ELECTRONIC, INFOMATION

oldering is something that needs to be practiced. These tips should help you become successful so you can stop practicing and get down to some serious building.

1. Use heatsinks. Heatsinks are a must for the leads of sensitive components such as ICs and transistors. If you don't have a clip on heatsink, then a pair of pliers is a good substitute.
2. Keep the iron tip clean. A clean iron tip means better heat conduction and a better joint. Use a wet sponge to clean the tip between joints.
3. Double check joints. It is a good idea to check all solder joints with an ohm meter after they are cooled. If the joint measures any more than a few tenths of an ohm, then it may be a good idea to resolder it.
4. Use the proper iron. Remember that bigger joints will take longer to heat up with an 30W iron than with a 150W iron. While 30W is good for printed circuit boards and the like, higher wattages are great when soldering to a heavy metal chassis.
5. Solder small parts first. Solder resistors, jumper leads, diodes and any other small parts before you solder larger parts like capacitors and transistors. This makes assembly much easier.