Newbie Solder Critique

[Pgriffy]

Soldered my first project ever today and would like some critique and also suggestions.

My self-critique and questions:

I have a few places that the solder oozed through the board to the other side. Especially around the power jack. You can see a big glob of solder between the on/off switch and the power jack in the top side picture below. I think I did that because the holes were so large around the power jack, but I don't know how to not do that the next time.

Bottom side picture, again around the power jack, it looks like shadows in the picture but in reality it looks almost black. It almost looks burnt to me, so I would guess the iron is too hot. What is it really?

Also, the overall look on the back side has a filmy look like someone poured a coke on it and didn't wipe it up. I'm assuming that is from the flux, which I understand from the soldering tutorial here (or maybe one of the links from it) that flux is in the core of the solder to help it flow better. Is there a way to clean it up, or is it ok to leave it like that?

I think right now my biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to get the various pieces together (juggling the solder, iron, holding the switches so they don't fall out and trying not to solder a short by getting to close to something else). I am sure all that just comes with time, and a much better iron ($5 Wal-mart 3m - who knew 3m made irons?). Besides, I only accidentally soldered one hole closed (C4).

On a positive note, when I got to the first break in the project and did the testing, it did work! Not so much on the second break when nothing came on, but that gave me a chance to figure out what the problem was with my shiny new multimeter. Duh, somehow I skipped over putting R2 resistor in! Put that in and everything worked!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Top side:

Bottom side:

[inventorjack]

I'd love to help you out, but it doesn't look like the pics came through.

[Pgriffy]

Hmm. I see them inline in my original message. they are in my google drive and shared.
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6iSmS ... kUxQVQzVzg
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6iSmS ... VlRbGczNW8

[philba]

to clean the flux, use isopropyl alcohol. 70 or 90% is fine. I use an old toothbrush - dip in the ipa and a quick scrub takes off most of the flux. A second scrub and rinse gives pretty good results. I suggest you let it dry for a while as even 90% has water in it.

Your pixs look ok. On the issue of too hot iron, to me, it's more an issue of leaving the iron too long. I like my iron really hot and solder quickly. It helps to wet the iron with a small blob of solder to improve conduction. It's all about getting the joint up to temp as fast as possible. Unless the connection has a lot of mass to it, about one second is sufficient. If it hasn't happened by then, I back off, let it cool and start over.

[EasternStarGeek]

I concurr with Philba- Looks like a case of an iron that is too hot, as "el-cheapo" irons are want to do.

There are times when the excess heat comes in handy, but it's easy for beginners to burn things and lift traces from PCB boards, which is a real bummer. An overheated tip will also pit and corrode much faster.

I have a couple of professional heat-controlled soldering stations, but for remote work, I bought a decent little pencil iron at a local electronics shop, but it runs waaaay hot by itself.

Here is my quick and dirty solution to the problem:

IMG_1516.JPG (175.69 KiB) Viewed 844 times

A simple prefab incandescent lamp dimmer was the solution. I cobbled it together from a surplus Lutron dimmer and some extra parts I had laying around, but you can buy everthing you need at any home center. You can even take the lazy way out by getting a ready-made table-top slide dimmer for table lamps, complete with control box, cords, plug and socket for about the same, or less, money,

It's not closed-loop temperature control, obviously, but I quickly learned how to set it for the desired results. In short, it is a very good use of $15.00.

"Life is too short to build things with crappy tools. Always buy the best ones you can afford."

[adafruit_support_mike]

I think right now my biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to get the various pieces together (juggling the solder, iron, holding the switches so they don't fall out and trying not to solder a short by getting to close to something else).

Welcome to the wonderful world of juggling with objects hotter than 300C. The only offical rule is, "if it works, it works."

For through-hole components, bend the leads after you push them through the board so they can't come out again. Use tape. Use wire. Use clamps. Use clay. Use glue if you think it will help and doesn't cause any problems.

If you need to do the same thing several times, make a jig. You can solder them together from chunks of copper-clad board.

Learn to love the fast-but-ugly joint that holds the part well enough that you can do the other joints correctly, just remember to go back and redo it once the part is stable.

Learn to use what jewlers call 'pillions'.. small chunks of solder (maybe 1/16" to 1/8" long) that you set on the joint because your hands are too busy to deal with a roll. Dab a bit of thick flux onto the joint with a toothpick and it will hold the pillion like glue. Then all you need to do is tap the joint with the iron to get the solder to melt.

Most of all though, give yourself permission to do whatever you think will work. If it does, you win.

[franklin97355]

I tend to work from the thinest parts up. Put the resistors in then turn the board over on the bench and solder. Then diodes, sockets, caps and so on. This works for me most of the time.

[philba]

lots of good advice in this thread. I'll add one more thing - make the jump to surface mount. It may seem intimidating at first but once you get the hang of it, through hole seems clumsy by comparison. And if you you are making boards at home, not having to drill holes is a HUGE bene!