Which soldering kit ?

[the engine]

I'm going for it . I'm gonna buy the bits....stop drinking for a week...well a couple of days...well none on THE day......then I'm gonna re wire this alphason. So. I need a soldering iron thingy...some solder stuff...flux capacitor ....
HEEEEEELP ! Some of you chaps must be able to point me in the right direction.
Please don't just say Scotland. Although Johnny 7 Is my prefrered emergency ward just in case of accidents. I just want to have a bloody go !
So. Which kit ? Links would be nice.
Oh and can I just say.....love this forum.

[brian2957]

Hi Ivor , I use one of these . They're excellent . I paid more than this so must be in the sale.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/50w-solder-station-35016

[the engine]

And You use it for them delicate little tags and tonearm wires ? Mucho thanks.
What solder....what other stuff needed ....step by step soldering needed here mateys. For eg
1....plug in
2....brush some stuff on
3...............you get thepicture.
You remember those films where the guy lands a plane full of pregnant nice ladies and children withwhite teeth just by listening to air traffic control ?
Well That's The engine with a soldering iron.

[brian2957]

This is temperature adjustable and come with 3 different tips . Spare tips also available . You can buy 'audiophile' solder on ebay usually lead-free and high silver content ( 5% ) . Try to get one with a low melting point. Worthwhile practicing on some scrap , also there are soldering tutorials on utube . I preferred to practice on my own . This is OK:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/lead-free-silver-solder-34965
This is all you need I think these solders are self-fluxing . I'm sure someone on here who knows much better than me wlli provide advice.

[NRG]

For a novice I would go with the smaller 15w soldering iron and start practicing before you start. ;)

[rusty bearing]

I bought one of these plus a few different tips for different jobs, I found the variable temp useful . I'm still learning myself but I've rewired a couple of tonearms now and some other stuff. Practised on some old dead computer boards, taking bits out and putting them back....makes for steady hands. Making your own interconnects is also a good place to start.
Currently planning on building some tube monoblocks.....
http://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/zd-929c-89-2932/soldering-station-digital-bs-plug/dp/SD01116

[walpurgis]

The Skytronic 20w/130w compact soldering iron is a great all rounder, small enough to do cartridge tags and the like at the 20 watt setting, but press the button and it gives you 130 watts for short durations, giving plenty of heat for silver soldering phono plugs and speaker plugs. They are available on eBay. I wouldn't be without mine!

[the engine]

I never thought these things were do cheap. Should have got one years ago.I have a musical fidelity X CAN 2 that has a broken board joint as well so I can solve that to hopefully . Good idea to practice on some circuit boards . Cheers.

[RobbieGong]

I've learned the hard way that a decent solder towards decent soldering is a must. My connections for my recent external psu were a bit blobby which resulted in the red Techie on light flickering on start up and the platter struggling to spin. This I'm told was due to dry joints as a result of my not so perfect soldering. I had another go which was better but I still get a little delay and red light flicker before she spins normally which means at some point I'm going to have to have another go :doh: and maybe look at a better solder gun as the one I have is bog standard basic and gets mad hot which probably dont help. I may well also need to use a de-solder first ? which I've never used :doh: Heaven help me :lol:

[dowser]

Buy leaded solder - as a novice it will be much easier to use!

For the rewire - choose decent litz type thinner than the original. Do not remove the original wire until you have joined the new wire to it, this allows you to pull it through.

Which way is down to the specific arm - try and google it, someone is bound to have done it and taken photos. Key consideration is earth wire arrangement - don't even start until you know how this done.

Good luck - it isn't really a job for a novice :) Take lots of photos - if it goes tits up it may help Johnnie sort it for you after!

Richard

[Pete The Cat]

Another vote for leaded.

My comment about making figures of people and animals out of paper-clips as practice is actually serious.

Pete

[the engine]

Can you still buy leaded ?
I thought it was a no go nowadays.
Oh . The wires.....allready removed but we have endoscopes at work which I can probably get through then pull the new cabling through. Good stuff thanks.
Paper clips n boards sound good to me. And good luck with that PSU.

[dowser]

Yes on the leaded (just look for non-rhos [or rohs!]). Bummer on already pulling the wires - 4 or 5? :)

Richard

[the engine]

5

[sq225917]

Guitar string, nice and easy to solder, good for pushing/pulling through.

[Spur07]

Another vote for leaded.

My comment about making figures of people and animals out of paper-clips as practice is actually serious.

Pete

defo leaded. i didn't think people used lead-free anymore?

[Yomanze]

defo leaded. i didn't think people used lead-free anymore?

^^ Leaded. If you can stretch the the Cardas eutectic stuff is great.

Also, there's some Weller soldering stations knocking about on eBay for around £70 a great unit!

Edit here: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170816478220

[aquapiranha]

I have one of these irons..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aoyue-937-Soldering-Iron-LED-Display-Manual-Vari-Temp-/290720244452?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item43b046e2e4

I have found it very good value and it does the job admirably.

[john blackburn]

I have the Aoyue 2900, fantastic for getting up to working temperature quickly.
http://www.pcb-soldering.co.uk/aoyue-2900-soldering-station.html

Regular 60/40 leaded solder is in stock at Cricklewood Electronics, cheaper for practice than exotic stuff.
http://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/Cricklewood/home.php?cat=391

Youtube has acres of soldering tutorials, the main thing is cleanliness and don't get the smoke in your eyes or lungs as it will cause damage. Clean it when done with IPA and a toothbrush to remove the flux residue.

John