Soldering fixtures - welded joints. Homemade Soldering Clamp or Third Hand Soldering Tools

Description of devices and tools that are necessary for soldering. The main aspects when choosing tools and instruments.

As they say, a real owner must be able to do a lot, including soldering. I do not argue that soldering complex boards is not easy, knowledge, practice, expensive devices and tools must be present. But in a household where you need to fix something elementary, you don’t need special skills and expensive devices and tools for soldering. We won’t talk about that today, but we’ll just remember what you need to have from tools and appliances.

Electrical tester

The tester (otherwise it is also called) is a very useful thing. They determine the presence of gaps, measure the voltage and resistance. In our case, you should choose an inexpensive tester with a small set of functions.

Stand for soldering iron

Since the main soldering unit heats up to 300 degrees, a stand for it is a very useful thing. I advise you to get it immediately after buying a soldering iron. I didn't, I ended up with a burnt table and a few melted objects. It is inexpensive, but I did not spend money on buying this item, I went the other way, searching a little on the Internet, I found an excellent simple scheme for making this stand, which I followed, in the end, having spent a little time and effort, I saved some money.

Rosin and solder

Solder It is an alloy of lead and tin. It is harmful to breathe this alloy; when soldering, I advise you to ventilate the premises. Used for tinning soldering surfaces.

Rosin It's hardened resin. Breathing this substance is also harmful. Used to remove oxide films and degrease surfaces.

Soldering tools:

Tweezers- an optional item. Helps to work with small details, get something from hard-to-reach places, etc. Tweezers should be taken non-massive with a sharp end, as they can both scrape and pick.

Side cutters. They are used for stripping wires. Also, side cutters bite various objects that are softer than iron.

File. This item will be needed to cut the soldering iron tip. In our case, it is worth buying a small file.

Screwdriver Set. I think why they are needed, you do not need to tell. It is worth buying a whole set with various nozzles. But you don’t need to save on a set of screwdrivers, cheap twists are eaten up very quickly and become unusable.

To save time, it is advisable to store all this in one place, in a box, suitcase or bedside table.

I do not argue that this is not the whole list of items that, but the article describes only those that you need to have on the farm. You can buy all this in a store or at the radio market.

The soldering iron is a tool of increased danger, so it must be handled with great care! In addition, tin and lead fumes that are harmful to health are released during soldering, so read this article before you start soldering. Life is already too short, so we should not deliberately shorten it ourselves!

Everyone knows that working with a good tool in any business, the process goes faster and more efficiently. This fully applies to radio electronics. Of course, if a person is thoroughly versed in the subject, for example, in repair, or in the production of something, he will be able to do the job with a minimum of tools. But if you plan to do something regularly, you think about how to facilitate this process. Finally, a quality tool is just a pleasure to work with.

Those who have ever used a soldering station, I think, can compare the process of soldering planar radio components, even the same transistors in a SOT-23 package, with an ordinary soldering iron, and a soldering iron from a soldering station with replaceable tips. Realizing the need to purchase a tool, even with some material costs, the radio amateur begins to gradually buy everything that he needs for work.

In this article, I will talk about some of the tools that I use when working on the manufacture of electronic devices, and when necessary, when repairing.

Side cutters

Of course, when working, one cannot do without side cutters made of good steel. Often, when soldering, you have to cut, shorten the leads of parts. Cut the wires of the required length, for jumpers, and connect individual blocks, or boards with remote controls, located, for example, on the front panel of the amplifier, or some other device.

Straight platypuses

Necessary to give the desired shape to the conclusions of radio components. Can be used as side cutters for cutting off single-core wires. It is inconvenient to bite stranded wires with them. Also, when assembling the device in the case, it is convenient to hold the nuts when tightening them.

Hacksaw blade cutter

With its help, you can make a board without etching, separating the tracks that are not interconnected by a groove cut in the textolite foil. This method is available, of course, if the board is simple enough. Also, when repairing or making changes to the device circuit, it is sometimes necessary to cut the tracks on the printed circuit board. A cutter is also used for this purpose.

Household tweezers, small and large

When soldering, it is convenient to hold the output of the part with tweezers. As everyone knows, the same resistors get very hot when soldering, and if you hold them with your hands, you can get burned. On the working part of the sponges of household tweezers there are notches, unlike Chinese tweezers, and it is much more convenient to use them.

hot glue gun

An indispensable thing when assembling a device in a case. For example, we need to display LED indication on the front panel. If the switches and variable resistors are mounted on the case, and fixing them is not difficult, with LEDs everything is more difficult.

