Soldering
The first thing that you'll do as a part of the Spencer assembly process is soldering!
Have you ever done that before? If your answer is no, we suggest you look at the following few links where you'll find useful tutorials and blogs about soldering. It will only take you 10 minutes to get into the zone and understand how it's done. Here are the links:
- Adafruit’s video tutorial featuring Collin Cunningham – A tutorial featuring Collin Cunningham, a super charismatic electronics guru.
- Adafruit’s standard soldering tutorial – A great and thorough video tutorial. An absolute must-read, even if you know how to solder. Make sure to check the “common soldering mistakes” section at the end.
- Sparkfun’s video soldering tutorial – Another well-made how-to-solder video tutorial.
- Sparkfun’s standard soldering tutorial – A detailed tutorial made by Sparkfun
Here are the pictures that can help you recognize good and bad solder joints:
There are several rules of soldering that everybody, regardless of their skill level, should follow at all times.
- Never inhale the dust and the fumes that can be produced by the soldering iron! These can be hazardous, so please don't inhale them.
- Never touch the tip of the soldering iron! Even if the soldering iron is turned off or completely disconnected from the power source, there is still a possibility that it’s very hot and, therefore, can cause very uncomfortable pain if touched. Always keep it facing away from your hands. If you’re finished with the soldering iron, unplug it from the power source and leave it to cool off for at least five minutes before putting it back in the box.
- Clean the soldering iron! The sponge is your best friend while soldering. Make sure to use it often and clean your soldering iron if you wish to have an easy and simple soldering experience. Carefully hold one part of the sponge with one hand and wipe the tip of the soldering iron on the other part of the sponge to remove the extra solder. Repeat the process until the tip of the iron is nice and clean from the old solder.
- Check your solder joints twice (at least)! Most of the malfunctions in the world of electronics are due to bad solder joints, so regardless if this is your first or 100th soldering project, always make sure to inspect your joints multiple times before proceeding to the next step.
- Keep the soldering iron on the stand when you’re not using it.
- Know how much solder is needed! Make sure to put just enough solder, not too much, and not too little, since both can cause the device to malfunction.
- Don’t leave any residual solder on the board! The solder should only be on the parts where the pins connect to the board. Everything else should be clean. Little pieces of solder all over the board are a big no-no!
Now go over these rules a couple of times so you don't forget them!
If you follow these rules, your soldering experience should be easy peasy.
Using the soldering iron
Soldering iron is very easy to use but only when used properly.
If you have purchased the CircuitMess tools pack with your Spencer, you have gotten one of the two soldering iron models in your box:
- White soldering iron with a temperature regulator
- Blue soldering iron with a small metal button
Remember the rules mentioned previously? Good! Let's go over the instructions on how to use the white soldering iron first. In case you have the model with a small metal button, scroll down to see the right instructions.
If you're using your soldering iron for the first time or need help with cleaning its tip, check our video tutorial.
White soldering iron with temperature regulator
Step 1
Set up your soldering iron so it stands on the stand - as shown in the photo. After that, plug it into a power outlet.
Step 2
Set the temperature to 350° by turning the regulator. There is a small black arrow next to the regulator wheel, so make sure that it points to the right temperature, like in the photo.
Your soldering iron is now ready to use, but give it a minute or two, so it can heat up. The safest way to let it heat up is to leave it on the stand while you wait!
Step 3
Once you're done with soldering (don't worry, we'll let you know when that time comes), you'll unplug the iron from the power outlet to turn it off.
Please use the soldering iron stand every time you are not using the soldering iron to make sure you don't burn the surface or the circuit board!
Make sure to not touch the soldering iron tip for at least five minutes after you have turned it off.
Soldering iron with a small metal button
Soldering iron with a small metal button
Step 1
Firmly pull the cap off, do not unscrew it!
The correct way of taking the plastic cap off
The metal ring is necessary for the soldering iron to function.
If you accidentally remove the metal ring along with the cap, screw it all back on and remove the cap so the ring stays in its place.
Step 2
Plug the soldering iron's power cable.
Step 3
Plug the power cable into the provided power adapter and then into a power outlet.
Plug the power brick into a power outlet
Step 4
In case you have this type of soldering iron, all you need to do is turn it on by pressing the small metal button at the top of the iron.
Once you press the button, you should see a blue light signaling that it's turned on.
As long as the blue light is on, your soldering iron is turned on as well.
The blue light means that the soldering iron is turned on
Once you're done with soldering, turn off the iron by pressing the same metal button.
The light will be switched off immediately. However, this does not mean that the iron is cold. Make sure not to touch the soldering iron tip for at least five minutes after you have turned it off.
If the blue light is off, this means that the soldering iron is turned off as well.
FIRST USE!
Make sure to do this before the first use:
- Tighten the metal ring with needle-nose pliers from your Tools pack.
- Secondly, melt some solder so that the tip of the iron gets covered with the solder. You should then see a shiny metal layer on the tip that will prevent overheating and burning.
Keep the soldering iron on the stand when you’re not using it!
Always keep it facing away from your hands.
If you’re finished with soldering, unplug it from the power source and leave it to cool off for at least five minutes before putting it back in the box.
The safest place to put the soldering iron is the stand, facing away from your hands
The first important step is to make your little soldering space.
Remove everything from the table beside the soldering iron, sponge, stand, solder, and the components that you will use for soldering. Have at least 1 meter (3 feet) of space in all directions cleared.
Do not use any type of fabric since it can easily catch fire! You can also use an old desk that you don’t care about damaging or a clean piece of stone if you have a yard.
Now make sure to connect your soldering iron to the power source and prepare it for use by following the instructions provided.
You must be eager to start soldering by now! Go to the next chapter to see what you should be soldering, and we can start assembling!
Use the sponge for cleaning the soldering iron after a few solder joints!
Carefully hold one part of the sponge with one hand and wipe off the soldering iron on the other part of the sponge, so that the extra solder gets removed.
Repeat the process until the tip of the iron is nice and clean from the old solder.
Repeat the process until the tip of the iron is nice and clean from the old solder.
Cleaning the tip of the soldering iron
Now that you know how to use the soldering iron, it’s time to learn how to solder.
The first important step is to make your little soldering space.
Remove everything from the table beside the soldering iron, sponge, stand, solder, and the components that you will use for soldering. Have at least 1 meter (3 feet) of space in all directions cleared.
Also, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to protect the table with some heat resistant material (wooden sheet, aluminum, or soldering pad).
Do not use any type of fabric since it can easily catch fire! You can also use an old desk that you don’t care about damaging or a clean piece of stone if you have a yard.
Now make sure to connect your soldering iron to the power source and prepare it for use by following the instructions provided.
You must be eager to start soldering by now! Go to the next chapter to see what you should be soldering, and we can start assembling!