Soldering 101 Quick Vid!

[mrmugen]

Here you's go. I made a short video of soldering. I know that when I knew nothing about soldering I thought it would be a hard thing. It is just the opposite. I hope this will help someone. I found something I really enjoy....soldering.

Kevin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1j3lbnWdbo

[flyinghigh]

Looks good. How do you keep your iron clean? Mine always turns black and crusty.

[mrmugen]

I wipe it on a rag. Just an old dish rag. Make swift wipes to keep from burning it. I also dip the tip in flux to release the grime and crud easier. It works well.

Kevin

[cjg]

Great video, however, when I solder dean's on lipo's I do it one wire at a time. Baring both ends of the wires without soldering them onto a plut can lead to shorts pretty easily!

[mrmugen]

Good practice. I normally would but I didn't want the video going too long for youtube. I figured what the heck. But good point! Thanks for pointing it out. When these short out the make a mess. Make sure to do as cjg suggested.

Thanks
Kevin

[sackohammers]

Nice video, thanks for posting.

As you know... everyone's a critic. Here are my suggestions.

1) more accent. Your Yooper accent is barely there, hehe
2) try show how to do this without the soldering iron ever touching the solder (to avoid a cold solder joint)

As you verbally described, heat the wire with the iron, then apply solder to the wire and let it melt to the wire, without touching the iron.

3) when soldering the wire to the Deans - don't put the iron on the side of the connector with the wire. Heat the underside of the connector, which will heat the solder, and heat the wire. This will guarantee a proper joint. Also, it is very important not to move the wire in any way while it is cooling, it must be still until it hardens a little (1-2 seconds).

For those of you asking about how to clean the tip. The tip shouldn't be black and crusty. There are three good ways.
Just get a sponge and get it damp - not soaking. Wipe the tip against the sponge when you need to clean it. This sort of sucks because it instantly cools the tip of the iron.

Get one of those copper chore-boy pad things for scrubbing pots and pans. It doesn't need to be wet - just quickly mush your tip into it quickly a few times to scrape it clean.

The best method is to use a tip tinner. You get this the same place you get most solder. Its a little container of tinner, when your tip gets crusty, clean it a little and bury it into the tinner... it keeps the iron clean and tinned.

I don't have a vice, so I use what this guy did with pliers and a rubberband:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT18mxfGRjo
He uses some poor techniques as well, though.

All that aside, following Kevin's video will most likely get you a good solder joint. As mentioned by others, just be careful that the two leads on your LiPo don't touch if you strip them both at the same time. If they touch you can ruin your lipo or cause a fire.

[mrmugen]

Yeah...this was meant for those who never soldered before. Just a helper to get started. Not a class text book version obviously but quick and to the point.

Kevin

[sackohammers]

I think it does a great job of doing that. I think its useful and helpful. I do hope you and others don't think I was being overly critical. I've always respected your posts and your help.

[pvtzemerak]

Off topic

[tyefighter]

Thanks for the video Kevin, sometimes we all need a little refresher. Nice workshop by the way.

Mike

[jmoore atcs]

Thanks Kevin for posting your video. Just wanted you to know that it sure made my first mod a breeze. I am a new SC owner and had great success changing my batt and esc connectors to deans by following your instructions. I'm going to attempt to add a pic but I'm not so sure that I understand the instructions. More importantly: congrats on the birth of your new son!

[SCC]

Hi Jim.
Your picture link did not have a bracket at the beginning. It's now OK.

Good looking job you did there.

[jmoore atcs]

Thanks SCC. And thank you for fixing the picture link. I didn't mean for the pic to be so large! I thought I selected a smaller resolution. Can you direct me to a thread concerning re-gluing / reinforcing the battery box?

[SCC]

Hi Jim
No problem. The size of the pic is OK, it's when you have to scroll across the page to read the text is when it's a problem.
640X480 is the preferred size which can be resized in photobucket.

Here's a link for some info on the battery box.
supercubclub.proboards78.com/index.cgi?board=tt&action=display&thread=874&page=1

[mrmugen]

Glad it went well for you Jim. I use 3M extreme tape and wra it around the entire perimeter of the box (on the inside of the fuse). It added a bunch of strength.....that I could see from some bad landings I've had since.

Kevin

PS...Zeb is doing great and growing like crazy.