1. Soldering Basics

2. Ground rules for soldering Rule 1: Irons get hot. Be safe. Rule 2: You need to wet your sponge. This wet sponge is used to clean the corrosion on the tip of the iron. A dry sponge does nothing but damage the tip. Rule 3: The point on the iron-tip is NOT the hottest part. This takes some practice but learn to use the side of the tip near the point. It's all about getting the heat to flow from the iron to the joint Rule 4: When soldering joints that have a lot of thermal weight, heat the joint up for an additional 5-10 seconds. When you solder to a big part or a pad that has a lot of copper attached to it (very common with GND connections), it takes a few extra seconds for the iron to pump enough heat into the part to get it to the correct temperature to form a connection. Rule 5: Shinny is good, dull is bad. The soldering iron is only there for heat, not solder. You use the iron to heat two things - the part and the board, and then you add solder to the two heated parts. Use the side of the iron (remember, not the point) to heat the two parts while adding solder from the opposite side.

3. Iron A cold iron tip. You can see the barrel and upper area of the iron are discolored by heat over time This is an under $100 iron. You don't really need a digital read-out but do use an iron that has an adjustable temp dial. Set temp to about 350C for leaded solder. Notice the sponge is wet!

4. Solder This solder is SN63PB37 meaning it's 63% tin and 37% lead. It's also called 'rosin core solder' because it has an organic core of rosin. As you melt the solder into the joint, a small amount of rosin inside the core will come out and help the solder flow. Rosin basically changes the surface tension of the solder allowing it to flow better (we're talking about liquid metal after all). Rosin will burn off and that's the small amount of smoke you see while soldering. Get a fan or open a window to avoid the smoke. Lead is known to be a carcinogen. In general, don't eat the solder. Wash your hands before you eat and you should be safe.carcinogen

5. Clean and Shinny Tips A quick double swipe on the sponge and the tip is clean and shinny. This is the iron you should be soldering with! Keep your tip clean and shinny. Clean it often. Wipe it on the sponge every time you take it out of the base. Add a bit of solder to the end of your cleaned tip to increase heat flow Here is a hot iron, with a blob of oxidized solder on the tip.

6. 6 min video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_NU2ruzyc4&feature=related

7. The end That's the starters. Soldering takes practice, just go and get your hands dirty!