It is necessary that during the operation of the device, if we accidentally press on the LED, it does not sink into the case, which will certainly happen even if we insert the LED into the hole “with interference”. And so we turn on the gun in the network, wait 5 minutes, a drop of molten glue, which, when cooled, will firmly fix the LED, and you're done. Such a gun costs only 40 rubles in retail stores of Chinese goods in our city “Fix price”.

The only thing is that there is no power cord at all, and after 5-10 times of use it had to be replaced, but this is not a problem for us, is it? The glue sticks themselves cost only 6 rubles per piece, they last for a long time.

Set of needle files and files

When assembling a device in a case, it is often necessary to expand the drilled holes, adjust them to the dimensions we need. To do this, I use different needle files and small files. The most common ones are flat, used when you need to cut a hole for a switch or button, and round, when fitting holes, for example, for a variable resistor shaft, and for the same LEDs.

Pliers

Useful when soldering planar radio components to hold them in place while soldering. Otherwise, they are used similarly to tweezers, but can provide, if necessary, a greater compressive force than tweezers. They can be used instead of platypuses, and perform most of its functions.

Tapered Aluminum Bar

A useful thing when we need to clean a hole for the output of a radio component in a printed circuit board filled with solder. Due to the fact that the rod is made of aluminum, the solder does not stick to it during soldering. Most people use toothpicks for such purposes, the advantage of this rod is that it is conical, it can be inserted into the hole, even from the back of the board, and when heated, expand the hole and free it from solder. But be careful not to tear off the contacts from the printed circuit board when doing this.

Stationery knife

It is also very convenient when stripping wires from insulation. I’ll tell you from my own experience, more than once I had to carry out minor repairs at a party or with friends, when there were no tools at all, except for my grandfather’s 40 or even 60 wt soldering iron, and a blunt kitchen knife. With its penny cost, it justifies itself by 100%.

Desoldering pump

Needed to remove solder from contacts, when soldering radio components from printed circuit boards. Allows dismantling of multi-pin parts without the risk of tearing off the contact on the track. With its help, transformers, microcircuits in a Dip case and not only, any connectors are easily soldered.

They use it as follows, bring it to the place of soldering, cock the spring, melt the solder with a soldering iron and press the release button on the desoldering pump. Due to the creation of a discharged area of air near the contact, the solder is sucked into the desoldering pump. If not completely removed, cock the spring and repeat until the contact is completely cleared of solder.

Periodically disassemble and clean the rubber ring on the piston from grains of solder.

Shuttle

Serves for winding transformers on a toroidal (ring) core. First, we calculate the total length of the winding wire and wind it on the shuttle. After we pass the shuttle into the core and start winding. This method allows you to wind the transformers much faster than if we threaded the wire into the core each time with our hands. The width of the shuttle must be less than the diameter of the core together with the wound winding.

Mini pliers

They are used similarly to large pliers. That is, when we need to apply force to bend something, for example, tin, or to give the desired shape, for example, thick wires. In some cases, they can replace platypuses, and thanks to the cutting edge, they allow you to bite off the wires.

Set of hollow needles for desoldering

I ordered such a set of needles on Ali express. The needles are made of stainless steel and the solder does not stick to them during soldering.

The diameter of the needles allows you to solder leads, for example, from 0.8 mm, which is suitable for soldering microcircuits in a Dip package, up to 2 mm, which will even allow you to desolder a transformer from the board if necessary.

The kit also includes an awl, which is convenient to disconnect the contacts of the microcircuit in the Dip package, if they accidentally “stick together” during soldering. To do this, we warm up the stuck contacts and draw an awl between them, thus separating them.

small scissors

Sometimes they also turn out to be useful, for example, if you need to cut off electrical tape, or something wider that it is not convenient to bite with side cutters. For example, if we isolate something with varnished cloth, or something similar, cut into strips.

Watch screwdriver set

Great for disassembling cameras, mp3 players, repairs, and any other equipment with small screws. There are both Phillips and flat screwdrivers of different sizes, for different screw heads.

Dismantling braid

Used to remove solder from the contacts of the soldered part. It is used as follows: dip a piece of braid in alcohol-rosin flux, put it on top of the contact and heat it with a soldering iron tip so that all the solder from the contact is absorbed into the braid. After use, cut off a piece of braid. Also, the used piece can be used for tinning the tracks in the manner described below.

Flux brush

Used when tinning boards with a soldering iron. Using a brush, liquid alcohol-rosin flux is applied to the tracks. After we collect a little solder on the braid, and warming up with a soldering iron, we drive along the braid along the tracks. As a result, in this way it turns out to tin the tracks. Solder should be taken on the braid quite a bit.

scalpels

I use two scalpels in my work, as in the photo above. In addition to the fact that they can cut through anything with effort, I use them to clean up the remnants of paper when transferring a pattern with a LUT, from closely spaced tracks so that they do not merge when etching.

