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first soldering iron question

B

BOOTY MONSTER

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i want to get a soldering iron to use for putting connectors on coax and maybe later (if i get confidence/courage/balls enough) maybe try a mod of even try an small amp kit , but thats down the road . im wondering what watt rating to get . i read somewhere a very hot iron is best cause itll melt the solder b4 the heat has time to radiate into a circuit trace and melt it . and also that a very hot iron is needed to make a secure conection for the ground braid on a coax conector . did i remember correctly or is this correct ?
id like to get something at radio shack since its local . i dont need anything professional , just something for small intermittened project use . will theirs be OK for my use ? and what watt power should i look for ? pencil or gun type ? should a stay away from rat shacks and get one somewhere else ?

thanks
 

I think if I had to start from scratch with a soldering iron I'd get one of the 'pistol' type, maybe a two-stage model. Coax connectors usually take higher wattage irons than assembly stuff, so having that 'high' heat option is definitely a plus. A '100/300' watt gun (if they still make them) would work.
Another option for putting on coax connectors is a 'torch' instead of a soldering iron. Especially if you're gonna do it outside, wind and long extension cords really eat up a soldering iron's heat. 'Course, learning how to use that torch takes a bit of experimenting. (I mean a large torch, not one of the little ones.)
Oh and if you really wanna get fancy! Rob the carbon rods out of the center of a dead 'D' cell battery (two of them). Find a 12 volt battery charger. Strap/bolt/'J.B.Weld' the carbon rods onto the ends of a wooden pair of tweezers or small 'tongs' connect one rod to the (+), one to the (-) through a foot switch and to the battery charger. @#$ near like spot-welding. Ends of the carbon rods turn white hot when touching! Very localized heat! Works very well with coax connectors, don't think I'd use it for semiconductors - lol. It's the way those 'cold-heat' soldering thingys work, by the way...
- 'Doc
 
I'm partial to pencil type soldering irons that allow me to change the heating elements and/or tip size for the job I'm performing. For connectors I normally use a 100W element with a 1/2 wide tip which means it has a large thermal mass and will heat a large area very quickly. If I'm going to solder a PCB, I change the tip to a very small size when soldering components. I would laso recommend a solder sucker and/or solder wick if you plan on removing components/solder.
 
I got a HAKKO 936 a couple of years ago and LOVE IT !! A soldering station can be a little more than you are wanting but if you are going to be in this hobby a while it's worth it.
 
dont waste your time with rad shack just get yourself a nice WELLER brand and get a pencil type. you will find out that those guns are not good for alot of applications or they cant be used due to limited space your trying to get to. I have a gun also that I use for big jobs or when the pencil type dont work or melt the solder I have seen this on some older amplifiers where the ground wires attach to the board. You will get more use out of the pencil type and later you can invest in the gun style Im only telling you this to save you the mistake that Ive seen alot of people make because they end up buying a pencil anyways after spending more money to begin with on the gun style Good luck on the soldering and remember the key is to learn to be quick and efficiant when soldering and that will come in time when you get those shakes out of your system :)
 
thanks for the speedy replys folks . ill check wally world this evening .
thanks again .
 
When you're working with PL-259s, the key is not so much a "hot" iron as it is a LARGE hot iron. The size of the tip is the crucial part. Yes, you need it to get hot, but you also need it large enough that it will STAY hot while you apply it to a much larger connector. A 100 watt soldering gun has a tip maybe 1/8" by 1/4". This represents very little thermal mass, meaning that when you touch it to a room-temperature connector with room-temperature coax inside it, the tip cools off immediately and has to try to regain temperature while you press it against the connector.

Get a 100 watt American Beauty iron, like the one I've used for 50 years. Had to replace the tip twice, but that's normal. It has a massive tip that doesn't cool off noticeably when soldering connectors. The area to be soldered gets hot just short of instantly, and doesn't get OVERheated. I don't think I've had a bad connector in the last couple hundred I've assembled.

Thermal mass is the key. Not just heat.
 
park said:
I got a HAKKO 936 a couple of years ago and LOVE IT !! A soldering station can be a little more than you are wanting but if you are going to be in this hobby a while it's worth it.
Click to expand...

Absolutely...just under $100, TOTALLY worth it, a bargain and you will use it for years.

HMC Electronics sells HAKKO and the 936 is awesome. The only soldering station for the money that has tip selection that will easily handle PL259's down to SMT component sizes.
 
OK,..This is very helpfull. I'm getting ready to do a little coax & PL-259 soldering. This is my first time, so was wondering what type & wattage of iron to use. I just bought a vintage 100W Hexagon iron from ebay. By all the answers to the question,..I think I'm in the ballpark,...good deal!! :)
 
nightwatch said:
OK,..This is very helpfull. I'm getting ready to do a little coax & PL-259 soldering. This is my first time, so was wondering what type & wattage of iron to use. I just bought a vintage 100W Hexagon iron from ebay. By all the answers to the question,..I think I'm in the ballpark,...good deal!! :)
Click to expand...

I think you been misinformed a bit. a 100 watt for a first timer.
is a bit to much...but these wisemen swear on it!..I solder every freaking day or 2 with a 20-40 watt and a 100 watt I use the 20 watt for the connectors and the 100watt and haven't had a problem yet
I would suggest if you use the 100 watt don't leave it on the connector to long(you will be melting stuff....don't know what else to say but good luck... ...remember I don't use a 100 watt one for connectors,maybe a heavy gauge wire to a ground...and all my circuit boards are soldered with a 20 watt or a cold solder gun
 

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