0.5mm or 1mm solder?

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Hey all! :smiley:

I was hoping to solder the pins on this: Adafruit Audio FX Sound Board + 2x2W Amp - WAV/OGG Trigger - 2MB Australia

However, wasn’t sure whether to purchase the 1mm or 0.5mm solder? (I’m quite newbie, so don’t know the difference). 1mm Lead Free 250g Roll Solder Australia .

And is lead free better, because it’s less toxic?

Thank you everybody!

Tina

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Hi Teena
0.5mm and 1mm refers to the diameter of the solder wire. They SHOULD have 5 cores of resin (non corrosive) flux although the solder referred to in your link does not specify. See below. I believe lead free solder requires a bit more iron temperature than “normal” 60/40 solder and may be a bit harder to use.

At the risk of being howled down by the do gooders I am going to suggest you start your soldering expedition with 60/40 alloys and a diameter of 0.7mm as a good all round size. I say this as I think you are a raw beginner and this alloy may be a bit easier to use. Iron temperature of 300 to 350ºC. Lead free solder requires higher temperature with a bit of a risk of component damage. 0.7mm Dia is not too small and not so big as to get solder everywhere. The actual iron temperature will depend a bit on environment (surrounding cooling air flow etc), The heat sinking mass of the material to be soldered etc. It is mostly judgement and experience. Depends somewhat on the actual size of your iron. All this adds up to practise and experience which only you can get. And it is not all going to happen in 5 minutes I can assure you. Get some bits and go for it before you get loose on boards and things.

A tip for all solderers: To extend longevity of your tips NO NOT park your iron in its holder with a CLEAN tip. I have seen lots of people clean the tip with damp sponge or brass wool then park it in the holder. Doing this will gradually eat the tip away, Applying a coating of solder after cleaning and before parking will provide some tip protection and slow down the degradation process.
Cheers Bob

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Cheers Bob

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Hey Bob!

Love the tip about the solder tip (pun unintended).

It seems like there’s a lot of different view points on best solder - I appreciate you walking me through the why behind you recommended that particular solder though. Especially from a beginner’s perspective.

Thank you for your help! :smiley:

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Hi Teena
I think a lot of viewpoints are aimed at and are from supposed experts on the subject. NOT the newcomer and inexperienced. I tried to describe what I thought would be the best and easiest approach to the subject assuming correctly I think you are very much the newbie.

The company I was employed by had what they called a “Standard Practice Manual” which was a magnificent publication. I only wish I had got hold of a copy myself. This was drawn up in conjunction with 3 major players keen on reliability. My employer, PMG (as it was known then, currently Telstra) and Military. Everything you wanted to know about the then current best practises was in there. Including soldering techniques. Having had access to this and other sources coupled with nearly 60 years of practical experience makes this relatively easy for me and many others.

BUT, I understand how what looks like a simple operation on the surface can become a very disappointing disaster in the real world and I cannot stress enough that it would be very desirable to do some reading and practical experiments before venturing to soldering components on a PC board. For instance do you know the purpose of flux. There are many different ones, mainly corrosive and non corrosive. An example in an emergency and the right conditions clean automotive grease is as good as anything. Or why is it difficult to solder Aluminium.

In a nutshell I strongly suggest doing some research and reading before jumping in at the deep end. Lots of practice too. Please don’t rely on YouTubers. Some are OK but personally I wouldn’t employ most of them. Rely more on articles from recognised sources.
Cheers Bob

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Hi Teena
Have a look at this YouTube. It is one of the better ones I have seen particularly among the American videos (some leave a lot to be desired)

Take particular note about not using too much solder, only what you need.
The only thing I disagree with is the practise of cutting component leads AFTER soldering. They should be cut before. The reason. The long lead will act as a heatsink during soldering operation and will take a little longer. Better to cut the lead and avoid this, this applies to some components which have thicker leads liked some diodes. Secondly cutting the lead after will leave bare copper exposed to oxidise. Cutting before tends to cover this surface with a film of solder thus providing some protection from the elements.
Happy soldering. Cheers Bob

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Great advice Robert and I learnt a couple of useful tips.

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Hey @teena175334 … what did you end up going for? And was this for your robot project? :slight_smile:

I’m delving into Arduino for the first time to rig up a wi-fi connected water level sensor. In my ignorance I assumed everything would just snap together with connectors and I’m now learning all about header pins!

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