Awl and scriber from a needle file

In addition to the fact that they can mark the dimensions of the board, when sawing off on a piece of textolite, I use an awl to lightly punch holes before drilling in the board, under the conclusions of the parts.

Chinese tweezers

The thing looks unreliable, they do not have notches on the working part of the sponges. With those tweezers that are bent, it is convenient to hold the SMD parts while soldering on the board. Considering that they cost me only 1.2 dollars per pair, I ordered express from Ali, I think they are worth their money.

Of course, this is not a complete list of tools used by radio amateurs, but only the main ones. But with such an arsenal, you can already collect anything. And if friends don’t need such a variety during random repairs, then it’s better to have these things at home. was with you AKV.

Technology Forum

Discuss the article Hand tools and fixtures

Source: http://radioskot.ru/publ/konstruktiv/ruchnye_instrumenty_i_prisposoblenija/13-1-0-967

Soldering microscope: what you should know about a useful device?

A soldering microscope is a device that allows many people to carry out precise work, soldering and mounting electronic cards, microcircuits and much more. Being engaged in repair, as well as restoring all kinds of electronic devices, from time to time you are faced with the need to work with small details.

Thus, a USB microscope designed for soldering microcircuits, as well as other small parts, will be an excellent helper. The modern variety of devices allows a person to choose an excellent microscope specifically for their needs.

Application area:

Precise work;
Inspection of surfaces, as well as quality control;
Soldering and mounting of electronic boards.

USB microscope, designed for soldering small parts, microcircuits, is used in most cases to detect microcracks in motherboards. The mechanisms of most modern USB microscopes are equipped with manual focus, stepless change in the degree of magnification, illumination, and other useful features. It also greatly simplifies the work of the USB cable, through which information is transmitted to a personal computer, as well as the fact that it is equipped with a backlight.

With the help of special software with a scale, the USB microscope can also be used to measure angles, distances, areas and radii of magnified objects up to a micrometer.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that most modern microscopes are equipped with illumination, the ability to transfer data to a computer, as well as many other soldering utilities. Also have the ability to work as a webcam.

With the help of this device, it is quite possible to take digital photographs of microcircuits, further enlarge them, shoot videos and transfer all useful information to a computer for subsequent study of all the details of the work.

Technical data

A modern microscope is the latest device equipped with a backlight for soldering chips and other small parts. In this regard, you need to know the technical data of the useful device.

Technical data:

Camera: 2.0 MPixel (most microscopes are equipped with this camera);
Magnification: 20-200x;
CMOS image sensor;
Manual focus within 10-500 millimeters;
Photo format: BMP or JPEG;
format: AVI with the possibility of 30 frames / second;
Lighting: in most cases there are 8 LEDs with the ability to adjust the brightness (using the backlight, the work becomes much easier);
Photo/video resolution: 2560×2048 (5M), 2000×1600, 1600×1280 (2M), 1280×1024, 1024×960, 1024×768, 800×600, 640×480, 352×288, 320×240 , 160×120;
The power supply allows you to use the USB port of a laptop, while there is no need for an additional battery;
The system requirements are mostly the same: Windows® in 2000 / XP/Windows Vista -/Windows 7.

What is included?

The modern soldering device kit includes the following components:

Microscope;
USB cable;
Tripod;
Instructions for using the device for soldering microcircuits;
Software with all necessary drivers;

Microscope Features

It is worth noting that today, shareholders are not too eager to purchase these devices for soldering, believing that the usual magnifying glass worn on the head is much more convenient and simpler. Of course, a magnifying glass is much simpler, but in all other respects a magnifying glass is inferior to a microscope (it is not equipped with a backlight, communication with a computer).

Like any modern device designed to make work easier and less laborious, the microscope has a number of significant advantages over such a device as a magnifying glass, thanks to which the shareholder can forget how he previously used a magnifying glass attached to his head for this purpose.

Microscope features:

Compactness;
Portability;
Minor weight;
Adjustable zoom (magnification) of the lens;
Possibility of illumination of the repaired part;
High sharpness;
Equipped with high quality lighting;
Ease of replacement of any elements of the device;
Additional accessories for the safety of the device during transportation;
The convenience of use;
Ability to work with photos and videos.

