Solder and Iron

[danman]

trust me......starting with the DB-37 on the stim board isn't a good idea

I hadn't soldered since high school (about 4 years ago).....I got back into it pretty quick but the DB-37 was frustrating

[Jack]

Hopefully you guys are talking about the wire side of the DB-37, which I have not yet done. Soldering the board side of the DB-37 was easier for me than many of the discrete components. I did it first, right after the stim kit. I had to really concentrate on the first few joints and then it was simple repetition. I thought it was a great thing to do early since it would take a lot more heat to damage it than a a discrete component.

I'm a newbie board solderer. Perhaps being an accomplished Mig/stick welder and a fairly patient person helped?

Jack

[78Spit1500Fed]

I've done more DB-9's than I care to mention, and of course the spacing is the same... It's not daunting to me personaly but I agree that they are challenging components!

It sounds like Adrian is well on his way to getting MS'd! It's encouraging to find that "amateurs" are having as positive an experience as they are... it gives me less of an excuse to be aprehensive about assembling mine!

-Brian

[AdrianC]

It sounds like Adrian is well on his way to getting MS'd!

The box is built, and the pile of bits is building up.

Soon as I get weekday time to get back down to my friendly local garagiste for another session of "daycare/playgroup/getting-in-the-way", the modification of a manifold will start. <evil grin>

As documented here, the only problems I had on the build were the Stim INJ LEDs aren't playing - yet to be tracked down, but the one on the main box flashes - and a serious problem at the last test stage that turned out to be me having turned over two pages of instructions at the same time..!

One Acadiane with Fool Injection may even hit the streets soonish.

[ChevelleFan]

MegaSquirt isn't going to be my first project, the stimulator is. I'll be plenty of experienced when its time to put the actual ECU together :wink:

That's good news...

The stim is still pretty challenging for someone who hasn't done any PCB soldering... definitely don't start with the db37!

-Brian

Hahaha-- The Stimulator was my first kit, and I believe the 1st step was "solder the DB37 into position". I remember thinking "uh, oh, this is gonna be a long project." But one of the earlier posters had a good point -- it's hard to ruin a DB connector with heat, so it's actually not a bad place to start. By pin 37, you should have a good idea of how much heat/solder it takes, which lessens the possibility you'll ruin one of the more heat-sensitive components.

Everyone has posted good advice. I was very nervous when I went to build my kit back in May and everything worked the first time I did it. I used the simplest 15-watt Radio Shack iron with a pencil tip. Like Lance said, let it heat up or 10-15 minutes before you use it to make sure it is good & hot.

[78Spit1500Fed]

Another tip I have is related to the soldering stations, or the holders that the iron sits in.

If it's one of those that looks like a big spring, be sure that when the iron is in the stand, the tip isn't touching the holder itself. This will bleed heat off of the tip and make for a very frustrating experience!

I learned, of course, the hard way that this will lead to cool tips and slow going!

-Brian

[AdrianC]

I learned, of course, the hard way that this will lead to cool tips and slow going!

I learned the hard way that the tip's VERY hot. <sizzle, smell, sweary>

[egilroy]

I have a radio shack solder station with a digital readout that allows both
"set" and "read" of the iron's tip. This is very useful, especially for a
novice, because you can "set" the tip to the temperature that best suits the
solder you are using by just trial and error and then switch to "read" mode
and see when the temperature drops enough to be a problem. I think it was
$60.00, well worth it for delicate electronics.

Ed

[Stickboy9137]

Don't let your tip go hotter than 600 degrees. It is very easy to damage
components and the board over that temperature....

Jody

[Victorious1_1]

Do you Megasquirt pros ever use heatsinks on the backside of the components when you solder or is this a no no?

Vic

[78Spit1500Fed]

Do you Megasquirt pros ever use heatsinks on the backside of the components when you solder or is this a no no?

Vic

YIKES!!

Well, no is the short answer... if you put a heat sink on the back side of a component, you'll certainly dissapate heat, but through the component.

If you've a concern about a part, lift it up off the board slightly and use an aluminium heat clamp on the lead between the component and the board. It's much safer, but usualy not neccesary. (Unless your iron is too cold and taking too long to heat a lead)

-Brian

[MegaScott]

I Am certainly no Megasquirt "Pro", But as Brian says, you can get little "alligator like" clips in aluminium (and copper) that clip onto the leads between the board and the componant, and you can prevent heating up your componants too much. Really in the old days you needed to do this because of the low temp componants, but now days with extended range temps, and newer soldering techniques, this is really not required. Like in the Other post's (do a forum search) about soldering, if you are on the pad for more than four seconds, then you are risking damage to the board as well.

Another thing you can do, especially for IC's, is to use Sockets, you'll thank yourself for using them the first time you have to replace a blown up IC. Mandatory for the CPU especially if you are going to upgrade to MSII.

[Jonsblckhwk]

so this soldering iron would be good for the job???
what brand/kind of solder do you all recomend as this is my first big project and i am really excited and i want to do it right the first time

BTW im using this MS for a 97 turbo tercel
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp ... ir=catalog

[edit] oops forgot link

[schwepes]

What do you think about using soldering gun? Have you got any tips?

[MegaScott]

Wow, resurrection flashback.

What do you think about using soldering gun? Have you got any tips?

I didn't know the tips for soldering guns were replacable?

Seriously, most of your soldering "guns" have too large of a tip to be of much good on circuit board work, and they have too much heat. They do work good for tinning wires, or where you need lots of heat.

Right now I just use your standard run of the mill Weller 20W iron. IMHO I think Metcal makes the best soldering station, Very fine temp. control, and high quality.

[TT350chevelle]

Some time ago a bunch of us (MS members) bought this station from Howard Electronics, they even gave everybody a better price break! I'm quit impressed with mine
http://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/379.html

Brad J.

[Peter Florance]

In college I fixed stereos and used only Weller gun. Too broke to buy tips, I used #12 solid wire which was nice and hot but eroded quickly (just a few weeks of life) but the price was right.
 
Years later on a service call my iron died and I used customer's Weller to install 20 pin sip in about 15 seconds. He freaked out that it was possible and so fast, but once you know how to solder, you can make almost anything work.
 
The real problem is beginners; where having a decent iron really makes a difference. The iron Howard sells would be the minimum I would suggest; especially for someone selling their megasquirts.
 
Having said that, I love my JBC but at over $500.00 you have to do  lot of soldering to justify it.
 
 

Peter Florance
First Fives Dictator for Life
1981 Euro BMW 528i w/3.5L & Megasquirt Fuel Injection
1981 US BMW 528i "Repo Car"
http://www.firstfives.org
mailto:peter@firstfives.org (peter@firstfives.org)


(posted by email)

[MegaScott]

The real problem is beginners; where having a decent iron really makes a difference. The iron Howard sells would be the minimum I would suggest; especially for someone selling their megasquirts.

Right on!!

[90si]

I'm sure to get flamed..(no pun)
I use a butane one. Have for years
this is not for the amature and cheep
you have to be fast to not overheat
components, the main reason I use it
is for under hood wireing ..makes that
easy with NO wires making you nuts

[wedge446]

Something I found I needed putting these kits together is a magnifying glass..