Tips and Tricks for noobs?

[Dokroma]

Hi, does anyone have something like a list of tips and tricks they have compiled? I am new to electronics and I have made one, some things might not make sense since I made it only for me to understand since I didn't intend on sharing it. Also the numbers next to the points are the dates when I added them since sometimes I get paranoid I didn't add anything when I had intended to; the dates just reaffirm to me that I didn't forget to add those points. Also, some things may be wrong since I am very new to electronics and I don't know much:

if no continuity, take fingernail and drag along wire, you will feel finger catch on weak point. Pull the weak point apart and then use shrink/tube to reconnect. -27/6
Wiggle test for wires
Tin the ends of exposed stranded wire to fit into holes more easily
Gold plated probes multimeter
WPI Workpiece Indicator - 2/7
Wetting action
No pressure on PCB when soldering, light feather
Cross solder IC i.e solder pin 1 and 9 then 8 and 16 then do all the pins inbetween
Solder IC socket first then connect the IC
Pretin solder pads on PCB to make soldering small components and wires easier
add a temporary heatsink like tweezers, pliers etc. for heat sensitive components
test soldering stations for ESD safety by putting one probe on earth pin and one on the soldering iron, multimeter should beep
The two protrusions on the back of a multimeter are for storing probes - 3/7
Dont use threadlocker liquid as they will ruin earthing connection 4/7
Use wire stripper tool to cut screws, make sure to thread on washer and remove it after cutting to correct the screw thrads 5/7
Check equipment yearly to make sure batteries haven't leaked 6/7

Soldering station(most things specific to KSGER):
Keep at around 310deg, higher can cause oxidization on whole tip
When tinning tip, wrap solder all around tip, lay iron horizontally and let the solder drip onto sponge
Connect case to earth pin with a screw and washer or whatever, make sure you scratch off anodization around screw
Remove anodization of countersinks
Remove anodization of front jacks/plugs by scratching off paint on the part of case they make contact with
Make sure there is continuity between front jacks/plugs and earth
Move heatsink up so that it is held by spacers, also apply thermal paste to components being protected by heatsink.
Grind off part of heatsink that's making contact with HV line near capacitor
Use kaptom tape?
Replace mains fuse with a 2A fuse
Vinyl insulation for case?
Rotary encoder tabs not folded properly?
Wire negative of back switch light
U can install resistor to earth path but some say don't
Remove R10, draining battery OR fold down tabs of knob so they don't short it
Score PCB green near HV and LW connections that are close to eachother and then directly connect scored PCB traces/lines with wire
For 9501 handle, swap blue and white wires in iron to fix shake to wake Correct wiring is 1=blue, 2=white, 3=green, 4=Black, 5=Red.
If station keeps resetting, turn off buzzer. issue due to insufficient capacitors, diode spike suppression
Might have to replace large mains capacitor, might be broken
Remove time quartz so that temperature is displayed?
Might have to switch around plug jacks at back(Did I mean wires?)
When calibrating, let flux burn off (no smoke) for accurate temp
Keep tips at 350 for one hour before calibrating
Make sure leads are clipped on the bottom of PCB
Edge mounted joint from mains socket to PCB - Multiple unpluggings and pluggings will break solder joints, replace them with wires instead
plastic case might be too small for large capacitor, you can grind down pcb support screws or file down plastic
If screen too dim, remove black covering
when measuring earthing with continuity, make sure black probe is on earth pin and red probe is everywhere else
zinc countersunk screws?
Measure the tip's resistance, should be at around 8ohm I think
Back red switch might be flipped wrong way around

My soldering station I will make:
Mains fuse
Power switch two pole?
Thermal runeaway protection
Tip short protection
Proper HV and LV isolation
Good quality silicone? cables
Good quality handle
Swappable tips
Proper strain relief
Rubber stands
Wraparound case with slots for tools, sponges, tips etc.
Proper case insulation
Thermal compound on heatsinks
Clean off all the flux
Good quality material for heating up iron
Proper fusing with high ohm resistors too
Secure adjustable knob
Shake to wake
Beeper
Standby
Sleep Mode
Low voltage protection
Brightness settings
Boost mode
Room Temperature
Low current time
Tip calibrator
Error messages
Auto power off
Splashscreen
Parasitic drain avoid
Keep PCB on brass stands off the case
cable clamp for mains wire? (Like hakko)