DIY microscope

If you are tired of the magnifying glass on your head, it will be interesting to know that you can make a homemade microscope for high-quality soldering. However, this will require a little skill and a minimum of old devices. Of course, to make a microscope with your own hands, you will need a children's analogue - a toy microscope. You can use an old children's device, for example, "Naturalist". In addition, you will have to use a webcam, which you are unlikely to use.

Let's say right away, if you are not sure that you will finish the job, and the magnifying glass is a more familiar device for you, it is better not to start, because otherwise you risk wasting time and also using up materials that may still come in handy. In this case, it would be better to purchase a new device for soldering microcircuits. But for self-confident below is the procedure.

Procedure:

First, prepare the materials for work, organize the workplace;
After that, take the webcam, and then screw it into the eyepiece. You can use plastic glue to fix the camera;
Next, we use a transistor in SOT-23 (actual size 3x3 mm) or a resistor 1206, the length of which is 3x2.6 mm;
Optionally, the microscope can be equipped with illumination.

With little effort and time, you can use a DIY USB microscope without straining your eyesight, and you won't even need a magnifying glass. Thus, a magnifying glass is successfully replaced by a microscope.

Source: http://GoodSvarka.ru/pajka/mikroskop/

What equipment is used for soldering

Soldering is considered one of the most effective and reliable ways to connect materials. Previously, it was used for metals and their alloys, but soldering is also suitable for joining pieces of glass, plastic, and ceramics.

There are many types of soldering, each of which uses special soldering equipment, tools and fixtures.

soldering iron

The most commonly used soldering tool is a soldering iron. Without it, it is difficult to imagine the equipment of the workplace. Soldering irons are used by amateurs and professionals. It all depends on the type of instrument.

Molotkovy

To connect large, massive parts, hammer soldering irons are used, so named because of their hammer-like shape. They are heated in ovens or braziers and, having a large thermal inertia, remain heated for a long time.

Such equipment is used for soldering large parts.

Electric

The most traditional soldering method is with an electric soldering iron. It is arranged very simply - a heating element is enclosed in a metal case, which heats up the sting - a copper rod. The heating temperature of the soldering iron depends on the power of the heating element.

The process of soldering is to heat the parts to be joined by contact and fasten them with a special composition called solder. After cooling, a strong connection is obtained, capable of conducting electricity, if the parts to be joined are conductors.

A professional electric soldering iron can be with a voltage regulator. In this case, it is possible to adjust the tip temperature, which is very important when assembling and mounting electronic circuits.

Of particular interest is induction equipment. Induction soldering irons are self-regulating heating, they economically consume electricity.

Produce ultrasonic soldering equipment. The ultrasonic soldering iron is equipped with a generator that generates a high frequency signal.

In addition to a soldering iron powered by a household mains, the soldering station equipment may include a soldering tool powered by 12 or 24 volts. It is suitable for debugging electronic circuits and for mounting parts and components that can fail from overheating.

Electric soldering irons can also be cordless, powered by AA batteries.

Gas

Gas soldering irons are very convenient in operation, the heating of which occurs from the combustion of gas. Gas equipment is represented by a huge number of models that differ in size, ignition system, and the presence of a temperature controller.

With the help of gas soldering equipment, hard high-temperature solders can be melted. They produce posts for gas soldering of copper pipes, which include cylinders, reducers, a platform and a burner.

The disadvantages of electric or gas soldering irons is the impossibility of simultaneously heating a large area at low power. In this case, other types of equipment are used.

Infrared stations and hair dryers

Models of hot air soldering equipment (hair dryers) are mainly used for dismantling and volumetric mounting of microcircuits on electronic device boards. Very often, a hair dryer is included in the package of a soldering station, which also consists of an electric soldering iron and a control unit.

The soldering station allows you to set and control the parameters of the tools included in it, ensuring a high quality seam.

Often, the equipment for a soldering station includes a table with the possibility of heating parts or circuit boards from below.

This installation uses infrared heat sources - lamps, heating elements. Some designs of warming tables are equipped with brackets and tripods, which allows you to fix the boards.

Infrared equipment has a similar effect with a soldering dryer. It can also be used to heat a large area without contact with microcircuit elements.

Infrared soldering stations allow you to control soldering and ensure smooth cooling of the metal. This is expensive equipment, which is a whole computing complex with sets of sensors, processors and a whole list of auxiliary tools.

Tools and fixtures

When hand soldering, it is not enough to have only soldering equipment. Without the necessary additional devices, it is impossible to solder anything, not only qualitatively, but in general. These devices include:

blowtorch;
tweezers;
a set of needle files;
wire cutters;
magnifying glass and tripod;
clamps;
stands.

One of the necessary tools is tweezers. It serves to hold small parts in the position in which they need to be soldered.

