Operation Manual

much onto the iron: not only is this a waste of solder, but it can cause excess solder to fall onto the work area.
2. Wipe the tip of the iron onto the sponge. If it hisses and spits, the sponge is too wet; allow it to cool, then remove it from
the stand and wring it out.
3. Keep wiping the tip of the iron until it is coated in a silver layer of solder (see Figure 12-10). If necessary, apply more
solder to the tip.
Figure 12-10: A soldering iron tip that is in the process of being tinned with solder
This process of tinning the tip protects it against damage and ensures that it will efficiently transfer heat onto the surfaces to be
soldered. Failure to properly tin the iron’s tip is one of the most common causes of bad solder joints. You may need to repeat
this process more than once if you’re soldering a lot of connections, and you’ll need to do it again at the end of the soldering
session. In general, if the tip of the soldering iron loses its shiny coating, repeat the tinning process.
With the iron prepared, it’s time to start soldering. Place the items to be soldered—such as a printed circuit board and the legs of
a component—into the work stand and ensure that you’ve got a good view. Extend a length of solder from the container or reel,
and begin to solder the components using these basic steps:
1. If you’re soldering through-hole components into a printed circuit board, stripboard or similar through-hole board, place
the legs of the component through the holes and bend them outwards so the component doesn’t fall out when the board is
flipped over.
2. With the board secured in the work stand, push the tip of the iron against both the component and the copper contact on
the board. It’s important that the iron touches both items: if the iron is only in contact with one, the finished joint will be bad.
3. It only takes a few seconds for the area to heat up. Count to three, and then push the solder against the component and
copper contact (see Figure 12-11). If the solder doesn’t melt, withdraw it, count a couple of seconds more, and then try
again. If it still doesn’t melt, try repositioning the soldering iron.
Figure 12-11: Soldering a through-hole component into a printed circuit board