Electronics > Beginners
Hello, advice on my lab, and what solder to buy please
HobGoblyn:
Hi all. I'm a 55 year old who has had to effectively retire due to long term (but not terminal) health issues, meaning I'm unlikely to ever work again. Thankfully our mortgage is paid off, we owe zero on credit cards/loans and my lovely wife works, so while we aren't rolling in money, we are not broke either.
I also got a tax nice tax refund that I split 50/50 with my wife to each spend on anything we liked (my way of being allowed to get the stuff for my lab :) )
Have been interested in electronics since an early age, I used to go to our local Tandy shop and buy kits to solder as a young kid (probably about 10+ years old) and had one of those 160 in one (or was it 200) electronic kits with the springs to connect wires to, this was in a nice wooden box.
I remember making a radio jammmer in my early teens (and remember sneaking it into our art class, as the teacher always had the radio on, and me driving her nuts without her knowing it was me), and my lovely wife, who I've been with for 37 years, the first time she heard of me was when her cassette recorder broke and a friend who knew both of us said he knew someone who could fix it, that someone being me :)
Then I got into computers, got a Vic 20 followed by a C64. Luckily for me, one of my best friends from school was very very knowledgeable in programming (he ended up co writing Populous and Dungeon Master), at the time he was a computer operator for an oil exploration company, he got me a job there as a trainee, he also taught me how to program my C64 in 6502 assembly (OK it's a 6510, but that's based on 6502), and there followed a career in IT.
I've never gone away from electronics though, I'm very mechanically minded in general, whether it's replacing a bearing on my extractor fan, or whether it's the washer dryer not working and being told it's about £200 for a replacement main board, and me simply going over various solder joints on it, and fixing it for £0 (that was 3 years ago, still working).
Where I lack knowledge is in maths. I'm OK at maths until you introduce algebra and calculus (was never taught it at school). I'm slowly going through a couple of courses, I'm beginning to take it in, but unless I'm using it all the time, I don't think it will stick properly (part of my health issues is that when I try to take in new information, on some days, not all, I get a fuzzy brain fog that tires me out).
What path do I want to follow, I'm not sure really, I want to learn how to design my own simple circuits, how to fault find and repair say a synthesizer (my other hobby), or possibly even build a basic one one day :) I also have things that are broken, for example my sons old graphics card from his old laptop, I'd like to try to repair it at some point, just to see if I can.
I understand certain aspects of electronics, however, while I understand it, in that I could repeat how it works, my brain completely struggles to comprehend the idea of atoms and electrons.
That all said, I've decided to get some half decent gear (well half decent as far as I'm concerned) .
I have the following at the moment (most still in their boxes, waiting for xmas to be over before I take over the big table, others I've had a while):
Hantek DSO5102P Oscilloscope
Hakko FX-888D Soldering station (and Hakko 1.6mm chisel tip)
Backlight Transistor LCR-TC1 Tester for Diode Triode Capacitor 3.5" display
SWIFT S41-20 10X-20X Binocular Stereo Microscope Boom Arm with Dual Gooseneck LED Light
KKmoon 60MHz Signal Generator, 2.4 inch TFT LCD Digital DDS Dual-Channel Function Arbitrary Waveform/Pulse Generator,250MSa/s 8192X14bits Frequency Me
Zerone LED Digital Soldering Station, 1000W Rework Station Hot Air Gun Solder Rework Tool Kit with 3 Nozzles 220V UK Plug (looks the same as the Quick 861 but a lot cheaper)
Soldering flux Liquid 50ml oiler- SMD/RMA No Clean,Reflow, Rework, Reball RF800
Power Supply, 2CH, 30V, 5A, ADJUSTABLE 72-10495 By TENMA
UNI-T UT61E multimeter
Digital laser infared themometer
Then components:
1000pcs 5mm red/green/blue/yellow/while LED kit
70pcs L7805 - LM317 transistor kit voltage regulator
1000 pcs 50 values Ceramic Capacitor kit
0805 resistor sample book
Resistor kit (through hole)
900Pcs 18 Kinds Of Transistor A1015-2N5551 NPN PNP Power General Purpose Transistors Assortment Kit
I could have bought loads more component kits, but I stopped buying any more after reading this forum about having tons of stuff you never use. I would like to have some common electrolytic capacitors, but the kits all have cheap brands, I would rather know what to buy and get them from say RS and buy the likes of Panasonic? (probably be cheaper too)
Then comes the other bits:
I have tons of screwdrivers, including miniature sets etc.
Decent wire cutters, pliers, side cutters etc.
