Thread: soldering help for modchip

being that ive never soldered before i decided to test it out on some junk....what a disaster. i couldn't past tinning the tip. i really have no clue what went wrong...i made a vid and took some pics, but let me sum it for you. When I would rub the solder on the hot iron tip, the solder would melt in an instant (at first), and just disappear...smoke went everywhere(the inner flux?) and my solder "stick" lost a good 2 centimeters. at the end of that is a ball of harded solder. i COULD NOT get the solder to stick to the damn iron thouigh, it just kept beading off, like water on rubber. eventually a part of the iron starting holding solder, but when i looked closely i noticed the area was actually like eaten away. when i look at it from the side there is a big missing chuck. that was the ONYL part of the iron that actually held any solder on it and didnt just let it bead off onto my sponge.

I tried to solder two wires, but i couldn't get the wire hot enough, i figure thats because the tip ws all contaminated.

now thats it been sitting and cooled, i can see the tip area i ws trying to tin is BLACk, and when i rub it my fingers get black...expect for that one area that has a gap in it. shiny as hell though.



any idea what happened here mate? im just glad i decided to test drive before tackling the project.

heres a link to my vid MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service

im not the best at soldering but when i do it i get a clamp or something to hold the wires together and twist the bare wire ends together and while the clamp is still holding the wires i touch the solder and the iron to the wires and when a little bit of solder melts off i rub it on the wires whie still touching the iron and solder. if that makes any sense. You know there are ALOT of solderless modchips out there where all you have to do is clip them in place. much easier and less chance of messing something up.

I used to solder all the time when I did systems and control... The easiest thing I did to get the solder to stick was to directly place the solder "stick"/wire onto the thing that needed soldering and then slightly touch it with the solder iron. More often than not, this would make a little drop of solder go onto the thing that needed soldering and formed quite nicely.

And yes, the solder gets used up very quickly, it's normal!

the thing is, i had trouble tining the iron. the iron wasn't getting hot enough to heat the wire so i never even got that far.

i want to know why i couldn't tin it in the first place, why the solder just slid off my iron and left it black and unclean =(

you guys got any ideas?

oh, i know about the solderless chips, but i want to learn to solder anyway. i wont even attempt it before i get it down pat,which why im practicing on wires and soon old boars. i just wish i could tin the thing, i feel jipped

Every solder iron I've used always makes the solder slip off, it's what it's meant to do. It can be annoying, I know, try holding the iron to the side and tilted up slightly so it doesn't slip off until you want it too.

It could possibly be that the solder iron is a lower end cheaper one (the ones I always used were) but I'm not positive as I haven't shelled out extra money for the more expensive ones. I'm gonna guess there's no difference though, perhaps the end has a different metal coating it... doubt it.

hell yeah my iron is cheap lol i don't think they get any cheaper =p

which i wanted some feedback before i replaced it. ill probably get a weller if i do but ugg, more money on a fuckin hot stick

Originally Posted by Col. Skillz

hell yeah my iron is cheap lol i don't think they get any cheaper =p

which i wanted some feedback before i replaced it. ill probably get a weller if i do but ugg, more money on a fuckin hot stick

Well you have two options:

1. If you're not going to be soldering often, keep this solder iron and try use some of the tips in this thread to improve your technique. I found a helpful guide here: EPE "Basic Soldering Guide"

or

2. If you plan on soldering a lot then it would be best to invest in a better solder iron anyways.

If yo're planning on buying a new solder iron then you might wanna try this if you're feeling particularly well knowledged on solder irons: Cold Soldering Iron -- better than a traditional iron?

...otherwise stick to the traditional solder iron.

thanks for the help mate, i really dont know which way ill go =/

Originally Posted by Col. Skillz

thanks for the help mate, i really dont know which way ill go =/

No problem, any time.

Maybe if you plan on chipping every console and future consoles you have, plus friends consoles then getting a decent solder iron would be a good idea. If you get really good you could even make a bit of money doing it