T E A M
Originally posted by foxkilo
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Here's some soldering tips for you... Many people, even straight out of supposedly "hands-on" study in poly or ITE, even from electronics course... don't know how to solder properly, so you're not alone there 
Some bros here already mentioned some other tips, like using at least a 30W soldering iron, etc. so I won't repeat it (oops! just did...)
(1) DO NOT do "painting": Some people think soldering is done by melting solder on the soldering iron tip, then try to transfer this molten solder onto the electrical contacts by a "brushing" or "painting" action. It's not going to work. The melted solder prefers to "wet" or stick to a hotter surface, i.e. the iron... the contacts are still relatively colder, so will be rejected.
(2) Good soldering requires HEAT, FLUX, CLEANLINESS and STEADINESS.
(3) Surfaces (contacts) to be soldered must be CLEAN, so avoid touching them unnecessarily. You can clean the surface with a bit of rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy, but normally just avoid touching them with your greasy, sweaty fingers is good enough.
(4) A little bit of flux (comes in small tins) can help to improve the situation... normally metal (the electrical contacts) oxidize quite easily, and solder hates oxides. Flux is slightly acidic and will help to strip off metal oxides, which brings you back to point (3): cleanliness.
(5) The proper technique to solder is first to HEAT the surface involved, for example, touch the iron to the Deans contact for a few seconds, then without removing the iron... apply the solder to the contact point... if it's sufficiently hot, the solder will start to melt and now it will tend to stick to the Deans contact.
(6) If you are trying to solder two objects together, e.g. a wire to the Deans contact, use a technique called "tinning". First, "tin" each object by applying a bit of solder to each... then bring them in close contact, apply some heat and they stick!
(7) STEADINESS... even after the solder is correctly applied, for the first few seconds it will still be soft and half-melted. Got to keep the whole thing still until the solder has solidified. Best to get some tools to help you do this, e.g. "helping hands" or "3rd hand". These mechanical "hands" (crocodile clips, actually) won't shake
Some bros here already mentioned some other tips, like using at least a 30W soldering iron, etc. so I won't repeat it (oops! just did...)
(1) DO NOT do "painting": Some people think soldering is done by melting solder on the soldering iron tip, then try to transfer this molten solder onto the electrical contacts by a "brushing" or "painting" action. It's not going to work. The melted solder prefers to "wet" or stick to a hotter surface, i.e. the iron... the contacts are still relatively colder, so will be rejected.
(2) Good soldering requires HEAT, FLUX, CLEANLINESS and STEADINESS.
(3) Surfaces (contacts) to be soldered must be CLEAN, so avoid touching them unnecessarily. You can clean the surface with a bit of rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy, but normally just avoid touching them with your greasy, sweaty fingers is good enough.
(4) A little bit of flux (comes in small tins) can help to improve the situation... normally metal (the electrical contacts) oxidize quite easily, and solder hates oxides. Flux is slightly acidic and will help to strip off metal oxides, which brings you back to point (3): cleanliness.
(5) The proper technique to solder is first to HEAT the surface involved, for example, touch the iron to the Deans contact for a few seconds, then without removing the iron... apply the solder to the contact point... if it's sufficiently hot, the solder will start to melt and now it will tend to stick to the Deans contact.
(6) If you are trying to solder two objects together, e.g. a wire to the Deans contact, use a technique called "tinning". First, "tin" each object by applying a bit of solder to each... then bring them in close contact, apply some heat and they stick!
(7) STEADINESS... even after the solder is correctly applied, for the first few seconds it will still be soft and half-melted. Got to keep the whole thing still until the solder has solidified. Best to get some tools to help you do this, e.g. "helping hands" or "3rd hand". These mechanical "hands" (crocodile clips, actually) won't shake
thx for the tips bro.
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