New Builder Questions

Hi All,

Starting at ground zero for electronics DIY - plan to develop soldering skills and then try building an ST-120.  Would appreciate any recommendations on:
- should I plan on buying an ESD sheet?
- recommendations on brands/where to buy for soldering station, solder, flux?
- what other tools do I need?
- In addition to watching training videos, I plan to buy some of the "learn to solder" kits and build them until I am fully delusional that I know what I am doing
Any hints, tricks, links, advice appreciated.  

Thank you

IntarsiaGuy wrote:Hi All,

Starting at ground zero for electronics DIY - plan to develop soldering skills and then try building an ST-120.  Would appreciate any recommendations on:
- should I plan on buying an ESD sheet?
- recommendations on brands/where to buy for soldering station, solder, flux?
- what other tools do I need?
- In addition to watching training videos, I plan to buy some of the "learn to solder" kits and build them until I am fully delusional that I know what I am doing
Any hints, tricks, links, advice appreciated.  

Thank you

The best advice...... Take your time. There is no hurry.  

Adafruit Guide To Excellent Soldering
By Bill Earl

Link: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-guide-excellent-soldering/common-problems

Read all posts by Bob Latino and tubes4hifi

All I can tell you is be patient and heat things up sufficiently to let your component be what melts your solder and not the tip of your iron. Easier to do with point to point tube stuff than solid state or modular stuff too much heat trashes them out. Proper heat settings and the right iron make a big difference. Many options online or from Parts Express.  Practice a lot. The famous cold solder joint is the cause of many problems. Soldering a ground directly to a chassis or steel case is almost impossible.

Here's a practice kit with a link to a good instructional video (not affiliated other than being a customer):

https://www.updatemydynaco.com/storeindex.html#SolderingPractice

These can get tedious but teach good habits. I watched these before doing my ST120:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=avionics+soldering

Use enough heat to get in and out fast so components aren't damaged. I cleaned everything w/ 99% isopropyl alcohol before and after.
Do the "yellow sheet diode mod" mentioned in the forum. I used a Hakko 888D soldering station and Kester #44 solder .31" 60/40. MG Chemicals no-clean solder wick is your friend as are flush side-cutters. I don't think you need to worry about ESD. I built mine in February in NY. No static electricity in my case but you can confirm w/ Bob. I measured all resistors/diodes w/ a multimeter beforehand. I got a 3 pack of soldering tweezers from amazon. They're normally closed so are good for clamping wires. I got an Irwin wire stripper. Use some heat shrink tubing if you nick insulation and it's a difficult fix or need to insulate long leads.

A lot of this in the forum if you search for it. Bob's instructions are really thoughtful as well.

Thank you all for your responses - much appreciated.

Yet another soldering practice kit so to speak. I have no experience with this, btw...

https://www.schiit.com/products/coaster

Here's a good guide from the Dynaco Doctor.

Kit Builders Guide
Recommended Tools, Test Instruments,
Soldering, Wiring & Assembly
by Joe Curcio

I like a pencil tip soldering iron with the smallest tip I can find. The one I have now has a temperature control set into a base that holds and shields the iron. I use thin rosin core solder. Your mileage may vary - I tend more toward circuit boards than point-to-point work. For board work I find about 80% power is adequate, for point-to-point and ground lugs and such I use full power.

Short sessions is key for me. This work tends to tax the limits of my manual dexterity as well as my vision, so it does produce some frustration. I try not to work more than an hour at a time, with short breaks in between.

Frequent reflows is key to avoiding cold solder joints.

The handiest tool I wish I'd thought of years ago came my way with a computer tool kit. I call it a pickle puller for want of a better name, because I've seen the same tool on a larger scale for getting pickle slices or hot peppers out of the jar. It's a spring loaded shaft with a plunger at one end that manipulates three bent rigid wires at the other end in such a way as to grab small parts to hold them steady for positioning.

Thanks for the tips.  I have bought some tools and am starting to learn to solder.  Built a little practice kit with a few caps, resisters and leds.  Soldering went well and the board works as it is supposed to.  Going to do a few more kits.  
For the ST-70/120 - I assume there is no surface-mount components, is that correct?  In addition to soldering through-hole components, what other soldering techniques do I need?

Has anyone built both the st-70/120 and the TU-8200R. Is one easier than the other? If the TU-8200R is easier, I would consider building that first and using it as an office amp.

I built the 70 last year. Great directions. Took about 14 hours to build. 2 tips from me. Check your solder joints top and bottom. Make sure you got good flow. I spent a couple days trouble shooting an issue on one channel and it turns out I didn't have the a solid connection with the coupling caps. Hit them again and all was good. Make sure you have the range set correctly on your multimeter. I have 2 meters and 1 is auto ranging. At least twice I have used the auto ranging meter to set bias and I set bias too low because it was displaying in millivolts not volts.

I just ordered the ST-120 kit without tubes. I need to learn more about tubes before I make that decision.