Powerful soldering iron, higher temp is actually BETTER IF you know how to solder. Hot and off and done. A tip that drops temp makes you dwell longer and ruins the parts and the joint.
Soldering correctly wire to spade
- Thread starter JHZR2
- Start date
JHZR2
Staff member
Thanks. Going to look into the one you mention. And paste. And practice.
My rule in regards to flux is that too much is better than too little. I always use quite a lot. It won't hurt a thing.
Solder wicking will happen but only to the wire. Looking at your pictures, you also needed to direct the solder manually from the wire and to the connector, to create a small pool there that would encapsulate the wire.
I combined your solder photo with the OEM one, as you can see you don't have that full encapsulation to of the wire to the connector as the OEM solder does. That is what you want once the wire is saturated with solder.
JHZR2
Staff member
Thanks. Yes, the OEM one, though not really much of a connection, had that nice pool.
Should I have just kept feeding it (with or without heat)?
Or is this because I still didn’t have enough heat (or flux)?
Thanks!
Yes, I think you should have kept feeding it more solder until it was nicely covered like your OEM connection.
If you didn't have enough flux, the solder would not want to stick, so if you didn't see that, you probably used enough and in right places.
Looking at the picture, these sort of bubbling indicates not enough heat. Maybe it was hot enough and then you added more on top when the heat was taken away.
I would add more flux to it and heat it up again. It should flow into the wire better and then add more solder to the eye of the connector to cover it all up.
Even a small iron should do that job, unless if it's 14g wire or something, a 35W iron with even a pencil tip should make quick work of it. A big iron should be fast and done.
I have come to love Teflon wire, bit harder to strip, but never an insulation problem from soldering... save all that I can scrounge! no help here, of course. Find some scrap wire to practice on, although I still think you're fighting corrosion.
I have come to love Teflon wire, bit harder to strip, but never an insulation problem from soldering... save all that I can scrounge! no help here, of course. Find some scrap wire to practice on, although I still think you're fighting corrosion.
Like photography is really about capturing light, I think soldering is more about painting heat, and getting the solder to go there. it flows with the heat.
i have never been able to solder with a gun. I can solder all day long with my 35 year old rat shack 27W iron, or a butane torch, but not with the gun. Bought a 40W Weller soldering station, which was a pretty poor product considering the name, and enjoy the extra wattage for heavy copper but really only need it around 60-70% power most of the time.
even with the 27w, iron needs to get hot. I like the description above … wet the tip to build a “heat bridge” which starts to soak in to the joint, then start applying solder to the joint as it flows, then if needed start dragging the iron towards areas that need more, bringing the solder feed with it. “Heat bridge” is a good tip, then paint with heat. Pull off if other things get too hot, blow it cool, and have another go if needed.
i have never been able to solder with a gun. I can solder all day long with my 35 year old rat shack 27W iron, or a butane torch, but not with the gun. Bought a 40W Weller soldering station, which was a pretty poor product considering the name, and enjoy the extra wattage for heavy copper but really only need it around 60-70% power most of the time.
even with the 27w, iron needs to get hot. I like the description above … wet the tip to build a “heat bridge” which starts to soak in to the joint, then start applying solder to the joint as it flows, then if needed start dragging the iron towards areas that need more, bringing the solder feed with it. “Heat bridge” is a good tip, then paint with heat. Pull off if other things get too hot, blow it cool, and have another go if needed.
Successful soldering requires heat transfer. It's actually the solder that transfers the heat. A dry iron doesn't transfer heat the way a set iron does. This is why pre-tinning the parts separately helps, as does the "heat bridge".
Adding solder can also cool the joint; this is where the practice comes in; getting a feel for how much solder to add. I prefer small diameter solder for most jobs. I use 63/37, 0.031" dia.
Adding solder can also cool the joint; this is where the practice comes in; getting a feel for how much solder to add. I prefer small diameter solder for most jobs. I use 63/37, 0.031" dia.
High rel space and military and comm use solder. Soldering is more reliable than crimping.
BUT there are some hard rules of course.
And we have not even touched on double and triple tinning, gold embrittlement, wicking under the insulation, etc.
JHZR2
Staff member
Lots of options. The replacement speakers came with female spades on one end and bare leads on the other. I guess I could have butt spliced or even soldered that. Maybe the end product would be better.
But I wanted to try my hand at replicating the OE approach. And failed.
I always use solder flux. Tin the lead and terminal first, then solder.
