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PROPER SOLDERING TECHNIQUES
Only a small percentage of HEATHKIT
equip-
ment purchasers find it necessary to return an
instrument for factory service. Of these instru-
ments, by far the largest portion malfunction
due to poor o r improper soldering.
If terminals a r e bright and clean andf ree of wax,
frayed insulation and other foreign substances,
no difficulty will be experienced in soldering.
Correctly soldered connections a r e essential if
the performance engineered intc; a kit i s to be
fully realized. If you a r e a beginner with no
experience in soldering, a half hour's practice
with some odd lengths of wire may be a worth-
while investment.
For most wiring, a 30 to 100 watt iron o r its
equivalent in a soldering gun i s very satisfactory.
A lower wattage iron than this may not heat the
connection enough to flow the solder smoothly
over the joint. Keep the iron tip clean and bright
by wiping it from time to time with a cloth.
Wherever there i s apossibility of bare leads
shorting to other parts o r to the chassis, the
leads should be covered with insulating
sleeving. Where the use of sleeving i s spe-
cifically intended, the phrase "use sleeving"
i s included in the associated construction
step. In any case where there i s the pos-
sibility of an unintentional short circuit,
sleeving should be used, Extra sleeving i s
provided for this purpose.
4.
Crimp o r bend the lead (or leads) aroundthe
terminal to form a good joint without re-
lying on solder for physical strength. If
the wire i s too large to allow bending o r if
the step states that the wire i s not to be
crimped, position the wire s o that a good
solder connection can still be made.
5.
Position the work, if possible, s o that gravity
will help to keep the solder where you want
it.
CHASSIS WIRING AND SOLDERING
6.
Place a flat side of the soldering iron tip
1.
All wire used i s the type with colored
against the joint to be soldered until it i s
insulation (hookup wire). In preparing a
heated sufficiently to melt the solder.
length of hookup wire, remove 11'4" of
insulation from each end unless directed
otherwise in the construction step.
7.
Then place the solder against the heated
terminal and it will immediately flow over
the joint; use only enough solder to thor-
2.
Leads on resistors, capacitors and similar
oughly wet the junction. It i s usually not
components a r e generally much longer than
necessary to fill the entire hole in the
they need to be to make the required con-
terminal with solder.
nections. In these cases, the leads shouldbe
cut to proper length before the part i s added
to the chassis. In general, the leads should
8.
Remove the solder and then the iron from
be just long enough to reach their termin-
the completed junction. Use care not to move
ating points.
the leads until the solder i s solidified.
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