Need to learn to solder and do wireing

[FlatTire]

I just order a Axial ARTR with Castle Sidewinder and 55t motor. Now i need to learn how to put it all together. Can someone point me in the direction of a good how to thread. I want to learn to do this right so please let it be GOOD info. Also need to know what size wire to use for what, what kinf or connections, etc.

Thanks!:mrgreen:

 

[snail78]

Use the deans ultra plugs

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

For wire you'll need good motor wire, like Wet Noodle or something comperable. I think the Sidewinder uses 14g.

When making connections to the Sidewinder, I'd use the matching bullet connectors or swap over to Deans.

Make sure your soldering iron is at least 40w. Even then you'll have a bit of a time soldering on that wire. It takes alot of heat.

Get good solder with acid flux. It makes life tons easier. Saftey Silv makes a nice little kit that includes both.

I'd go poke around holmeshobbies.com and see what he's got. Chances are he'll have everything you need.

Everything you need on one page...hows that for service? "thumbsup" http://holmeshobbies.com/home.php?cat=11

 

[BLKXJ 96]

Hit YouTube they have hundreds of videos and clips on how to solder.

 

[HomerJ]

Here's a quick and dirty rundown on soldering, but it's all you'll ever need to know.

First thing is that you really are going to want to use a good soldering iron, or if you can swing it (or borrow one) a soldering station. A great example of these are the Hakko 936 models. The cheapie irons have a really hard time getting the wires we normally use up to temp compared to a better gun. Most times a good iron can make a world of difference.

Anyway, on to technique. The first thing you're going to want to do is start with a pre-heated, clean tip. Tin the tip of the iron (melt a little solder on the tip), then tin the wire (heat the wire from the bottom while applying solder from the top). When you tin the wire, you want to make sure the wire is hot enough to "accept" the solder, not just melt it over top of the wire. You will see the difference as you get better at it. Basically the solder will suck into the braids in the wire when the wire is hot enough to accept it. Same thing goes for deans connectors or any other surface. The solder will flow into/onto whatever it is instead of just plopping onto it in a bead.

Once you've pre-tinned both surfaces, it's just a matter of mating them. Hold the wire on top of the surface you wish to solder it to. Hold the iron on the hard surface (this is where a pair of helping hands holders comes in handy), and heat the main surface. Let the solder on it melt, then melt up into the wire's solder that you applied in the tinning process. Remove the iron when it has melted thoroughly through and hold until the solder "hazes over". Once it's done that it is ok to let go of. After that I usually blow on it a few times to help cool it quicker, slide the heat shrink tubing onto the joint and done. Hope that helps ya!! "thumbsup"


Forgot to type this step in (second nature for me lol). Be sure to clean the tip after every single step I listed. It makes it 100x easier!!

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

First thing is that you really are going to want to use a good soldering iron, or if you can swing it (or borrow one) a soldering station. A great example of these are the Hakko 936 models. The cheapie irons have a really hard time getting the wires we normally use up to temp compared to a better gun. Most times a good iron can make a world of difference.

I agree, but I must say the $3.99 60w iron from HH works great. Its a little stinky and is kinda worse for wear now, but well worth the money if you are a casual solderer.

 

[snail78]

dont forget to slide the heat shrink up the wire before you solder the wire to the connector it really sucks when you get in a rush and forget the heat shrink until after you solder it

 

[KrawlerKing]

is solderer a word?? lol

here check it out http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

 

[HomerJ]

You are right, but I'm one of those people that went from a $20 red handled iron at Autozone to a real soldering station lol. The frustration with a shotty iron is insane. I have no experience with the iron from John though, so I can't say one way or the other on that one "thumbsup" We use Wellers exclusively at work, and they're 10x the price of a Hakko for the same quality job. The only thing extra you get out of the Wellers we use is 3 presets on temps and digital readouts. Not necessary for our uses in my opinion.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

You are right, but I'm one of those people that went from a $20 red handled iron at Autozone to a real soldering station lol. The frustration with a shotty iron is insane. I have no experience with the iron from John though, so I can't say one way or the other on that one "thumbsup" We use Wellers exclusively at work, and they're 10x the price of a Hakko for the same quality job. The only thing extra you get out of the Wellers we use is 3 presets on temps and digital readouts. Not necessary for our uses in my opinion.

John's el-cheapo is the best and cheapest iron I've ever had. But I don't use it that often, so its perfect. I would most certainly step up to a Hakko if it was a few times a week situation.

 

[neamerjell]

I'm no stranger to a soldering iron.

For electrical work, first and foremost, make sure you use ROSIN CORE solder. The stuff that is used for copper pipes won't work.

Next, the thinner the solder wire (the actual solder itself, I use .032 diameter) the faster and easier it melts, and it is much easier to work with in my experience.