In addition, often metal tweezers, clamping the leads, serve as a heat sink when soldering semiconductors or other temperature-demanding objects.

Another tool often used when working is a needle file. With a flat file, you can clean the tip of the soldering iron from soot before irradiating it.

With a round needle file with a sharp end, you can carefully clean the mounting holes on the board. Sometimes it is necessary to strip the pins of circuit components before mounting them in place.

To work with wires and cables, you will need side cutters. With their help, wires are cut off, insulation is stripped, sometimes excess solder is mechanically removed.

Various types of screwdrivers may be needed to remove electronic components and circuit boards from electrical appliance cases. And since some components can fail when exposed to even a weak magnetic field, you will need a device to demagnetize steel tools.

Very often you have to solder large parts. It is impossible to heat them with a soldering iron, even the most powerful one. In this case, the parts near the place of future soldering are heated with a blowtorch, and after that they are already soldered with a soldering iron. Blowtorches can run on gasoline, kerosene, gas. Some models run on alcohol.

To fix the parts between each other and on the table, it is good to have a set of metal clamps on hand. When using them, you can accurately orient the parts one relative to the other and maintain this position throughout the entire soldering and cooling time.

A useful tool for soldering is supplied. You can place a hot soldering iron on it without fear of fire. Such simple equipment is often made by hand.

To connect small parts, which is very often the case when repairing jewelry, you will need a magnifying glass with a large diameter glass mounted on a tripod.

With constant frequent soldering work, it is a good idea to install equipment for thought removal in the room.

Industrial soldering

In heavy industry, completely different types of soldering equipment are used. The connection of large parts and structures in industrial conditions takes place in furnaces.

In this case, the highest quality is achieved, since when using furnace equipment, it is possible to constantly monitor the state of the metal, maintain the required temperature and pressure. Metal is protected from oxidation by introducing fluxes into the furnace chamber.

Soldering ovens differ in the principle of heating. They are induction, gas, electric. Workpieces are fed and removed in various ways, depending on the design of the furnace equipment. It can be manual feed, belt conveyor, mine and elevator feed.

In furnaces with manual feed, the heating and cooling of parts, the soldering chamber occurs within one soldering cycle. After cooling, new parts are loaded. In this furnace, it is easiest to control the course of the process and its duration.

In conveyor soldering equipment, heating occurs constantly, and the parts cool down after being removed from the chamber. Such furnaces are used to create a large number of identical, serial products.

Shaft and elevator furnaces are used for the manufacture of large volumetric structures, which are assembled directly in the furnace and then the soldering process is carried out under fully controlled parameters.

Vacuum soldering equipment is used to join products from highly oxidizing materials. The solder joints produced in such furnaces are clean and uniform, which ensures their strength.

Due to the lower temperature and a completely different effect on the metal than during welding, solder joints are more resistant to corrosion and mechanical stress.

Despite the long-standing invention of soldering and the creation of new methods for joining metals and alloys, soldering work using special equipment remains in demand at the present time.

Source: https://svaring.com/soldering/instrumenty/oborudovanie-dlja-pajki

Lesson 1 - Ham radio tool

— Tools — Materials

— Organization of the workplace

1. Soldering iron

A soldering iron, of course, is the main and most necessary tool for a radio amateur.
In essence, this is a very simple tool - an ordinary electric heater: the soldering iron is plugged into an outlet, and after a while its tip is heated to the required temperature.

Let's see what soldering irons are in general. Let's start the review with unsuitable models for our purposes.

A powerful soldering iron for soldering pipes, metals, basins and pans - we don’t need this for fine radio engineering work!

The gas soldering iron is powered by a built-in gas cartridge and is therefore very convenient for field work. But we will be doing amateur radio at home, so we don’t need a gas soldering iron.

The best tool for beginner radio amateurs is an electric soldering iron with a power of 25-40 watts. The handle of the soldering iron can be wooden or plastic - this is unprincipled.

Perhaps the main parameter of a soldering iron for beginner radio amateurs is its power. A soldering iron that is too powerful (more than 60W) will heat up excessively and may damage the printed circuit board and radio components. A low-power soldering iron (power less than 25W) is designed for soldering very small radio components and is more suitable for experienced radio amateurs. For soldering standard parts from Master Kit sets, the power of such a soldering iron may not be enough.

The optimal power of a soldering iron suitable for beginner radio amateurs is 25 ... 40W.

A soldering iron can be purchased at radio and hardware stores in your city, at radio markets, in specialized stores, in large chain hypermarkets (Leroy Merlin, OBI, AUCHAN, etc.). If you live far from large cities, then you can order a soldering iron, a soldering station and any other tool in online stores ("Electronics Engineer", "Dessie", "Chip and Dip", etc.). These stores deliver goods by mail to anywhere in Russia.

