After soldering a BAJILLION parts....

[Dragonfly]

...I still watched THIS video intently

...it's always a good idea to go back and revisit even the most "basic" of skills.

Take a couple minutes and watch it - you'll be glad you did !

[Rodgre]

Agreed.

[kierc]

Good watch 

[96ecss]

Interesting video with lots of good tips. Thanks Andy.

Dave

[Mark Hammer]

Geez, what a great video.  Explains everything in a very common sense way without smacking you on the hand.  Would that all how-to explanations were as good.

Thanks for the link.

[kurtlives]

Very interesting.

Who here cleans their flux off?

[ayayay!]

Who here cleans their flux off?

I.  Always. 

[Dragonfly]

Geez, what a great video.  Explains everything in a very common sense way without smacking you on the hand.  Would that all how-to explanations were as good.

Thanks for the link.

It rare that a "how to" guide strikes me as worth posting - this one is obviously an exception.

IMO it would be a good video to WIKI and sticky in the Beginners Project Forum...

then again, what the heck do I know ?

[Mark Hammer]

Very interesting.

Who here cleans their flux off?

Never did...in the old days.  But with people attempting to stuff so much more into a 1590B or BB, layouts are cramped enough that you need to see the joints and traces clearly, and that means cleaning flux.

[PerroGrande]

It rare that a "how to" guide strikes me as worth posting - this one is obviously an exception.

IMO it would be a good video to WIKI and sticky in the Beginners Project Forum...

+1

[John Lyons]

Yes, that is a very concise and informative video.
Very well done. Thanks for the link Andy.
I'll third the motion to put it in the wiki

john

[kurtlives]

Very interesting.

Who here cleans their flux off?

Never did...in the old days.  But with people attempting to stuff so much more into a 1590B or BB, layouts are cramped enough that you need to see the joints and traces clearly, and that means cleaning flux.

So you clean it off now so you can see the joints and traces clearly and not because it soposibly east away at your board?

[Mark Hammer]

Correct, I have significantly more to fear from not seeing solder bridges, insufficiently isolated traces, breaks in continuity, etc., than I do from whatever risk flux itself poses.  Whatever long-term insurance is provided by flux-cleaning is, for me, merely a perk compared to the immediate benefit provided to troubleshooting.

[Boogdish]

That is a really great video.

This is an interesting read as well:
http://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/601%20General%20Requirements.html

I'm glad that nothing I build will be relied upon to keep people alive while they're going thousands of miles per hour through deadliest environment imaginable.

[John Lyons]

Flux is also Hydroscopic (absorbs water vapor... basically) so if there is a blob of flux between two
pins/components and it's very humid the flux bridge will act as a small capacitor (or worse)
and change the way the circuit works/sounds.

I take a small jewlers screwdriver and scrape away the main blobs between solder points.
Sometimes if I'm feeling industrious I'll toothbrush the whole board with alcohol...

John

[petemoore]

  A-1+ presentation !
  What he said.
  ahhgg...flux wash ?

[Cardboard Tube Samurai]

Dude just needs to learn how to say 'solder' properly without making it sound like 'sodder'.

[earthtonesaudio]

Dude just needs to learn how to say 'solder' properly without making it sound like 'sodder'.

That's the U.S. pronunciation.  We use other words for "sodder" here, so there's no confusion.   

[sshrugg]

Thanks for sharing!  I always forget to clean the board after it's finished.  Nice reminder.

[DiamondDog]

Dude just needs to learn how to say 'solder' properly without making it sound like 'sodder'.

That's the U.S. pronunciation.  We use other words for "sodder" here, so there's no confusion.   

What colour is the solder?