Soldering

[sushyoshi]

Hi

I´m trying to build a NPN Fuzz Face and i´ve breadboard it successfully. But now is when the real problem comes, soldering. I´m really having much trouble doing this cause the solder sticks to the soldering iron almost all the time. What is the best way to for soldering?
And another question that is really confusing me. Do i stick the pots in the perfboard than solder that or do i stick it outside the perfboard and then solder it with wires?

How do i test so see if i made a good soldering job? I tried with a multimeter to test signal between two solder joints but it seems that on some solder surfaces i dont get any contact. So whats the best way to test the circuit after soldering?

Can anyone tell me wich steps to take after soldering the circuit into the perfboard to the process of putting everything in the box? I´ve seen the begginers tutorial but that circuit doent use pots, so i think my problem really are connecting the pots.

[GibsonGM]

Hi sushyoshi,

Stinks to be new!  But welcome, you'll get the hang of it!

Soldering:  clean the tip of your (cold) iron with sandpaper and/or steel wool.  A rotating motion works well for this.  Then plug it in, and when hot, clean it with the damp sponge, and allow solder to flow onto the tip.  Wipe the excess off on the sponge (or steel wool, but don't burn yourself).  That's called "tinning the tip", and makes things go smoother.

I usually run wires out to my pots.  Some pre-made boards call for them to go right into the board itself, I've found that most projects do not (esp. a fuzz face).   

Testing with a multimeter should work...if the solder joint is gray and not shiny, it's a cold joint - reheat it until it dries shiny.  That just takes experience - maybe practice for a while, soldering wires onto a spare piece of perf board. There is a fine line between overheating your components, and leaving a cold solder joint...you'll learn the difference after you solder a few insulated wires to a scrap of perf, and watch them melt if you heat them too long!

I put the pot in the hole in the box, lay the perfboard in there, and see how much wire I need to get from board to pot.  A LITTLE extra is ok, just not a big snarl )

Take a look at some picture threads of people's projects - you'll see how they did it, and can copy them!

Good luck - give it time and practice and you'll be great at soldering!

[GibsonGM]

PS - use the multimeter to probe between the solder joint, and the lead of the component RIGHT ABOVE IT on the top side of the board....if you try to test THROUGH a capacitor or most resistors or IC's, you're probably not going to get a reading!   Caps block DC, and resistors will confuse the meter into thinking there's no continuity......

[petemoore]

  I like to pre-tin the wire ends with solder, this lets me bake off the whatever is on it, finger oil to plastic residue, then when the solder 'takes' to the wire, it makes it easier to make the joint.
  Clean tip, add a teensy amount of solder, enough just to wet it and provide a 'liquid' heat transfer. Adding solder cools the joint/tip of iron, use solder in small amounts, enough to transfer the heat across the metals, touch as much and as many pieces of metal to be joined with the tip. Wait a bit for the heat to soak in, then add solder dabs to get solder where you want it.
  At this point, solder will probably be on/in most of the metal pieces to be joined, test for adequate heat in the last pieces to 'take' solder.
  Add only as much solder [a little less is probably just right] as needed to make a physical structure which is adequate.
  Adding too much solder slows the heating process.
  Use a clean rag [I use my jeans] and polish the board traces before starting, this can brighten up the copper and take off any traces of oil. Steel wool has oil on it, I use fine sandpaper on unsoldered, really old large terminals.
  Are you using fine guage 60/40 rosin core solder ?
  Is the tip hot enough?

[sushyoshi]

Thanks all for your help somehow i´ve managed to get the soldering jog done. But now i have another problem. I soldered everything but i can only get little sound with the fuzz face. And i only get fuzz if i turn the fuzz pot all the way down ( 0 ohms), if not i get some really low volume sound. Do you thiink that i have bad connections? Or maybe too much solder is making a the circuit with high resistance?

[mattpocket]

Too much solder is unlikely... welcome to the world of debugging... make a new post about this "debugging fuzz face" as the title or something... check that little bits of solder didnt go where you didnt want them and making an unwanted connection... check everything and post your findings... read the "what to do if it doesnt work" thread and that might help you too!

Matt