An ordinary soldering iron can cost 200-300 rubles.

The soldering iron is simple and inexpensive, and it is very natural to start taking your first steps in amateur radio with it. But there are certain inconveniences, the main of which is the unstable temperature of the sting.

The melting temperature of the solder is about 270C, and the optimum temperature of the soldering iron tip is about 290 ... 320C.

But the tip of an ordinary soldering iron, a few minutes after plugging it into a socket, can heat up to a temperature above 400C. Soldering at this temperature turns out to be of poor quality, since its components “burn out” from the solder.

In addition, such a high temperature can damage the radio components and the printed circuit board.

There are many ways to solve the problem of overheating of the sting. The simplest of them is the periodic switching on / off of the soldering iron to the network. In amateur radio literature, there are many schemes for home-made power regulators for a soldering iron, and you can use one of these recommendations.

But, if amateur radio really captivates you and becomes your hobby, it’s wiser to “fork out” for the so-called soldering station. The simplest soldering station is a unit with a tip temperature control knob. The soldering iron and network cable included in the kit are connected to the unit.

It is enough to set the required temperature with the handle, and the soldering station will maintain the temperature of the soldering iron tip unchanged.

More expensive models of soldering stations may have a digital indicator that displays the set and current temperature of the tip. The soldering station kit may include a soldering iron holder and a set of replacement tips.

The simplest soldering station can cost from 1000 rubles, and for 3000 rubles you can buy a very decent semi-professional model with a temperature indicator and a set of interchangeable tips.

With the help of even the simplest soldering station, it is much more convenient to work than with a conventional soldering iron. But the pleasure of work is the most important thing, right?

2. Radio side cutters

The second most important tool after the soldering iron is radio side cutters.

Let's start with an overview of models that are not suitable for amateur radio

These are wire cutters for electricians. They can bite thick wires, for example. Or even nails and piano strings (some professional instruments allow such “mockery” on themselves). But there is no universal tool. And wire cutters that can cut through a thick nail are not suitable for thin radio work. We need exactly radio side cutters.
They look something like this:

You can buy such side cutters in the same place as a soldering iron (see above).

The price can range from 50 rubles to several thousand rubles. Of course, side cutters of the upper price category are more appropriate for daily work in production, but I would not recommend buying cheap side cutters for 100 rubles, since they will most likely be “disposable” and inconvenient to use. Decent side cutters for amateur radio purposes can cost in the range of 300-500 rubles.

The simplest test of side cutters for suitability: try cutting ordinary paper with them. If they can easily handle paper, most likely there will be no problems with trimming the leads of radio components. By the way, even completely new side cutters “for 100 rubles” may not be able to cope with this “paper test”, so draw your own conclusions.,

3. Tweezers

With it, you can bend the leads, hold the radio component, etc. When cutting the leads, you can hold them with tweezers - then the cuttings of the leads will not scatter throughout the room.
But, since all this can be done with your fingers, then, perhaps, tweezers are not the most necessary tool for a beginner radio amateur.

4. "Third hand"

When soldering, we hold a soldering iron in one hand, and a solder rod in the other hand. But how to hold the printed circuit board? Missing a third hand...

There are devices that are called “third hand” in amateur radio jargon. The design in the basic version is outrageously simple: the base and metal clothespins, which fix the printed circuit board. Often the "third hand" is complemented by a magnifying glass and a soldering iron holder. Of course, you can also make some kind of board retainer yourself. But, since the models available for sale are inexpensive - about 200 rubles - it is easier to purchase a ready-made holder.

5. Solder

Solder is an essential material for soldering. This is a fusible wire that melts under the action of a hot soldering iron tip, and after a few seconds it solidifies, mechanically fixing the output of the radio component and the printed conductor. Since the solder is electrically conductive, electrical contact of the parts is also ensured at the same time.

The solder consists of lead (about 60%) and tin (40%). In addition, the solder may contain various additives that improve the quality of soldering: silver, various additives, and the like.

Depending on the composition of the solder (the ratio of lead and tin), it melts at a temperature of about 270C. Therefore, the temperature of the soldering iron tip should be slightly higher than the melting temperature of the solder. Some types of solder contain a flux, which is used to remove oxidation and improve the flow of soldering.

It is much more pleasant and faster to work with such solder, you do not need to purchase flux and rosin separately, and I recommend buying this solder.

In some starter kits, we put small bars of solder, but it should be considered more like free probes, and for work you need to buy solder separately. Solder is supplied in the form of spools of different weights.

