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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : WhiteWizzard’s soldering method...
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| WhiteWizzard Guru  Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
BigMik has a very valid point. So to keep this simple I would STRONGLY recommend something very similar to this . Note: 22swg, 0.7mm, 60/40 tin/lead alloy, melting temperature 190°C Lets see what Grogster comes back with in terms of the solder type that he used. For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
Lads, Yes, in reflection is IS .71mm 60/40 solder I generally use... I have some .5mm solder but it would probably be too fine to use effectively if you are not used to soldering. Thanks for that WW.. I was really trying to steer people away from buying the 1.5mm/2mm (automotive use) solder. Mik 
Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
So from the last couple of posts, we now have a suitable iron and some solder. 
Now its time for some solder-wick / desoldering-braid. The type I buy is this one. There are many braids out there but go for something that is either 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm or max 2.5mm wide. If too narrow then you will use a lot of it. If too wide then you need more time to heat it up (it acts as a heat distributor which is NOT good). I like the 1.5 mm width which works very well with the soldering iron tip previously posted. You do NOT need to spend a ton of money on some super branded wick. In fact I normally find that the cheaper it is, the better it seems to work! Even though the one I linked to above is coated in flux, we will still need a flux pen to make things even easier for us. A link to the flux pen I use will be my next post! I hope this approach of sending out a post every so often is ok with you guys? At least it gives the information in manageable bite-size chunks! For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Hi folks - the solder I use for all my discrete SMD is 60/40 multi-core 0.5mm - thin stuff. For discretes, I like this, cos it makes it hard to apply too much solder. Up until recently, I used to use that for the SMD chips too, but in light of the WW method, my last couple of attempts I just used the standard roll of 60/40 0.71mm, as I did not need to worry about bridging connections. I have tried lead-free solder, but don't like it for exactly the resons listed by Mick. Especially with SMD, the extra heat needed to use lead-free solder, can be a device killer if you are not experienced, as he says... Also agree with WW on the silicone cable for your soldering iron - keeps the iron nice an light in your hand. I used a mains powered iron the other day with a standard PVC cable on it, and the cable kept trying to pull the iron out of my hand!!!  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Confirmation from Grogster that he uses pretty much the same type of solder as myself. i.e. 60/40, 0.7mm Please note that any deviation from the parapets mentioned in our recommendations may result in the method being not as easy as it should be. For those of you following my posts and PMs, I have mentioned that it is all these little tips that make the method work really well. In other words, don't think it will be ok to use my heavy gauge pipe-welding solder because guess what - it won't work! So please note all the little tips - regarding solder: Go for 60/40 tin/lead, 0.7mm. Flux pen info coming soon . . . For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
parapets ??? 
Should read 'parameters' For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Yeah, I was wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean... Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Stupid predictive text! What on earth makes the computer think that it knows what I am trying to type? 
It is meant to be quicker- but oh no, not when you have to re-read every word, and then correct some of them too. Often I just press send forgetting that the computer thinks it knows best what I am trying to say (even when I spell the words correctly it changes them for me) - HOW STUPID is that
Rant over (for now) . . . . For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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Lou Senior Member  Joined: 01/02/2014 Location: United StatesPosts: 229 |
Please note that any deviation from the parapets mentioned in our recommendations may result....
Sorry, but it made me think of my dogs.... here I go again... It's OK Wiz, kind of a fun diversion. Lou Microcontrollers - the other white meat |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Back to getting the things required for our SMD soldering.
So far we should have a small tipped 18W-25W soldering iron, some suitable 60/40 0.7mm solder, and also some 1.5(ish)mm solder wick. Now we need to add a good flux pen. There are many flux options out there, especially on ebay, and they all seem to give identical results; but the Stannol pen is a favourite of mine and is widely available. Being in a pen format, it is very easy to apply the flux to the wick without getting too messy. I will go through why we do this when I finally get around to describing the method. Now we have our flux, we will definitely need some flux cleaner. I know paceman may step in here with a chemistry lesson  (and please do!) but this one does the required job very well. However, there is one more thing you will need in order to get a good finish with this cleaner, and that is a toothbrush! 
