i have like 12 bucks and i was wondering if i should get a soldering pencil or iron??? its going to be from radio shack

linky- http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...7%5F003&Page=1

and i am going to use it to connect wires and mby volt mod my vidio card and fix my phone that i broke (the speaker wires need to be soldered back onto the phone's board)

Ordering online or going to a Brick&Mortar?

Most of the retail RadioShacks I've been to only have a couple pencil irons in stock. Make sure you buy a few extra tips, sucks to ruin your last one, and have to track down a replacement. I own three irons, a 20w, 45w, and a variable 15-30 watt. I prefer my 20w, has a more flexible cord, cooler handle, and is much smaller than the other two.

Quote: Originally Posted by Crazy4life i have like 12 bucks and i was wondering if i should get a soldering pencil or iron??? its going to be from radio shack linky- http://www.radioshack.com/category.a...7%5F003&Page=1 and i am going to use it to connect wires and mby volt mod my vidio card and fix my phone that i broke (the speaker wires need to be soldered back onto the phone's board)

Get the 15watt pencil and some extra tips.
Take and chuck a spare tip in your drill and with a scrap of 240grit sand paper make that puppy as small and pointed as you can...
Voltmods ain't no joke and can be fouled easy, you don't need alot of heat, and use the finest gauge 60/40 rosin core solder you can...good luck and use a magnifying glass...~Z

Quote: Originally Posted by ZENNZZO use the finest gauge 60/40 rosin core solder

I've always wondered if there would be any ill effects from using the super-fine silver solder on components that had already been soldered with 60/40; because I have access to some very thin, very expensive solder, that would be very handy for repair or "improvement" work.

See if you can find yourself a Pace Professional Reworking Station. awesome soldering setup, if only I could not blow fuses in it so often

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I don't think it's worth starting a new one/

Does anybody have any tips for steadying your hand when soldering? I shake so bad that people say I dance better than them

Quote: Originally Posted by _Sexy_Pants_ Sorry to hijack this thread, but I don't think it's worth starting a new one/ Does anybody have any tips for steadying your hand when soldering? I shake so bad that people say I dance better than them

lean your hand on something to form a tripod...I gaurentee your hands don't shake as much as mine do and the are rock steady when I don't try sh!t in mid-air

so you guys are saying that i should get a pencil and some extra tips. But will i still be able to solder wires together??? beucuase i would like to shorten my x connect wires and do a mod with the fans so they run at full speed 24/7.

this 15w?
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=64%2D2051

Quote: Originally Posted by Crazy4life so you guys are saying that i should get a pencil and some extra tips. But will i still be able to solder wires together??? beucuase i would like to shorten my x connect wires and do a mod with the fans so they run at full speed 24/7. this 15w? http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=64%2D2051

yup that be it...unless you are soldering jumper cables to start the car that 15watter is plenty

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg See if you can find yourself a Pace Professional Reworking Station. awesome soldering setup, if only I could not blow fuses in it so often

Metcal Ceramic iron stations at school....

Quote: Originally Posted by ÃœBER<>POOP Metcal Ceramic iron stations at school....

You use MetCals? OMG, we use those at work....I am so jealous

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg You use MetCals? OMG, we use those at work....I am so jealous

Ok put 'em away and zip up your pants doodz....
this guy is soldering a vidcard voltmod, sounds like for the 1st time...
hook him up with some pro tips...
and not the ones that start out by setting the iron for 50watts...

yup i have never soldered before and i think i am going to practice on a old board then on my phone that needs that wire attached..... then my x connect wires (beucase there to f'n long) then my card ^_^ any tips??

Zenn, you want professional tips? OK, here ya go

Less is more. Big gobs of solder don't necessarily make a better connection. A lot of times with gob soldering you can't tell if the lead has proper wetting. Use flux if you are reworking, like on a volt-mod. And use No-Clean, OA (Organic Acid) flux you have to wash off or it corrodes the board. Also don't put too much heat to surface mount parts like chip caps and chip resistors, the metal coating on the ends of the part can peel off. This is called leaching. Also when you are through-hole soldering, you need at least 75% solder fill inside the via or it isn't acceptable, sure it may work but many Class 2 and 3 components like computer hardware (mostly Class 2 for PC's, or "Business Machines" as they are referred to) those components are high reliability and good solder fill is necessary.

Also, surface mount parts like chip caps and chip resistors and PLCC's (castellated components like leadless chip carriers, things your BIOS chip plugs into) have pads, also called "land", and an epoxy holds it to the printed circuit board. If you apply too much heat you can weaken this epoxy and lift the pad and the card is defective, even we can't fix that where I work. Another thing, don't violate minimal electrical clearance, the distance between electrical component leads, I think it's .13mm depending on the application, electrical clearance is a big thing with high-voltage applications, if two components are close enough, like in power supplies, electricity will arc and destroy the whole assembly.

I could go all night on how to solder now that I'm IPC certified