In Soviet times, there was a huge number of amateurs to assemble transistor receivers with their own hands. For these people (mostly of school age), the country's industry produced a lot of designers, which included a board, radio elements, coils, wires and the body of the future receiver. All that was left was to pick up a soldering iron and get to work. That is why old radio amateurs are well versed in the intricacies of soldering, they know the brands of solders and how to solder various metals to each other.
In our time, the need for this knowledge has remained only with technologists and installers working at specialized enterprises. However, sometimes an unprepared person suddenly has a need for soldering at home, and suddenly it turns out that that the purchased solder does not want to stick to the tip of the soldering iron and no positive result can be achieved it turns out.
Experienced radio amateurs, with whom we discussed this problem, revealed the secret of competent preparation for the work of the soldering iron. I present their thoughts in this article in as much detail as possible.
A person who decides to do soldering should know that the main element of solder is tin. Tin for soldering is sold in several types, which differ in melting point.
You also need to remember that during soldering, the tinning of the tip, which is responsible for the adhesion of the solder, may disappear. Disappearance can occur from a long stay of the soldering iron on during breaks in work. In this case, the tip overheats, copper oxidizes and the flux burns out. The deposit formed because of this prevents the solder from sticking to the tip of the soldering iron.
Tips for a beginner solderer:
- The soldering iron tip is best kept in rosin at all times. It will protect the sting from oxidation and burnout;
- after finishing work, the sting must be wiped. It is best to do this on a wooden block or a small piece of board, the flux and soot are removed so well;
- do not overheat the soldering iron. It is better to turn it off and on more often than to keep it on all the time.
If carbon deposits nevertheless formed on the sting, then it is necessary to tin it. Tinning is a process that is necessary for a thin layer of solder to form on the tip of the soldering iron. By the way, on the parts that need to be soldered, a thin layer of solder should also be applied.
The tinning algorithm is simple:
- 1. The resulting soot is removed from the sting. It is best to use fine-grained sandpaper or a similar file. Handle the sting carefully so that scratches and bumps do not form on it. Ideally, the sting should be absolutely smooth.
- 2. After cleaning from soot, the sting is covered with rosin. To do this, you can lower the tip into rosin and only then turn on the soldering iron. And you can brush the sting with liquid rosin (flux) with a brush. It is impossible to heat the soldering iron until it is coated with rosin, since copper oxide is formed, from which we cleaned the tip so hard!
- 3. After the tip of the soldering iron has been treated with rosin, you can gently touch it to the tin. It will stick to the sting and after that you need to rub the surface of the sting on a piece of wood or metal.
Actually, that's all the necessary procedures to bring the soldering iron into working condition.
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