I also HIGHLY RECOMMEND something called "helping hands". It is a weighted base with a magnifying glass and two or more alligator clips attached to it. This holds what you are soldering so you have your two hands free to hold the solder and the iron.

As for soldering irons, I bought one at Radio Shack years ago and still does what I need it to. You don't have to spend too much money on one, I do recommend one that has replaceable tips, and use a finer tip like one that would be used for mounting a transistor to a circuit board. They heat up faster and are easier to control. I also recommend a sponge that you can wet down with water to clean the tip of the iron (globs of solder sometimes build up and stick to the iron).

Soldering 101: Tin the tip of the iron, put a coat of solder on the tip of the iron before actually touching it to any wires. This helps prevent oxydation and improves heat transfer. Heat the wires or leads, not the solder. Once the wires are hot (the solder will melt on the wires, not just the tip of the iron - this is where the small diameter solder comes in handy) put the solder on the wires and remove the iron. If you did it correctly, the joint will be shiny with a mirror finish. If it is dull or flat looking, you have what is called a cold solder joint. This is caused by the wires not being hot enough, which means you melted the solder on the iron, not the wires.

Here is an excellent video of the basics on soldering:
http://www.curiousinventor.com/guides/How_To_Solder

This video goes into a lot of detail and is thorough in its explanations of how and why certain things are done. It even addresses the potential toxicity of the fumes!:shock: I only watched a few seconds of it and I learned something new - and I'm an experienced solderer!

Good luck, don't burn yourself, and have fun!

 

[FlatTire]

THANK YOU to eveeryone who applied to my question. I have read the advice as well as watched alot of video. I now feel like i can do this with out too much trouble. This was just what I was looking for.

This site and you guys are great!

Thanks Again!!!!"thumbsup"

 

[Greatscott]

One more word of wisdom...

Practice!!!

Get some junk material, like what you will be soldering on, and practice tinning and soldering, when you feel comfortable move on to the real thing.

 

[boisetrucker]

Just so you know you can get the helping hands at Habor Freight for under $3.00.

 

[maxfactor]

With adjustable temps on soldering irons what temps should be used? For instance, would you change temps when soldering on a esc then battery pack.

 

[neamerjell]

I absolutely agree with GreatScott:

One more word of wisdom...

Practice!!!

Get some junk material, like what you will be soldering on, and practice tinning and soldering, when you feel comfortable move on to the real thing.

Practice will give you the experience to know what is a good solder joint and what is not. Also, you won't mess up anything important while you try to solder for the first few times.

 

[kmrunner]

I soldered up my Tekin FXR and motor last night and it was brutal. Haven't used a solder iron in over 10 years. I started with the Dean connectors and it went pretty smooth even with a POS solder iron that I had. However, when I got to the ESC it was a whole new ballgame. I purchased the Tekin ESC for how small it was but it was a nightmare for me to solder. I did the capacitor no problem but I had a heck of a time getting all the motor/battery wires connected. Finally did but it isn't pretty:shock: I gave up on the BEC. I just couldn't get them to stick but it was late in the night and I figuered I had done enough damage. I hope I didn't get the ESC too hot. I kept giving it a rest but there were times when it was a little hot to the touch.

The deans went so smooth. If I had known how tough the ESC was I would have gladly paid someone to do it right. The wires are on there but man it looks like crap.

 

[Raguvian]

I've been reading up a lot about soldering and had a few questions:

At the end, when you are done soldering, do you tin the tip again and wipe the solder off before shutting off the iron? Also, if the tip gets dirty somehow while soldering and you wipe the tip with a sponge, do you have to re tin the tip?

I want to try to get it right the first time. I am going to have to solder 10 connectors together and want it to go smoothly.

 

[Duuuuuuuude]

I've been reading up a lot about soldering and had a few questions:

At the end, when you are done soldering, do you tin the tip again and wipe the solder off before shutting off the iron? Also, if the tip gets dirty somehow while soldering and you wipe the tip with a sponge, do you have to re tin the tip?

I want to try to get it right the first time. I am going to have to solder 10 connectors together and want it to go smoothly.

I usually leave solder on the tip when I'm done. You're going to have to clean and tin it the next time you grab it, so why clean the solder off twice?

You don't always have to retin after cleaning, you won't get all the solder off of it, but it doesn't hurt.

 

[Greatscott]

I usually leave solder on the tip when I'm done. You're going to have to clean and tin it the next time you grab it, so why clean the solder off twice?

You don't always have to retin after cleaning, you won't get all the solder off of it, but it doesn't hurt.

X2 "thumbsup"

You'll see your tip of your soldering iron corrode if you clean it off before you shut the iron off. Just before I turn my iron off I give it a good dab of solder to protect the iron.