[Elecraft] soldering

[David A. Belsley]

Jerry, wa2dkg, writes:

> Setting a hard and fast rule
> about how long one should dwell on a joint intimidates the inexperienced
> solderer because there are a lot of places in these radios where more
> than three seconds are required...An appropriate approach is to use a
> little common sense...

I agree with this sentiment very much.  I know that those who are 
indicating fixed times are trying to make a point, but, like most rules, 
they are made to be broken.  It can be very distracting to those with 
limited experience to be hearing the nagging sounds of "2-3 seconds" in 
their mind's ear as they should be concentrating on the proper job at hand 
of putting down a decent solder joint.  Some spots simply require more time 
than others.  Any pad tied to the ground plane of the PCB, for example, 
will require more time than one only attached to a thin trace.  And some 
components are far more heat tolerant than others -- and most of them are 
more so than the "rules" would intimate.  So keep the 2-3 seconds somewhere 
in mind as a nice idea, but just go about your task as best you can.  If 
you follow Jerry's idea of using a little common sense, you are going to be 
fine.  Just do what you have to do, and the more you do it, the better you 
will become.

best wishes,

dave belsley, w1euy
>

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David A. Belsley
Professor of Economics