What wattege soldering iron is best for soldering XLRs?

[aekoi]

Would 25 watt be okay?
Thanks

[dmills]

25W will be fine.

Get some leaded solder, it is MUCH nicer to use then the lead free junk.

Regards, Dan.

[ef37a]

25W will be fine.

Get some leaded solder, it is MUCH nicer to use then the lead free junk.

Regards, Dan.

Oooo! I would struggle with a 25watter these days Dan! I have used 48W Weller since er? (Suez I think!). I tend to find a high capacity iron and a short heat time is less damaging than the opposite arrangement. But then I was a bit up to speed with Pbfree for 2 years, back to the poisonous stuff now.

Always match the plug/socket with its mate. Not only does it stabilize things but it keeps the pins in place..SOME cheap XLRS actually melt!

Dave.

[Folderol]

Always match the plug/socket with its mate. Not only does it stabilize things but it keeps the pins in place..SOME cheap XLRS actually melt!

Dave.

Spot on Dave, I've done that with all plugs and sockets ever since the days of the fully meltable 5pin DIN plug

[RegressiveRock]

I use a gas one these days.

[dmills]

Yea, I have an 80W hakko soldering station which is a wonderful bit of kit, as well as a largish Weller in the toolbox, but I didn't get the feeling we were talking temperature controlled hotsticks here, and for an occasional connector or such a 25W Antex is fine.

Agree about plugging the connector into something before soldering it, a major use of the cable tester in the toolbox, but a bit of wood with appropriate sockets installed works just as well.

Never seen an XLR melt yet, but then I don't buy really cheap connectors (The rework time very quickly amounts to more then the savings).

Regards, Dan.

[ef37a]

I had not had a meltable XLR in 40 years either Dan until about 2 years ago when I bought some from Maplin. OK they were not N's but not a quid each either.

Not only did the plastic matrix melt at LEAD temps as well! But the male casings were 0.25mm undersize and it took gas pliers to get them out of some old "cannon" RS sockets!

I complained bitterly and long to Maps but they just did not seem to care a flip.

Dave.

[grab]

It's worth mentioning that not all soldering irons are equal. I once got a cheapish one from a car accessory place. "25W should be good", I thought, in my ignorance. Trouble was that it had a whacking great chisel bit on the end of it which was no damn use for anything. Plus the iron shaft was the better part of 9" long so it lost heat on that like nobody's business, and of course it was a nightmare to handle with an iron that long.

An Antex 25W OTOH is absolutely fine - used one of them myself for a long time.

[ef37a]

It's worth mentioning that not all soldering irons are equal. I once got a cheapish one from a car accessory place. "25W should be good", I thought, in my ignorance. Trouble was that it had a whacking great chisel bit on the end of it which was no damn use for anything. Plus the iron shaft was the better part of 9" long so it lost heat on that like nobody's business, and of course it was a nightmare to handle with an iron that long.

An Antex 25W OTOH is absolutely fine - used one of them myself for a long time.

+1. The Henley Solon has a lot to answer for!

My last employer was wedded to Antex. Ok I guess but once you have used a 48W Weller Maganastat there is no going back!

Dan: I had a Hakko at JBeam Aerials. Soooperb! Dinky as the Antex but 80W! I was soldering Pbfee onto lugs on anttena shunted by a bloody big ally casing, still flowed like butter! Mind you, a bit 'o' flux helps emormously.

Dave.

[dmills]

Mind you, a bit 'o' flux helps emormously.
Dave.

Truth.

Flux is good, especially with the no clean stuff you can get now, it is always worth slapping some on.
I would note that you need to be careful with the more highly activated fluxes as leaving them on the board tends to cause corrosion.

Another tip, clean the pads with isopropanol before soldering, it removes finger grease and such and helps solderability. Also if your boards have been immersion silvered be careful about sulfide contamination, it makes them wet badly (Gloves are good for handling, and keep them in a sealed packet until you are ready to stuff them).

Can you tell I have been building something with 0.65mm pitch 100 pin TQFPs (I cheated and used paste and a hot air pencil)!

Regards, Dan.

[Yago]

My last employer was wedded to Antex. Ok I guess but once you have used a 48W Weller Maganastat there is no going back!

Indeed , I am back to soldering bliss since I recently picked up a MagnaStat (again) .... £15.00 too !

[ef37a]

My last employer was wedded to Antex. Ok I guess but once you have used a 48W Weller Maganastat there is no going back!

Indeed , I am back to soldering bliss since I recently picked up a MagnaStat (again) .... £15.00 too !

Note too, you only need to buy the TCP pencil, which I admit is a bit pricey new, but any handy transformer that can supply 20-30volts at about 2 amps will serve and you can buy a cheap stand from Maps'or make one. The pencils come supplied with a #7bit. Bog useless, get a medium sized chisel tip #8 for almost everything and a #9chunky job for heavy Pbfree work (but watch it, it runs at the ignition temperature of many common materials including paper!).

Dave.

[Yago]

Cheers Dave .
I am looking for some bits now , 8's medium "point" and fine "point" (can do some smd stuff with one) .
Have you any recommendations for suppliers of the bits ?

[ef37a]

My apologies Yago.
I thought I had posted a reply to this?

Bits can be had from RS, CPC, Rapid, Cooper Tools and others.

NB. I have SOME evidence (not a lot but some) that there are some cheap imitation bits being flogged off cheap. These will not tin properly, go black and are all but impossible to clean. My advice is to buy from a reputable source. The #8bits will last a very long time if you keep them clean....And...
Do not use the wet sponge arrangement.
Tin the tip, wipe with a rag (I use Plenty but watch for ignition!)tin again.
Tin the tip before switching off the iron or else it can be a bugger to get clean and tinned again. This is especially important with Pbfree.
Switch off the iron when not in immediate use. This not only prolongs tip life but is safer and the tip gets to op' temp' in 30seconds.

Lastly. The solder station SD 0138719 from CPC is very good indeed for 40quid. Maplin carry the very same model.

Dave.

[Yago]

Thanks Dave
I will have to put an order in on Monday , the plating is getting knackered on my last tip .