Re:Have you ever seen soldering THIS close? [video]
by BenjiWiebe on Thursday September 19, 2024 @05:57PM
(#41596784)
Solder wick: can really work if you have decent quality wick, either rosin-impregnated or add flux when using. Also I've found it really helps to add some fresh solder to whatever you want to desolder, before using wick. I learned that from watching the YouTube channel "Learn Electronics Repair".
The "starter kit" I would suggest is:
- temperature controlled soldering iron. This is worth the premium over "dumb" irons, especially for leadfree solder. People have different opinions about brands, but try Hakko or Weller. Start with a small chisel tip
- solder paste is a more advanced substance, and is perishable and should be kept in the fridge. Stick to a reel of thin solder to get started
- flux pen is surprisingly useful
- resistors are cheap enough that you can just buy all of them: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001321720241.html
- ICs you should stick to Digikey or other local supplier and NOT aliexpress
- PCBs: services like JLPCB will make these and ship them to you
- desk lamp. Possibly one with a magnifier.
- some people will get serious about fume extraction; personally I quite like the smell of flux and just leave a window open. Be careful with airflow in case you blow away smaller components
- solder braid: annoying, doesn't work well. Try a solder sucker
- advanced but extremely useful tool: solder tweezers
- hot air gun and/or oven: again a more advanced tool, but critical for certain parts. Avoid those parts.