So if you need a new toothbrush, or were at least thinking of buying a new one, then now is a good time to 'upgrade'. The ideal is a medium or firm bristle brush (I'm talking about for my method - not for your teeth!); a soft bristle brush simple won't work in that it won't be strong enough to actually clean the board. I am not going to post a link to my 'recommended' toothbrush unless you really have trouble sourcing one! I hope this post has left you thinking 'yep, got all those bits, what else do I need?'. IF so then there will be just one more post to go through the things we need making recommendations where necessary. So my next post will be about 'eyes' and 'fingers' - the eyes being possibly the one thing you may need to invest in. Off to do more Beta testing; back soon . . . . For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6102 |
I just booked an appointment with my Optometrist.... I broke my glasses yesterday (15 years old so not too bad) and the cheap spare set are not much use for board level work. I do have some I found in the secondhand shop that focus at about 10 inches but they aren't much fun to use either. I have a magnified headset which I usually use but I think I will have to wait until the new specs arrive before I do any serious work. A USB microscope is good for checking joints and reading device labels. Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Don't worry Jim, it's quite normal for a 15 year old to break their glasses, I guessed you were older than that though . . . .
For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| greybeard Senior Member Joined: 04/01/2010 Location: AustraliaPosts: 161 |
especially with a sig line  |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Talking of ZX81's would anyone like to buy one? I actually have two for sale! They became redundant when Geoff brought out the MaxiMite
On the other hand, perhaps a ZX_MaxiMite design is called for . . . . For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
I had one too - but I could never get it to do anything useful, and saving and loading programs was a total disaster. Still, it WAS a clever invention, and a CHEAP home computer at the time. Whenever anyone mentions the ZX81, I keep hearing that bit from Red Dwarf: Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
That IS funny Grogs, I was thinking of something funny to say about the ZX81 (I think Don had one many moons ago) but yours pips anything I could ever think up. I wasnt really impressed with it either, compared to REAL computers like the TRS80 and Dickys SYSTEM80 (PMC80 for our state-side friends) Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 6102 |
The ZX81 is in the shed somewhere.... It was the first poota I owned but before that there was the Motorola Scamp - a 4 bit processor that we used to control an automated watering system when I worked for CSIRO (Australia's Government research organization). It replaced hard wired logic circuits, something that I really enjoyed playing with. 40+ years and I'm still playing with computerized watering systems. Jim VK7JH MMedit  MMBasic Help |
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| WhiteWizzard Guru Joined: 05/04/2013 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2817 |
Hi Mick, The TRS80 Model 111 is what I learnt Basic on. I remember my dad coming home with it one day when I was a kid, plonked this big box in the lounge, and from that moment on I was hooked. Had these 5 1/4" floppy drives (two off), and 48K RAM - yes it was the top-end model and cost him £1,000's. It was like NASA control centre in our lounge! I then got myself an Amstrad CPC464 and was one of the first people to hook up a colour monitor to it. Along the way I played with: Oric1, Jupiter Ace, ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum, Dragon 32, Commodore 64, Commodore Pet, Apple IE, BBC Micro, various Atari's; but then it all went wrong when I built my first Windows PC !
But wind forward a few more years then a little beauty comes along - the absolutely brilliant MaxiMite.
Not sure though if any of the above are REAL computers in your eyes . . . The above is off topic but hey, it's my thread so it's ok 
For everything Micromite visit micromite.org Direct Email: whitewizzard@micromite.o |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
@ Mick - Well, it's not MY funny - it was from Red Dwarf.
@ Jim - I do seem to remember things in mags like the old Electronics Australia, where they would use the ZX81 as the brain of a project, and connect into it's expansion port, so you are probably right about it all starting there.  It's just the poor thing suffered from no dedicated datasette or disk drive - using a bog-standard tape deck to save and load programs, was a disaster from day one, IMHO, as you could never guarantee tape deck quality etc. Kept the thing nice and cheap though.
EDIT: @ WW - Atari's and C-64's and Vic-20's - had played with all these after the ZX81, so the ZX81 was a "Gateway" computer, so to speak. I settled on the Atari 800XL.Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
Groggy, I remember Don and another mutual friend of ours many years back building a car cable loom tester for GMH back in the mid/early 1980's (Don will pipe in with a date if I am wrong) that used the main board from a TRS80 as the controller for the loom tester, complete with custom ROMs. Even with the TRS80 costing about $1000 they were able to do a better job than the, then current, device costing, I believe well over $100k. Don also used to do morse code test tapes for some government tester that were extremely accurate as to words per minute on a TRS80 connected to a tape recorder. Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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