My multimeter:
Off position at top
Auto turn-off
Amps on left side, starts with amps, then ma then ua to avoid blowing fuses while probes connected
Gold plated probes on banana plugs and tips
Thick temperature tester attachment


Non latching continuity:
Sandpaper lightly
Clean with IPA

Hot snot: Solidified hot glue
Mouse bite: breakaway tabs

Iron temps:
- 260 for SMD
- 300 for PCB electronics
- 340 for components with thicker leads
- 380 for heavier work with more mass or heat conduction

tying solder around finger?
both ends negative, middle pozzy for switches
solder up the post
If shortening wires only need to screw out one side of green terminal
Hold leads when cutting so they dont fly in your face or cover them with palm then snip them
when soldering thing like speaker cable dont expose too much wire solder closely to terminal
when stripping wire use the bottom hole of those blue pliers if you dont have strippers
poke soldering iron tip through a hole that previously had solder on it to make an opening by moving the old solder to the edge of the hole
twist wires around to make more neat
you dont have to split speaker wires completely


over under method for cables

pcb stuffz
tin whiskers
no clean flux vs rosin core
pcb strain relief hole
use a 45 and 90 degree corner mix. so a 90 degree but with a 45 cut?
isolate HV and LV parts of circuit with gaps, etc and keep connections seperate

things to salvage:
cables, ac adaptars, coils, relays, heatsinks, capacitors, motor, switches, push button, transistor, screws, transformer, voltage regulators, power resistors, 2 watts or higher, flameproof, ceramic etc, battery holders


Mistakes I made:
Not knowing to tin iron when first turning on
Not knowing how to use flux
Not buying rosin core solder not just 60/40 without core
Buying cheap stuff
Next time buy quality parts e.g
get a soldering station
get Third hand with magnifying glass
get good multimeter with a good kit not cheap tools
get Good fan not one that drains fast
get good screwdriver drill set not multiple cheap ones
get a good japanese solder sucker
get a good butane torch
get good vernier calipers not cheap ones
get adjustable esd strap not fixed one
get eutectic solder
get no clean flux pen

[SmokedComponent]

Just some quick tips that have bit me in the *ss in the past:
- if you accidentally drop DIP IC somewhere under the bench, do NOT immediately go down to your knees before looking
- do not suddenly reposition your soldering station/hot air tool once you've become accustomed to reach for and stove them without looking
- if you buy cheap/ebay soldering station and/or hot air tool, have a steel bucket under your bench, where you can safely throw them once they start glowing orange,
- keep flux pen, solder paste and burn gel in the fridge

[wizard69]

I really couldn't read through that wall of text completely but have a few things to consider:

• Having a good quality tools like calipers is a good thing, however there are good uses for cheap or clapped out calipers.   So a theme that will repeat itself is that more than one of many tools is a good thing.   In his case cheap calipers, are good for scribing and layout work that might damage expensive high quality ones.
• When it comes to soldering irons; more than one is also something you will eventually want.   One of these should be a portable iron, either battery or gas operated for use away from the bench.
• There are few things that you have to commit solidly to memory but two that have made a huge difference to me is learning Ohms law and the relationship of the various parameters.   The second item is learning the resistor color code.   For the rest get a good handbook, use that until the frequently used stuff is also committed to memory.
• Though not electronics per say, understand digital systems and concepts like logic gates and the basic math behind digital logic.   By the way I say "not electronics per say" because if you get into controls you might find your self dealing with pneumatic logic.   Pneumatic logic is actually pretty neat instead of printed circuit boards you have thick boards with holes and channels milled in them instead of copper traces.
• Tinning wires for use in terminal strips has been replaced by the use of wire ferrules.
• Keep a list of tools and instruments you have on your cell phone.   Why?   If you happen upon an auction, estate sale or other opportunity you will know if that bargain sitting in front of you will help fill out your tool collection.   This can help your resist inflating you tool collection with duplicates and stuff not needed.   Or do the reverse and keep a list of things that you need.   Incredible bargains can be had.
• DO NOT throw out paper books and manuals.

[tggzzz]

1: understand the theory of how something is supposed to work
2: understand the ways in which something can fail
3: think
4: be prepared