The well-known domestic solder “POS61 with a rosin channel” or its imported analogues will do.

Another important characteristic of solder is the diameter of the rod. It is most convenient for beginner radio amateurs to work with a bar diameter of 1 ... 1.5 mm.

A reel of good solder with a rosin channel can cost about 300-500 rubles, and this amount is enough for episodic classes for at least a year. You can buy solder in the same place as a soldering iron (see above).

Previously, rosin and flux (a solution of rosin in alcohol + additives) were used to remove oxides from a printed circuit board and radio components, as well as to improve the flow of solder, and they were recommended to be purchased separately.

But now, if you use modern solder with a rosin channel, as well as new tinned, that is, tin-coated radio components and printed circuit boards (only such high-quality components are included in the Master Kit sets), you do not need to purchase anything additionally - all the necessary additives are already contained in solder.

6. Alcohol

After soldering, traces of the flux contained in the solder remain on the board.

Strictly speaking, modern high-quality solders allow a no-clean process, that is, the board after assembly does not need to be cleaned, and nameless Chinese electronics manufacturers do just that. But a cleaned board looks much neater, and all reputable electronics manufacturers wash their boards.

In amateur conditions, it is best to use alcohol, an old toothbrush and napkins. Wetting the brush in alcohol, carefully rub the printed circuit board with it, and at the final stage of cleaning, ordinary wipes are used.

It is recommended to use non-alcoholic liquids (cologne, vodka), namely technical alcohol, as the most effective cleaner.
A liter bottle of isopropyl alcohol can cost 150-200 rubles, and it will be enough to clean circuit boards and other surfaces for several years.

Workplace

You will need the most ordinary table and chair.
In order not to damage the working surface of the table, it is better to cover it with a sheet of cardboard, plywood or glass. It’s more pleasant and safer to work on a clean, uncluttered table, so it’s better not to make a “mess” on it (in which the likelihood of losing some small radio component increases dramatically).

Take care of good table lighting. The general overhead light in the room is not enough for fine work, so be sure to include a table lamp.

Ensure good ventilation of the work area. Solder fumes are unlikely to cause noticeable harm to health during episodic amateur creativity (here we are not talking about the professional daily many hours of work of radio installers in production). The use of special hoods for amateur conditions is unnecessary, but a regular fan that drives smoke away from the face is a good solution! It is also better to ventilate the room and wash your hands after soldering.

To consolidate the knowledge gained in practice, you can use the NR01 beginner radio amateur kit.

Download lesson in PDF format

I often have to solder, and sometimes it's not very convenient to do it. Large parts can be clamped in a vise, but you can’t do this with small ones. There is a tool for this third hand, but I didn’t want to buy such a toy in the store, I decided to make it myself from improvised garbage.

Started this creation with a stand. I cut out a rectangle from centimeter plywood:

And I immediately asked myself how to fix the bar on the base and later attach horizontal racks to it. For good, it was necessary to cut the thread and secure it with a nut, but there was no necessary die. I had to get out of the situation ...

To secure the rack in the base, I found a bolt with a longitudinal hole. It was smaller than the diameter of the bar, I had to grind it a little:

To fasten the horizontal racks, I found a long nut (found in Soviet cassette recorders) and carved a bed for it at the end of the bar:

I wanted to fix the nut with a threaded connection, but the drill stubbornly did not want to make a hole in the end, I had to do it in this way.

The node is ready for assembly:

For the strength of the connection, he put a tube on the bar and made a cut in it:

And began to solder the nut:

Now let's move on to fixing the bolt. We clamp the part in a vise and begin to solder from above:

Detail ready:

Now what do we need to do? That's right, you need to connect the vertical stand and the base. To do this, I cut out another auxiliary part - a rectangle of 4mm plywood:

I drilled a hole in the base with a drill bit. I also made holes in the auxiliary plywood substrate and found 4 self-tapping screws. Everything is ready for assembly:

The floor is done, the base with a vertical stand is ready. Let's move on to the second part - the creation of horizontal racks, clips and a magnifying glass.

These metal plates, pins and bolts with washers are the future arms of our device:

To fasten them, I use these bolts with washers soldered to them (for ease of unscrewing / tightening):

But I got these parts from the hard drive (magnet rack). I cut the thread with a tap and got nuts that are convenient to tighten by hand:

And most importantly, clamps. Soldered bolts to the ends for fastening and rotation around the axis:

We begin to assemble the nodes of our mechanism.