Silicon solder mat
Box of 6 different colour hook up wire spools
40 piece, 6 size double sided prototype boards
6 rolls (0.4 to 2cm width) high temp tape (for masking when doing smd work etc)
Isopropanol 99%
Two different sorts of circuit board holders
Soldering flux 50ml no clean RF800
Bread board and mounting kit (3 bread boards mounted on board with binding posts)
Another breadboard and jumper wire kit
1.5mm and 0.8mm desolder braid
desoldering pump
I've also ordered the following books:
Learning The Art Of Electronics, A Hands on Lab Course
Am about to order a 2nd hand 2nd edition of Art of Electronics
Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics by Stan Gibilisco
Troubleshooting Analog Circuits by Robert A. Pease
A 12 month online subscription to Everyday Practical Electronics.
OK, I know I'm asking how long a piece of string is, and I know this is a long post. But is anything glaring obvious that I've forgotten about please?
Finally we come to solder:
Initially a couple of weeks ago I ordered the following solder
RS PRO 0.4mm Wire Lead solder, +183°C Melting Point •60/40 tin/lead solder wire with no rosin (colophony) in flux
However, while RS were happy to supply me with my other stuff, they said they weren't allowed to sell me leaded solder (or my solder paste) as it's for professional use only
--- Quote ---
Thank you for your order, we apologise but we are unable to despatch these items they are restricted.
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Substances restricted under REACH Annex XVII
These products contain a substance that is restricted under Annex XVII of the REACH Regulation.
It is restricted to professional users and cannot be supplied to the general public (non-trade customers).
Please refer to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for more information.
--- End quote ---
I presume at some point in the past, I have ticked the diy/hobby option on their info.
So I resorted to ebay, and ordered the following.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1MM-Tin-Lead-Flux-Solder-Welding-Iron-Line-Reel-Rosin-Core-Solder-Wire-PB37-SN63/254362182056?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=553927018746&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
and bought it in both 0.4 and 0.5mm sizes.
As I'm unsure about the quality of ebay stuff, I also tried buying Multicore 0.5mm 60 / 40 solder from CPC (part of Farnell) at the same time. They happily sold it to me :)
I want to make sure the solder I have is usable.
After reading this thread, https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/solder-choice-aim-sn62pb36ag2-vs-mg-chemicals-6337-no-clean-leaded-solder/msg2834530/#msg2834530
I see on Farnell's UK site (not on CPC) they have Kester solder
https://uk.farnell.com/kester-solder/24-6337-8806/solder-63-37-0-4mm/dp/1610447?st=63%2037%20solder which is £58.66 once VAT is added.
I obviously don't want to throw money away, on the other hand, I don't want to be soldering with sub par solder. If it is better than the CPC stuff, it will last me ages and I will buy it, if it's no better, then I wont :)
I also ended up buying the following solder paste off ebay, same question, is it any good, or should I buy something better please?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MECHANIC-XGS40-Special-Liquid-Soldering-Solder-Paste-158-SN63-Pb37-SMD-BGA/163143695978?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=462308678084&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Many thanks for taking the time to read all this, all advice gratefully appreciated
rstofer:
63-37 solder with rosin core is probably the most recommended solder for hobbyists (and anybody else who doesn't worry about lead solder).
Mine is 0.635 mm (0.025")
I would probably go for the name brand solder so Kester would be near the top of my list. A roll like mine will last for years (depending, of course, on how much you solder). I've been working on the same roll since I retired, 16 years ago. I have a half finished roll of Ersin MultiCore that is also very good solder. Don't know why it got off the solder holder.
Not asked but given anyway:
Khan Academy Electrical Engineering video series
Khan Academy Math video series
Digilent Real Analog series (has handouts and lab projects)
You can go a very long way with simple arithmetic and you don't need to derive the more advanced stuff, just understand the results.
When you're searching Google: Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Laws, Thevenin's Theorem and Norton's Theorem will put you in a very good space. They aren't hard, just a way of looking at circuits.
Plenty of stuff on the Internet.
magic:
You might still be able to get that highly dangerous and illegal alloy from American suppliers. Of course I don't encourage committing such travesties, at least until you leave the EU ;)
Alternatively, brick and mortar stores may sell it under the counter. Again, information provided purely for educational purposes. Buy lead-free.
I tend to stay away from no-name stuff after one time when I bought some which stank ungodly.
SilverSolder:
Lead free solder is hopelessly bad for hobby use.
Remember that laws are for the guidance of the wise, and the obedience of fools... the reason for the "no lead solder" rules is to avoid the lead from oceans of crappy consumer products ending up in the landfills. A hobbyist using leaded solder makes sqrt(FA) difference to the environment in the bigger picture.
magic:
That's RoHS and it has nothing to do with consumer use.
Leaded solder is banned in the EU because somebody really smart determined that it may cause birth defects if ingested ::)
We should probably request a similar investigation into the fluxes used in lead-free solders now ;D
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