solo4652 Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Hope so - I can just about cope with squeezing parts, but nothing more technical... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 (edited) Some soldering tips. The tips of soldering irons are copper, but plated with iron to extend tip life. Don't scrape it to clean it. If you expose the copper the flux will eat away the tip. Just wipe it with a sponge or cloth. Don't move the finished joint until it's cool otherwise you'll get a dry joint. A desoldering pump is very useful. If you make a bad joint, usually because you've taken to long & the flux has been used up leaving the solder 'pastey', remove all the old solder & start again. Agree with above, lead-free solder is a pain. 60/40 tin/lead is easier to work with, just wash your hands in soap & water afterwards. The fumes can rarely cause a reaction if you're asthmatic. Blow the fumes away gently as you solder. If you need a vice use a rubber band around the grips of a pair of pliers. Most irons run at about 400 degrees Cecius. Take care, if you burn yourself the flesh is seared & takes ages to heal. Have patience, practice makes prefect. Edited September 26, 2013 by grandad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 (edited) Fixed it!...and am now feeling rather guilty about starting this thread. Following KingBollock's advice, I got inside the control cavity and gently bent the central prong under the jack socket into a more central position. Few squirts of switch cleaner at random, and it appears to have solved the problem. Ha! I had no idea I was [i]so [/i]practical... In a poor effort to claw back some lost karma, I'm just wondering whether all the excellent advice here about soldering is worth a sticky? Mods - what do you reckon? Steve Edited September 26, 2013 by solo4652 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 [quote name='grandad' timestamp='1380196186' post='2222124'] Some soldering tips. The tips of soldering irons are copper, but plated with iron to extend tip life. Don't scrape it to clean it. If you expose the copper the flux will eat away the tip. Just wipe it with a sponge or cloth. Don't move the finished joint until it's cool otherwise you'll get a dry joint. A desoldering pump is very useful. If you make a bad joint, usually because you've taken to long & the flux has been used up leaving the solder 'pastey', remove all the old solder & start again. Agree with above, lead-free solder is a pain. 60/40 tin/lead is easier to work with, just wash your hands in soap & water afterwards. The fumes can rarely cause a reaction if you're asthmatic. Blow the fumes away gently as you solder. If you need a vice use a rubber band around the grips of a pair of pliers. Most irons run at about 400 degrees Cecius. Take care, if you burn yourself the flesh is seared & takes ages to heal. Have patience, practice makes prefect. [/quote] Excellent advice. All I'd add is: - for anything other than very infrequent soldering, a desoldering pump is pretty much essential, rather than merely useful - A small fan can be useful to blow flux fumes away from the workbench. An old PC fan does a good job. - The old 'rubber band around a pair of pliers' trick was a welcome bit of nostagia down memory lane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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