[atari4x4]

Found this link & thought it was a really good demonstration of the different wire joining & soldering techniques. My old house mate was an auto electrician along with a number of other things & showed me quite a few of these tips over the years.

http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=2236.0

[SuziBlu]

This should be in Tech as a sticky.

Im not in favor of some of what he has shown regarding using a multimeter, but otherwise good stuff.

[JrZook]

SuziBlu wrote:

This should be in Tech as a sticky.

Im not in favor of some of what he has shown regarding using a multimeter, but otherwise good stuff.

What in particular?

[SuziBlu]

Measuring current is not for someone who has a quick read of how to do.

[Reubs]

SuziBlu wrote:

Measuring current is not for someone who has a quick read of how to do.

In the 5th post, he posts:

Quote:

2. The information I am giving here is intended to be used with extra low voltage systems (<50VAC and <120VDC) only, please do not think that this information will allow you to safely work on mains powered equipment (ie, 240V).

Then he posts...

Quote:

DO NOT EVER CONNECT A METER SET UP IN CURRENT MODE ACROSS A VOLTAGE SOURCE

The reason for that warning is that a meter set up in current mode acts pretty much like a plain piece of wire, so if you put it across a voltage source you will create a short circuit. If you are lucky you will blow the fuse in the meter, or it will spark a bit and the worst you will get is a fright. If you are unlucky (the current ranges in some meters are unfused!) the meter will explode causing a fire and injury. People have been killed by making this very simple mistake. For this reason many meters will have a seperate terminal that you connect to for measuring current. Also many meters don't have a current range at all simply because of this problem.

I'm not an electrician like this guy obviously is, but if you follow his warnings your multimeter will not explode and kill you. Yes, setting a multimeter to read current and putting probes across 415V will result in a decent arc followed by a big mess and burns or death to the operator.

In an extra low voltage situation however, this won't be the case. Multimeters are fused to protect against doing this in ELV circumstances only as the fuse is only 250V rated and not rated to withstand the fault current you are going to see at on a mains installation.

However if you stuff up with 12Vdc from a single car battery you 'should' be fine except for a stuffed multimeter.

[neofitou]

Just don't have it on current setting/plug and try and use it to measure the voltage on the battery....

[jonno_racing]

wow i like this!

i have a issue that is relevent...

i bought a gas soldering iorn from jaycar..

now the torch works well as a torch however with the soldering iorn tip on it, it fails. bairly gets enough temp to melt solder.

i am only useing standard gass from a cooker, is that my issue?

i thought i would ask before i lash out and buy gass or takeing it back

[neofitou]

Is it nice and shiney?
Most important thing.

[neofitou]

Also, I don't know about using a cook stove gas, I can take a look at both cans when I get home though.

[jonno_racing]

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

[Lockie666]

jonno_racing wrote:

wow i like this!

i have a issue that is relevent...

i bought a gas soldering iorn from jaycar..

now the torch works well as a torch however with the soldering iorn tip on it, it fails. bairly gets enough temp to melt solder.

i am only useing standard gass from a cooker, is that my issue?

i thought i would ask before i lash out and buy gass or takeing it back

You mean butane right? Because that's usually what they take...

[atari4x4]

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

the tip needs to be super clean/shiny.

[Rusho]

That is a top little thread, good work Atari

[jonno_racing]

atari4x4 wrote:

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

the tip needs to be super clean/shiny.

yep thats fine.. it will melt the solder but no matter how long i keep it on for it dosnt get hot enough to use. as soon as you touch it on something, it sucks the heat out and its all over.

[needmorelift]

jonno_racing wrote:

atari4x4 wrote:

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

the tip needs to be super clean/shiny.

yep thats fine.. it will melt the solder but no matter how long i keep it on for it dosnt get hot enough to use. as soon as you touch it on something, it sucks the heat out and its all over.

does it melt the solder or does it make it smoke? for a soldering iron to be used properly the tip must be extremely hot.

is there some sort of setting where you can up the temp? also can you take the tips apart on it? maybe pull it down to check theres nothing in there...

otherwise take her back

https://www.alltools.com.au/shop/index. ... ion_Piezo_)_Butane_Soldering_Iron

we use these bad boys at work and they are pretty good but expensive...they also come with like an open tip that has a couple flange things inside it...if you smash the flanges out you can make it shoot a nice blue flame about 2in long lol

[Polar_Bear]

what was wrong with scotch locks?

