Every time Caleb touched the tip of the soldering iron gave me stress. :) I think storing the tip tinned with solder will prevent corrosion. I don’t know if the tip tinner is better than just using solder. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
@4:40 No, please don't sand it, a proper tip is has a copper core that is iron cladded. Once you sand (or wear away, for really old tips) the iron you expose the copper. And if you think that you are having trouble keeping it tinned now... Not to knock your soldering iron, but the predecessor to this one (the TS100) has served me well for decades: "NovelLife Original TS101 Electric Soldering Iron Kit" (found on Amazon UK). First off, it is a really good soldering iron. Second off, you get some isolation between you and mains power because it runs on 12 - 24 VDC. This doesn't mean that you won't get get popped soldering a live circuit (it happens). Pro tip, don't solder on live circuits (and it won't happen). :) This iron uses "cartridges" for the tips rather than screw down ends. And while the ones that your Antex uses aren't as bad as some, they will tend to loosen up while you are soldering. My favorite tip (cartridge) style is the "TS-BC2", and be aware that there have been reports of TS10x "compatible tips" not working (they will physically fit into the soldering iron, but not show up as connected). You have a choice between a USB-C cable and a 2.5mm (I think) barrel connector on the TS101. Both will wear out and have the wires in the cable break. I would go with the barrel jack (it will be easier and cheaper to repair). The tip cleaner tin should have a sticky pad on the bottom. I attach mine to my soldering/desoldering station. That way you don't have to make your favorite sibling hold to the the tin while you poke around in it with a hot soldering iron. And nice catch on the falling soldering iron, but you can buy a weighted stand that will make it harder for that to happen. BTW, the second pin that you soldered needs to be retouched. And maybe the first and seventh as well. GadgetUK164 is a soldering wizard, check out his videos.
Wow! That’s a long comment, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed comment and give us feedback. Definitely will NOT be touching any sandpaper 😂. But do you think a soaking it in a bit of white whine vinegar would help do the trick? I’ve got to write an article on this; do you have anything else to contribute so I can include it in the article?
@@GurgleApps Sure! First off, there are two types of people, those who have burned themselves with a soldering iron, and those who are fixing to. Stay in the latter group as long as possible. :) No need for a gazillion Watts of power, 60 Watts is way more than enough for almost every scenario. The exception will be ground planes (because they soak up and dissipate heat so effectively), and severely corroded connections (because they *don't* soak up heat effectively). Flux and a Scotch-Brite are your friends. Make that board shine before you solder and things will go much better. No need for anything hotter than 350C, exceeding 380C will damage your tip (the higher heat promotes rapid oxidation - what your tip exhibited). Solder wick (copper braid treated with flux) will soak up the solder at a joint to get rid of either excess solder, or as an aid to remove the component. Some boards handle temperatures better than others. The old Commodore boards are pretty bad and the traces are easy to "lift". Be careful while removing parts and doing rework. The name of the game is heat transfer. Narrow, pointy tips aren't all that good for that. A temperature controlled soldering iron is a completely different animal than an adjustable temperature iron. You want a temperature controlled iron. Unleaded solder (aka "Lead free solder") has a couple of distinct disadvantages over leaded solder. 1) It requires higher temperatures - about 40C - 45C higher. 2) It creates "solder whiskers" over time and can short out against neighboring components. Thin solder is your friend. "A pound is a pound, world round", so why not get that pound of solder in .3mm diameter? It will require you to feed much more in a solder joint before you flood it. Makes an average solderer like me look semi-skilled. :) Be sure to choose a flux designed for electronic and not plumbing use. There are different types of flux which varies from basically a liquid along the lines of water, to thick syrupy stuff, or even gel. You should always clean the flux residue off after you finish soldering, although the watery flux is usually what is known as "No Clean" that doesn't (usually) need to be cleaned off. Different types of flux have different levels of "aggressiveness" and can damage the board if not cleaned off. And again, of course you don't want to use plumber's flux since it is acid-based and will ruin the board. Different types of flux require either water or alcohol to clean the flux off. Follow the manufacturers recommendations. There are also recommendations that come with the solder, it wouldn't hurt to read those either (usually a one-pager). You can wash your board. Yup, seriously. I soak my Varta-damaged boards (Varta is a battery company known the world over for ruining old electronics) in vinegar to neutralize the alkaline that leaked out of the battery. Once the fizzing slows down to almost nothing I use an electric toothbrush (someone else's) to loosen up the blue gunk left behind. I follow that up with a rinse from the outside faucet, or "Hose pipe" as it's known down here. Then it gets a soak in 91% IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol). Doesn't hurt the board and the results are excellent. Just be sure to remove any batteries first. Do not store electronics with the batteries in them. And most important, have fun!
Never heard of this option before. Many thanks for the tip!
Happy to help!
