core is for flavour, the melting rosin creates a smoke which is not unappealing but will destroy brain cells. Without rosin, the solder won't stick to shit and you will quickly get angry at the fact you can't solder anything together. If you linger too long with the hot solder, the rosin will all burn away you will have this problem.
   *  Keep your iron clean. You can shake excess solder onto your desk or tile floor, it will make a dime-sized splash which you can scrape off with your fingernail when it cools in about two seconds. The rosin will burn and accumulate on your iron tip. Some people wipe the rosin off on a damp cloth or sponge, I prefer to just wipe it on my jeans. NOTE! Don't do this in the summer when wearing shorts, it hurts. Also, as my father once found out, if you're wearing synthetic slacks or dress-pants it's a bad idea to run a hot iron across your leg.
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 If you're using shrinktube, make sure you've picked tube small enough to shrink tightly against the wire. The bulges and sharp bits will hold the shrink very tightly. If you have sharp bits that are too sharp or too long you can cut them off with cutters. Slide your shrink tube onto the join, and rub the iron all over it to make it shrink.
 ==== Soldering a component to a PCB via ==
-{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via1.gif?nocache}}
+{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via1.gif}}
+{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via2.gif}}
+{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via3.gif}}
+{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via4.gif}}
 Ladies and gentlemen, meet my friend Via. Also known as a through-hole, a via connects one side of a PCB with the other, using a metal cylinder connected on both sides to an trace line or component. Occasionally you're going to want to install a new component on a PCB with a via, and this is how you do it. Note one new thing: Tinning your via is a bad, bad idea. Sucking solder out of these little holes is a massive pain in the ass, so you'll want to insert your components un-tinned.
-{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via2.gif?nocache}}
 Shown here is an Integrated Circuit (IC) but the same principles apply for any component, be it a resistor, diode or flux capacitor. Simply place the leg of the component through the hole. Typically the component will be snug against the PCB to minimize movement, but this may not always be the case. In the interest of saving space resistors are often shoved in vertically, for example.
-{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via3.gif?nocache}}
 Place your soldering iron against both the component and the via, so that both are heated, and then apply the solder. The solder should flow easily onto both parts. Note that it doesn't really matter which side of the PCB you do this on, as they're obviously connected, and the solder will often flow through the via. This makes it quite difficult to remove and re-use, so be careful - get the right component in the right hole the first time!
-{{http://www.gamesx.com/misctech/via4.gif?nocache}}
 Remove the heat, and you're done! This is possibly the easiest thing to solder. Be sure to trim those long legs on the underside of the PCB tho, typically 2-3mm is the max length for anything sticking through the PCB.