Soldering kit reccomendations? + extras?

So instead of getting someone to mod my Mega Drive for me I've decided to have a go at doing it my self. Only thing is I don't have the tools needed to do it so I was wondering if someone could give me reccomendations on a soldering iron, solder, flux, wiring etc for what's best for this kind of work. From reading about it seems 40W is sufficient, but what about the size of the tip? Is a chisel tip better than an fine tip? I've been looking looking about on Amazon (UK) and eBay but am just not sure what to buy because judging the size of the tips is difficult when looking at tiny photos. Also what about a dremel tool? Does anyone have any reccomendations on that? Any help is appreciated; really looking forward to giving this a go because there's a few consoles I want to mod, being able to do it my self will be awesome.

 

I realise this will make me look like a horrendous amateur but I literally have a 40w soldering iron with a fine tip and use cheapo flux core lead free solder or rosin core lead solder just the cheapest of the cheap haha. I have trouble with really fiddly stuff but for the most part don't have any major problems

 

Heh heh, don't feel so bad. I use a cheap Radioshack brand 35watt soldering iron. Like you, I have been fine for the most part but I do have some trouble with finer jobs. Pretty soon I will buy a decent iron but right now everything is fine.

geluda, why not buy an inexpensive iron right now then buy a better one when you have more experience? The 35 watt Radioshack one I mentioned does the job and tips are cheap and easy to find.

 

I'm using a cheap-o chinese brand soldering iron. Variable temperature, but it really doesn't make a difference because the tip won't get hot enough, so I need to use the side. This is why I'm actually planning on spending a bit of cash on one, because sold of the soldering I'm doing involves contacts that are very close together. I don't suggest you buy an expensive one unless you plan on using it, but I also don't suggest a cheap-o one unless you can't see yourself using it at least once a month.

A fine tip may be useful in the future though- just in case you plan on doing some precise soldering. Dremels are an absolute necessity. I can't do a project without one, and so that's why I bought a newer one. Was a tad expensive, but it does the job well.
Really, if all you're doing is some minor plastic cutting and drilling, any old Dremel will work. A cheap one is fine, just make sure it's going to hold up well, so a 1st party one. Use the extra cash to pay for different bits, which can wear down fairly quick.

Flux? Anything. It's really just there to make soldering contacts near to each other easier.
Solder? Unless you'e picky, anything is fine. However, I recommend electrical solder- This is electronics, right?

 

I suggest you get a pretty decent soldering iron if you're doing multiple consoles. If you only going to do a couple than I'd say a 30 watt would be alright. Also use rosin core solder along with flux. Don't be affraid to apply the flux generously you can always wipe the access away. I myself use a Aoyue 2702a+ rework station because I work alot on chipping consoles and repairs.

 

Lol I do all my plastic drilling with a power drill

 

If you plan on doing like case mods I suggest using a variable speed dremel with the router attachment.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/s/ref=is_s_?k=soldering+iron

http://shop.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/se...47a1972c982fff917a4?kw=soldering+iron&cmd=SKW

So can someone reccomend me a an iron from one of these links? I really don't know what I'm looking for in a quality iron in terms on both temperature and tips. I guess it's one of those things you learn with experience. To be honest I plan on doing a good few consoles for both me and my friends, and I want the iron to last for any other future projects I might want to take on. An example would be doing region mods on my SNES so it's going to require soldering to tiny pins on chips do while heat transfer won't be as good I'm thinking fine tip might be the way to go.

Inwas looking at this as I know draper are a good brand but the tip looks almost as big as a flat head screw driver. :/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B000ELJ0C4/ref=aw_d_iv_diy?is=l&qid=1338399936&sr=8-2

 

Use a fine tip and before working on something you care about, practice on an old pcb or perhaps a toy that make sounds. Remove something to "break" it and put it back on and see if it's still working. Do that to a few components on it until you feel capable of working on your console.

 

So what about wire? What gague wire should I be looking at using?

 

Edit: this sounds like I'm not answering your question. I am: the type of iron/tip is not that important. See my reply for full details.

TL;DR version:

1. Use lots of flux
2. Use leaded solder
3. Practice practice practice

In order of importance:

Get regular flux (not no-clean) and apply it with a spatula. You really can never use too much flux. If you think you're using too much, you're not. If a joint is giving you trouble, use more flux. If you're having trouble getting heat to spread fast enough, more flux. Flux flux flux is the magical substance that makes soldering possible.

Brief followup: use isopropyl alcohol to clean up excess flux when you're done. I use 99% but ordinary 60% should work. Q-tips are my preferred applicator.

Use leaded solder. It's no more hazardous to work with than lead-free and it will make your life 10x easier, especially with a cheap iron.

Get any old iron with any old tip (within reason) and PRACTICE. Get some kits, get an old PCB and solder/desolder. Just get some practice. It will take time to develop good technique (probably 2-3 weeks of soldering every day), but if you make this investment up front you will GREATLY reap the benefits later.

I can't stress this enough: you do not want your first soldering to take place inside a video game system you care about.

The technique and experience are MUCH more valuable than the iron. I have done amazing tiny surface mount work with a $15 iron and a blunt tip. I've seen guys destroy simple jobs with the finest Weller on the market. The difference? I know what I'm doing (plus I use lots of flux).

 

Depends on the use- power supplies- thick.
I use 30 gauge wire, but that's for low power devices.

 

i use 22ga and it works out just fine!!!!

 

General use is 30awg for most mod chips. You thicker Ground and Power wires for the best performance. Try Kynar wire it's really good stuff.

 

Thanks for all the tips! Lots of useful info! My first mod isn't going to be anything spectacular, I've got a Mega Drive from eBay that cost me £7 so to be honest if I mess the job up it's not a loss I'm worried about. I'm going to do the region and hz mod which seems simple enough, six contacts on the board and six joints on the switches, seems like a fair project for a first try. I've got a SNES I want to do as well but that looks quite a bit more complicated so I deffinately need to work up to that.

 

I'm going to go against the grain a bit here and strongly recommend you get yourself a decent soldering iron. I used to use cheap soldering irons, and I thought I was pretty average at soldering. Once I went out and bought myself a decent soldering station, I realized that the soldering irons I'd been using were rubbish, and had been making it all a lot harder than it needed to be. Soldering is damn easy if you have a decent soldering iron. What you want is a good quality soldering station that gives you incredibly fast heating, has very precise temperature control, and heats all the way to the tip. You want something with a ceramic heating element, not the rubbish electric coil heating elements you get in a cheap iron. Unless your soldering iron is able to heat quickly and accurately, as soon as you place it on the board and/or apply solder to the tip, the temperature plummets, which makes things much harder. If you've never used a professional soldering iron, you'll never know the difference a good heating element makes until you try it.

I've got a Hakko 936, and I'd swear by it. The thing is incredible, and the heating element will probably last longer than I will. Unfortunately, Hakko don't seem to sell this particular model anymore, but they say the FX-888 is the intended replacement for it.

One other thing, if you're getting a decent soldering iron, I'd also strongly recommend that you use a wire coil soldering tip cleaner (like the hakko 599B I got with my iron) rather than the old wet sponge approach. It's much nicer on the tip, it's quicker and easier to do while you're working since you won't have to wait at all for it to heat back up, and just generally does a better job than a sponge.

 

Listen to Nemesis, he speaks facts.

 

That's good to know. I've got a cheapy iron which I get by with but that makes it sound a lot easier to use.

 

I have a Hakko clone, works great (and had it for AGES).

When I finally replace it, I will buy a genuine one though.

 

Is this the one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120923189665?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

£40 is a mighty tempting price.