Every time Caleb touched the tip of the soldering iron gave me stress. :) I think storing the tip tinned with solder will prevent corrosion. I don’t know if the tip tinner is better than just using solder. Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
Caleb was being quite risky 😂 funnily enough, it was Amelie (the most sensible) who got a little burn!
Thanks for the tip ;-) - I've just bought some tip tinner
Excellent, how have you found it?
@4:40 No, please don't sand it, a proper tip is has a copper core that is iron cladded. Once you sand (or wear away, for really old tips) the iron you expose the copper. And if you think that you are having trouble keeping it tinned now...
Not to knock your soldering iron, but the predecessor to this one (the TS100) has served me well for decades: "NovelLife Original TS101 Electric Soldering Iron Kit" (found on Amazon UK). First off, it is a really good soldering iron. Second off, you get some isolation between you and mains power because it runs on 12 - 24 VDC. This doesn't mean that you won't get get popped soldering a live circuit (it happens). Pro tip, don't solder on live circuits (and it won't happen). :)
This iron uses "cartridges" for the tips rather than screw down ends. And while the ones that your Antex uses aren't as bad as some, they will tend to loosen up while you are soldering.
My favorite tip (cartridge) style is the "TS-BC2", and be aware that there have been reports of TS10x "compatible tips" not working (they will physically fit into the soldering iron, but not show up as connected).
You have a choice between a USB-C cable and a 2.5mm (I think) barrel connector on the TS101. Both will wear out and have the wires in the cable break. I would go with the barrel jack (it will be easier and cheaper to repair).
The tip cleaner tin should have a sticky pad on the bottom. I attach mine to my soldering/desoldering station. That way you don't have to make your favorite sibling hold to the the tin while you poke around in it with a hot soldering iron. And nice catch on the falling soldering iron, but you can buy a weighted stand that will make it harder for that to happen.
BTW, the second pin that you soldered needs to be retouched. And maybe the first and seventh as well.
GadgetUK164 is a soldering wizard, check out his videos.
Wow! That’s a long comment, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed comment and give us feedback. Definitely will NOT be touching any sandpaper 😂.
But do you think a soaking it in a bit of white whine vinegar would help do the trick?
I’ve got to write an article on this; do you have anything else to contribute so I can include it in the article?
@@GurgleApps Sure!
First off, there are two types of people, those who have burned themselves with a soldering iron, and those who are fixing to. Stay in the latter group as long as possible. :)
No need for a gazillion Watts of power, 60 Watts is way more than enough for almost every scenario. The exception will be ground planes (because they soak up and dissipate heat so effectively), and severely corroded connections (because they *don't* soak up heat effectively).
Flux and a Scotch-Brite are your friends. Make that board shine before you solder and things will go much better.
No need for anything hotter than 350C, exceeding 380C will damage your tip (the higher heat promotes rapid oxidation - what your tip exhibited).
Solder wick (copper braid treated with flux) will soak up the solder at a joint to get rid of either excess solder, or as an aid to remove the component.
Some boards handle temperatures better than others. The old Commodore boards are pretty bad and the traces are easy to "lift". Be careful while removing parts and doing rework.
The name of the game is heat transfer. Narrow, pointy tips aren't all that good for that.
A temperature controlled soldering iron is a completely different animal than an adjustable temperature iron. You want a temperature controlled iron.
Unleaded solder (aka "Lead free solder") has a couple of distinct disadvantages over leaded solder. 1) It requires higher temperatures - about 40C - 45C higher. 2) It creates "solder whiskers" over time and can short out against neighboring components.
Thin solder is your friend. "A pound is a pound, world round", so why not get that pound of solder in .3mm diameter? It will require you to feed much more in a solder joint before you flood it. Makes an average solderer like me look semi-skilled. :)
Be sure to choose a flux designed for electronic and not plumbing use. There are different types of flux which varies from basically a liquid along the lines of water, to thick syrupy stuff, or even gel. You should always clean the flux residue off after you finish soldering, although the watery flux is usually what is known as "No Clean" that doesn't (usually) need to be cleaned off.
Different types of flux have different levels of "aggressiveness" and can damage the board if not cleaned off. And again, of course you don't want to use plumber's flux since it is acid-based and will ruin the board.
Different types of flux require either water or alcohol to clean the flux off. Follow the manufacturers recommendations. There are also recommendations that come with the solder, it wouldn't hurt to read those either (usually a one-pager).
You can wash your board. Yup, seriously. I soak my Varta-damaged boards (Varta is a battery company known the world over for ruining old electronics) in vinegar to neutralize the alkaline that leaked out of the battery. Once the fizzing slows down to almost nothing I use an electric toothbrush (someone else's) to loosen up the blue gunk left behind. I follow that up with a rinse from the outside faucet, or "Hose pipe" as it's known down here. Then it gets a soak in 91% IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol). Doesn't hurt the board and the results are excellent. Just be sure to remove any batteries first.
Do not store electronics with the batteries in them.
And most important, have fun!