[Elecraft] Need construction hints/advice

[Bob Nielsen]

On Tue, Jul 22, 2003 at 12:21:11PM -0600, phoon.usinet wrote:
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 1)  Is there  better solder out there that fellows are using for the K2 and
> K1, that never fails to produce that "shiny" seal?
> 
> 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?
> 
> 3) Pse recommend a good quality snipper, Brands and model numbers, and any
> other desirable/required soldering aides and tools.
> 
> 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.
> 
> I do have an older suction type de-soldering orion, and braid, which seem to
> work OK.
> 
> Thanks,
> Peter VE1CHS
> 

See N0SS's soldering tutorial on the Elecraft web site.  I recommend
using an ESD-safe, temperature-controlled soldering station, such as
the Weller WES-51.  They also have a digital version, but the cheaper
analog version should be fine.  I have also used a Xytronics station
which was a bit less expensive and also did the job.

For solder, I prefer a 63/37 eutectic solder.  I built my K2 with
Multicore "no-clean" solder which has a flux that leaves less residue,
but is possibly a bit more difficult to work with.  As it says in the
K2 manual, DO NOT use a water-soluble flux (these are for industrial
use where de-ionized water is available).  I'm a bit wary of using
acetone--alcohol is probably safer.  In most cases, leaving the residue
on the board is fine, although it doesn't look as nice.

73,
Bob, N7XY