[Fatzook]

Polar_Bear wrote:

what was wrong with scotch locks?

Remind me never to buy a car from you

[ninjamoses]

Cheers for the link Atari. Thought I would have a quick skim over it but ending up reading the whole damn thing. Few good tips in there for sure.

Thing it might be time I threw out my $2 POS crimper/wire strippers rofl.

[Polar_Bear]

Fatzook wrote:

Polar_Bear wrote:

what was wrong with scotch locks?

Remind me never to buy a car from you

trashfield installers swear by them

[atari4x4]

Polar_Bear wrote:

Fatzook wrote:

Polar_Bear wrote:

what was wrong with scotch locks?

Remind me never to buy a car from you

trashfield installers swear by them

botch locks is what my old housemate used to call them & you'd be lucky to get that sort of quality at smashfields, they use the twist & tape technique.

[Chop]

Polar_Bear wrote:

Fatzook wrote:

Polar_Bear wrote:

what was wrong with scotch locks?

Remind me never to buy a car from you

trashfield installers swear by them

And thats why they aint around anymore!

Chop

[atari4x4]

it was nice to see such a detailed & informative post, i really think some more write ups like this would gold in the tech articles. we just need to make the time to write them up/taking pics when doing the job.

[TZAR]

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

I thought your Issue was that you had two heads and you fucked your sister........

[jonno_racing]

TZAR wrote:

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

I thought your Issue was that you had two heads and you fucked your sister........

sorry mate you have our sisters confused again... wanker

back to the point, it will melt the solder but as soon as you touch it on the wires it sucks all the heat out and its all over!

[JrZook]

jonno_racing wrote:

TZAR wrote:

jonno_racing wrote:

is what shiny sorry?

yeah that would be great. id say thats my issue

I thought your Issue was that you had two heads and you fucked your sister........

sorry mate you have our sisters confused again... wanker

back to the point, it will melt the solder but as soon as you touch it on the wires it sucks all the heat out and its all over!

LOL!!!

Anyways how big is the wire? What diameter? Like in the link you should be putting a bit of solder on the iron then holding it against the wire for heat transfer. One the wire is hot enough you should be able to add solder from the tip/wire connection gradually working your way just to the wire with molten solder. Depending on the wire thickness is the time taken to heat it up enough. Wont happen in an instant so take your time.

Dan

[Reubs]

jonno_racing wrote:

wow i like this!
issue that is relevent...
i bought a gas soldering iorn from jaycar..

I think your problem is the small tip on the gas iron doesn't hold enough heat to do the job, or you are not heating it for long enough.

Solder will start to melt from about 300 degrees, but depending on what you are doing, you probably need over 400 degrees and a tip that is heated all the way through. I set my soldering station to about 370 for small things that can't afford to be burnt (electronics) and at least 420 for large wires and lugs and things. In fact to solder the anderson plugs for my amp required a couple of minutes of heating at 480 degrees with a 60W iron.

If you need a cheap portable soldering iron, maybe you'd be better off getting a 12Vdc unit with a cig. lighter plug. I have a 30W 12V iron that works great for small jobs on the car, and I don't think I payed more then $30 for it.

[jonno_racing]

yeah i get the feeling its just not staying hot enough!

i will see about putting proper gas in it and try again!

[Symon]

Hey guys, nice little forum you have here.

I was doing a bit of research and stumbled across this thread - I am the author of the post on myswag.org that atari4x4 linked to.

The response from that little thread has been somewhat overwhelming and I am quite pleased to see that you got some benefit from it. The thread is very much a work in progress so if you have any topics that you would like to be explained (I don't profess to be a guru on everything though, so keep that in mind!) please post up or shoot me an email or PM, and I will amend the thread on myswag.

Cheers!

[Fatzook]

Symon wrote:

Hey guys, nice little forum you have here.

I was doing a bit of research and stumbled across this thread - I am the author of the post on myswag.org that atari4x4 linked to.

The response from that little thread has been somewhat overwhelming and I am quite pleased to see that you got some benefit from it. The thread is very much a work in progress so if you have any topics that you would like to be explained (I don't profess to be a guru on everything though, so keep that in mind!) please post up or shoot me an email or PM, and I will amend the thread on myswag.

Cheers!

I've got a question for you.

When are you moving to brisbane?

[Symon]

In about 25 years when I retire!