Raspberry Pi Forums

Hi,

I want to use a protected input board for my raspberry pi but as I have just learned I can't solder at all! I tried my luck with the Raspio pro board ( http://rasp.io )but I've managed it get all the pins stuck together, melt all the plastic bits and burn my hands all over. Any suggestions appreciated for alternative boards (or burns minor burns advice)? I want to try to keep costs down as I've just bought the raspio pro board and messed that right up

Alex

alpeace89 wrote:Hi,

I want to use a protected input board for my raspberry pi but as I have just learned I can't solder at all! I tried my luck with the Raspio pro board ( http://rasp.io )but I've managed it get all the pins stuck together, melt all the plastic bits and burn my hands all over. Any suggestions appreciated for alternative boards (or burns minor burns advice)? I want to try to keep costs down as I've just bought the raspio pro board and messed that right up

Alex

http://www.raspberrypi.org/learn-to-sol ... arrie-anne

Thanks for the reply. I do eventually want to learn to solder but at the moment I want to give it a break. Problem seemed to be holding my hands steady
Alex

fruitoftheloom wrote:

alpeace89 wrote:Hi,

I want to use a protected input board for my raspberry pi but as I have just learned I can't solder at all! I tried my luck with the Raspio pro board ( http://rasp.io )but I've managed it get all the pins stuck together, melt all the plastic bits and burn my hands all over. Any suggestions appreciated for alternative boards (or burns minor burns advice)? I want to try to keep costs down as I've just bought the raspio pro board and messed that right up

Alex

http://www.raspberrypi.org/learn-to-sol ... arrie-anne

Not a bad start, but there are a few simple rules that will make it even easier.

1 Dont buy cheap tools. Far and away the biggest problem with learning to solder is a cheap soldering iron and rubbish solder. A cheap iron will not maintain a good temperature and cheap solder will cause huge problems.
2 Clean. Almost tempted to repeat that with some exclamation marks. Solder contains flux, a chemical that will clean off corrosion, solder will not "stick" (actually form an amalgam) to copper oxide but there is only so much that the flux can do. So use a gentle abrasive and clean any surfaces that have become tarnished.
3 Tin (verb not noun). Tinning is applying a thin coat of solder. First the iron, a tinned iron will heat the joint much quicker so the heat will not have time to run and melt things or tarnish the component leads or PCB pads. To tin the iron push a small amount of solder onto it then flick it off, once tinned use quickly otherwise the flux will all burn and the solder tarnish. Tin the leads and PCB pads, this will create the solder/copper amalgam properly for each part of the joint, if you have one thick and one thin part of a joint you run the risk of the thin part overheating before the thick part is hot enough to tin. If you accidentally fill a PCB hole, a freshly tinned iron will wick off the excess and open the hole.

And as with anything, practice.

As for steady hands then rest your wrist on something nearby, lean on the edge of the bench.

trembling hands may mean you are simply nervous, not surprising if you have previously been burnt, or the iron is simply far to heavy for comfort.
But with a well designed small soldering iron there is almost no surface you can burn yourself on, and its light enough so that you don't have to stress you muscles to lift it, and hold it steady.

You can use a non temperature controlled iron, but it will burn the solder faster, and makes soldering harder.


use at least a "pencil type" solder iron, like this:


never try to use one like this:


or even worse, like this:

Use a breadboard.

Try another Rasp.io board. This time get some lead based multicore solder and a low wattage soldering iron with the narrowest tip possible. Soldering 0.1" header pins isn't easy when you're using an enormous red-hot poker rather than a tiny iron.

Lead free solder is supposed to be easier on the environment, but it's much harder to work with as a hobbyist, use lead solder and multicore so you don't have to use flux paste. Leave that lead-free solder for the professionals who are doing industrial soldering.
http://uk.farnell.com/multicore-solder/ ... /dp/609961

Thanks for the replies. I can see that its a whole load of things that were stacked up against me so Ill give it another shot. I was trying to use a propane gas blow torch/soldering iron (like this : http://www.go-system.co.uk/catalog/prod ... tegory/22/

Are there no soldering free alternatives?

Alex

alpeace89 wrote:Thanks for the replies. I can see that its a whole load of things that were stacked up against me so Ill give it another shot. I was trying to use a propane gas blow torch/soldering iron (like this : http://www.go-system.co.uk/catalog/prod ... tegory/22/

Are there no soldering free alternatives?

Alex

Probably easier to start a fire by rubbing two boy scouts together than learning to solder with one of those.

The breadboard method is soldering free but you will also need some leads with plugs on the end to go on the GPIO header pins.

Cobblers http://www.adafruit.com/products/1989

alpeace89 wrote:. I was trying to use a propane gas blow torch/soldering iron (like this : http://www.go-system.co.uk/catalog/prod ... tegory/22/

These create up to 1200 degrees Celcius, solder melts at about 380 degrees. Not exactly suitable! Talk about "temperature controlled", and this isn't it!

: http://www.go-system.co.uk/catalog/prod ... tegory/22/:

These have their uses.
Like at the top of a camera tower in the middle of Epsom Downs in a howling gale.
But nowhere else.

Right I have reordered the Raspio Pro board. Does this look like a better bet... http://www.diy.com/search/soldering%20g ... W-12728619

Alex

This one is more suitable
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/antex-30w-sol ... tand-n11by

If you can afford it (about £50) then I would definitely recommend getting a temperature controlled soldering iron station.

The one I have looks much like this one.

I found soldering to be much easier with the temperature controlled soldering iron, I had pretty much given up on soldering (20+ years ago I did an electronics A level at college, rarely soldered since), Every few years I would buy a cheap soldering iron and fix something, then lose the iron.
Since I got a temp controlled iron soldering became much easier, so that it's fun to do, instead of a chore to fix some broken item, I now want to solder stuff, just to be using my new setup.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-lcd-displ ... tion-n16ch you may have one near you
or
http://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/21-10115-u ... dp/SD01738

RaTTuS wrote:http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/48w-lcd-displ ... tion-n16ch

not much more expensive than a non-temp controlled iron.

RaTTuS wrote:http://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/21-10115-u ... dp/SD01738

seems the same as the one that I linked (but cheaper).

Just to let you guys know. I bought the raspio pro again and this time managed to solder it fine!

Alex

alpeace89 wrote:Just to let you guys know. I bought the raspio pro again and this time managed to solder it fine!

Alex

Great! Good luck with your future projects.