[Elecraft] Need construction hints/advice

[Thomas Beaudry]

> Slowly getting up the courage to order a K2.  Building an OHR QRP 
> Wattmeter
> as a dress rehearsal, and to check on my building skills:
>
> I note that my solder is 40% lead and 60% tin Rosin  core, Alpha 
> Metals,
> Energized Plus.  It ususally produces a shiny seal on the PC board, but
> sometimes does not always end up shiny, even after re-heating.

60/40 solder goes through a plastic phase in between the molten and 
solid phases.  63/37 solder has no plastic phase and goes directly from 
molten to solid.  That may fix the appearance of your joint.  All of 
mine are shiny and I used Kester 63/37 solder.

> I've tried a Radio Shack 62/36/2 "Silver Bearing Solder", which I do 
> not
> like as much, and which is harder to consistently get a shiny seal 
> with.

Elecraft specifies to NOT use silver bearing solder among others.

> 1)  Is there  better solder out there that fellows are using for the 
> K2 and
> K1, that never fails to produce that "shiny" seal?

There is an article about soldering on the Elecraft Builders Resources 
web page that you may wish to check out.  It probably will answer all 
your questions.

> 2) Is the El Cheapo 25 watt Radio Shack soldering iron adequate, or do
> fellows recommend a more expensive Weller solder station?  If so, what 
> is a
> quality, yet reasonably priced, Weller solder Station model?

I started my K2 with the iron you have since it was too impatient to 
wait for the soldering station that I had ordered.  I did the first 
half of the K2 with it with only a few problems.  It will work fine if 
you are careful.  However, I highly recommend getting a soldering 
station.  It was so much easier and faster to get a nice joint after I 
switched.

I didn't get a Weller station.  They were more than I could afford.  I 
purchased the Solomon SR-976 soldering station and extra tips from 
Circuit Specialists (www.web-tronics.com).  It works as nice as the 
Weller stations that I have used in the past.  As an added bonus, the 
station + a few extra tips qualifies you for a nice digital multimeter 
for free.  Make sure you follow the instructions on the web site or you 
won't get the meter.

You might also consider getting their #460 tip cleaner with stand.  It 
works better than a sponge.  Or you can make your own by buying a 
stainless steel scourer and putting it in some kind of container.  I 
bought a package of two at the local grocery for $1.00.

> 3) Pse recommend a good quality snipper, Brands and model numbers, and 
> any
> other desirable/required soldering aides and tools.

I'm using the small snipper and solder sucker from RS.  They work fine. 
  Make sure to also get a pair of small diagonal cutters for the heavier 
leads.  The snippers are only designed for the smaller diameter leads.

Circuit Specialists has a combination solder sucker/iron that allows 
you to desolder components one handed.  It looks like it would work 
good.  They didn't have it when I got my station or I would have gotten 
one then.  In fact, I think I'll order one now since I still have a lot 
of the accessory kits to build...   <ggg>

> 4)  Are fellows cleaning their boards with Acetone to remove caked and
> perhaps slightly burnt rosin, or is there a better solvent? I've been 
> using
> acetone with a cotton swab, but I have to carefully examine the board 
> with
> magnifiers and use a brush to remove the resultant cotton fibres.

Elecraft says to not clean your board.  Also, there has been a lot of 
discussion about this on the list.  You may wish to search the archives 
to read up on it.  To summarize it though:  if you must clean, only use 
99% denatured alcohol and use a brush.  Mouser sells Kester acid 
brushes which is what we used at Nortel for the few boards that we 
cleaned.

Another option is to use the Multi-core brand solder.  It has several 
tiny flux cores instead of one large one.  I don't use it but plan on 
trying it.  Others here report that it leaves no residue.

-- 
Thomas M. Beaudry
k8la / ys1ztm
K2 # 3422