Holder #1

Node details:

Assembly assembly:

Holder #2

Node details:

Assembly assembly:

magnifying glass holder

Node details:

Today I want to tell you about how you can make a device yourself that will help you facilitate the soldering process ...

Watch the soldering tool video:

Often there are problems when you need to solder wires or something else and there are not enough hands. You need to hold the soldering iron with one hand, hold the workpiece that you want to solder with the other hand, and you also need another hand to hold the other end of the wire that needs to be soldered. Another problem arises when, in addition to these listed "three hands", a fourth one is also needed, which will hold a magnifying glass (for especially small details). After analyzing this problem, I came to the conclusion that it can be solved with the help of a home-made device, which will be discussed today.

Let's start with the first problem: "the third hand is the holder"

For our entire structure, we will need small wooden beam. We take two wooden clothespins and, using self-tapping screws, fasten them to our beam as shown in the photo:

We clamp the screws not very hard so that we can change the slope of the clothespins.

We have solved the first problem. "Third hand" for soldering is ready!

Second problem: where to put a hot soldering iron so as not to spoil the surface of the workplace?

Wire. We bend it as shown in the photo:

Next, on the side of our wooden beam, we make two small holes in diameter coinciding with the diameter of the wire and put the ends of the wire into these holes in the beam. We get such a design here, on which you can safely put a hot soldering iron:

The design is also good because it can be folded and thereby save space when storing this device:

The third problem: where to put the solder and rosin?

To solve this problem, we need a small metal lid from under the jar. We make a hole to it and fix it on top of the beam with a self-tapping screw:

Fourth problem: when soldering especially small parts, a problem arises when you need to see the soldering process from a very close distance. To do this, we need a magnifying glass and a two-wire wire.

We take the wire and tightly wrap our magnifying glass as shown in the photo:

The rib of the magnifying glass should fit exactly between the two strands of the wire (this will allow the magnifying glass to hold very well). Next, twist the ends of the wire, thereby securing the magnifying glass:

Now we need a "dog" from under the wooden latch, which we screw into a wooden beam with the help of self-tapping screws.

There are many types of soldering, each of which uses special soldering equipment, tools and fixtures.

Molotkovy

Such equipment is used for soldering large parts.

Electric

Of particular interest is induction equipment. In there is a self-regulation of heating, they economically consume electricity.

Produce ultrasonic soldering equipment. The ultrasonic soldering iron is equipped with a generator that generates a high frequency signal.

Electric soldering irons can also be cordless, powered by AA batteries.

Gas

The disadvantages of electric or gas soldering irons is the impossibility of simultaneously heating a large area at low power. In this case, other types of equipment are used.

Infrared stations and hair dryers

The soldering station allows you to set and control the parameters of the tools included in it, ensuring a high quality seam.

Often, the equipment for a soldering station includes a table with the possibility of heating parts or circuit boards from below.

This installation uses infrared heat sources - lamps, heating elements. Some designs of warming tables are equipped with brackets and tripods, which allows you to fix the boards.

Infrared equipment has a similar effect with a soldering dryer. It can also be used to heat a large area without contact with microcircuit elements.

Tools and fixtures

blowtorch;
tweezers;
a set of needle files;
wire cutters;
magnifying glass and tripod;
clamps;
stands.

One of the necessary tools is tweezers. It serves to hold small parts in the position in which they need to be soldered.

In addition, often metal tweezers, clamping the leads, serve as a heat sink when soldering semiconductors or other temperature-demanding objects.

Another tool often used when working is a needle file. A flat file can be used to remove soot before irradiating it.

With a round needle file with a sharp end, you can carefully clean the mounting holes on the board. Sometimes it is necessary to strip the pins of circuit components before mounting them in place.

To work with wires and cables, you will need side cutters. With their help, wires are cut off, insulation is stripped, sometimes excess solder is mechanically removed.

A useful tool for soldering is supplied. You can place a hot soldering iron on it without fear of fire. Such simple equipment is often made by hand.

To connect small parts, which is very often the case when repairing jewelry, you will need a magnifying glass with a large diameter glass mounted on a tripod.

With constant frequent soldering work, it is a good idea to install equipment for thought removal in the room.

Industrial soldering

In heavy industry, completely different types of soldering equipment are used. The connection of large parts and structures in industrial conditions takes place in furnaces.

Vacuum soldering equipment is used to join products from highly oxidizing materials. The solder joints produced in such furnaces are clean and uniform, which ensures their strength.

Due to the lower temperature and a completely different effect on the metal than during welding, solder joints are more resistant to corrosion and mechanical stress.

Despite the long-standing invention of soldering and the creation of new methods for joining metals and alloys, soldering work using special equipment remains in demand at the present time.