Perfboard Suggestions for learning to solder

[frrobert@stnectarios.org]

I am brand new to electronics and want to learn to solder.  Most of the projects I have done so far are just small arduino projects with a bread board.

I've already purchased a FX-888D and waiting on the FX-8803 to go with it. (I only have one good hand and I am hoping the FX-8803 will allow me to solder with only one handed).

I want to get some perfboard and practice soldering but I have noticed there are many different types from paper to plastic along with it being plated in many different ways to some not being plated at all.  I assume they all have there place depending on your project.

My question is what is the best type of perfboard to get just to learn to solder?

Thanks

[biffster]

Hey,

The FX-8803 looks pretty cool, I've never seen one of those before.

The two types of board that I tend to use are Veroboard (strips of copper that cover a row of holes running from one side of the board to the other) and perfboard (each hole has an individual copper pad that isn't connected to any other holes). You can cut holes in the copper strips in Veroboard with a special cutter if you want to break a strip up.

I usually go for boards made of FR-4 (that's the thermoplastic that the copper is stuck onto) as it's the most common board type and I know that it's good. You can get cheaper boards made of other stuff but they might not deal with the heat quite so well and could smoke a bit if they get hot but I don't have a lot of experience using boards that aren't FR-4. 2.54mm pitch (distance between holes) is also the most common as it lets you use DIP package ICs.

Hopefully that helps. Oh and use small diameter solder if you can, it stops you adding loads by mistake which can cause bridges between solder joints.

[VK5RC]

I tend to use veroboard for some of my 'one of'  projects,  a board holder that can also hold down a component or two (i think hakko make one)  may also be helpful.  Eg a weller 120.

[KL27x]

I have specifically purchased FR-4 protoboard for a particular project for structural reasons. But 99% of my protoboard use is limited to have a place to tack down a small handful of SMD components. So the phenolic suits me just fine, being easier to cut and solder.

A downside of plated through holes is they leak solder blobs all the way out the bottom of the board, depending on what you're doing. With a SS board, you can blob pads together instead of using buss wire, for instance, without that potential problem.

FYI, I do over 95% of my soldering without feeding solderwire. And I happen to use the same iron.

I will suggest you look at the Hakko CF tips, the T18 CF3 in particular. And a bucket of flux. Using this tip, you touch it to the solder to pick a bead, and it stays on the tip. Then you touch it to the joint. I solder maybe a dozen small SMD passives without reloading; (it works for thru hole, too). Now that I see the 8803, my curiosity is piqued. I hope it works out of you. But in tighter spots, maybe you can get some use out of the CF tips, the way I do.

For reference, you can see a simple board I made the other day. Because it shows and because there's no soldermask, I bumped down to my CF2 and used it inverted to ensure neatness. No solderwire was directly handled, at all. Check the "other equipment" forum for the Hakko 888D thread.

[frrobert]

Thank you for the ideas.