Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #01563
To: beam@corp.sgi.com
From: TurtleTek@aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 20:59:24 EST
Subject: [alt-beam] Soldering Iron Quality
Greetings List,
With all this talk about how much my robots suck, I'm begining to wonder if
this has something to do with my soldering iron, solder, or soldering method.
Just to note, although the PhotoPhobe is my first robot to not work, it's not
the only one that has problems. Most of my other bots don't fire at their
trigger voltage many times, and the solder joints look terrible.
Now, about my iron. I use possible the crappiest iron out there. When getting
starting in electronics, I bought that little collection on tools at
RadioShack, called the "Starters set" or something like that. It included a
little 120 volt, 30 watt "pen" soldering iron. I still use it, even now. You
can't tell me that a $150 iron is no better then what I'm using.
My bad method can also be to blame. Most of the time I give in to the
"easyness" of just melting a glob of solder on the tip and using that to make
joints. I know from my beginner days that this is "SO INCREDIBLY WRONG"! It
results in cold joints, unrelable connections, messy flux, weather disasters,
and sunspots. Well, I've tryed to do it like I've been told is the only right
way but "holding the tip to the site of the joint for a few seconds and then
applying solder till it flows around the connection" but this doesn't work! A
few seconds? I have it on for an entier minute and little or nothing happens.
Yes, I tin the tip.
Sorry if this seems a little angry but I can't help thinking that RAT SHACK
HAS SCREWED ME OVER AGAIN!
-TurtleTek
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