I can/can't solder.

[Lazy Dude]

Is this thread like a job interview for the start of some mass retro Amstrad production assembly line?
I hope you're gonna pay minimum wage. 

And why on earth would we want to modify our CPCs?
Greetings!
ok I might have changed mine a bit!!!!!

[AMSDOS]

So the story behind those Pictures I posted yesterday was I was pushed into doing an Electronics course, the Mine Tower was something everyone had to do initially, followed by some Electronic toy, as you can see from the image it's fallen to bits a bit (probably cause the iron was too hot or something), at the time I hadn't done any other soldering apart from the Soldering they did in the Metal Works class using the old soldering irons from under the fire. The Electronics course was kinda difficult for me because the room was always full of Distractions along with Bon Jovi and I think because I was new to that subject the teacher allowed me to pass on those 2 Projects, but wanted 3 from anyone who had previous experience.

[Lazy Dude]

I think learning to solder can be fun once you get the hang of it.
There is a certain sence of satisfaction when the task is complete and it works

[talrek]

May be some peoples answered "Yes I can... but better to not see the result"?! 
I should sold my MX4 expansions as DIY parts too for peoples who want to build themselve to get fun and save time.

That's a great Idea 
I voted yes, but only for electronics soldering skills, one day i tried to solder my wife's brocken earrings... errrrr had to buy another pair....
So i CAN solder electronic stuff (not beyond 0603) , but i CAN'T solder jewelery stuff !!!

[Bryce]

Only certain metals can be soldered well. You'd need to know what the jewelery is made of before you decide how to bond it.

Bryce.

[CraigsBar]

Only certain metals can be soldered well. You'd need to know what the jewelery is made of before you decide how to bond it.

Bryce.

Superglue

[CraigsBar]

May be some peoples answered "Yes I can... but better to not see the result"?! 
I should sold my MX4 expansions as DIY parts too for peoples who want to build themselve to get fun and save time.

Hmmmm. I wonder if you could send me a mother4x with no connector on the CPC side, just the open holes, but everything else in place?

[ZbyniuR]

Some people can say they can't solder, but they really like do it.

[||C|-|E||]

May be some peoples answered "Yes I can... but better to not see the result"?! 
I should sold my MX4 expansions as DIY parts too for peoples who want to build themselve to get fun and save time.

I would really love to buy the expansions as a kit, really 

[TFM]

I would really love to buy the expansions as a kit, really 



In TotO's case this wouldn't change the price of the expansion. He's doing it all for us! 

[||C|-|E||]

Then you have to take him for dinner, or something 

[TFM]

I did send him a T101 chip (first Terminator series which actually did work!) for X-MAS. And what did he do? He made a X-MESS out of it! 

[remax]

Superglue

Even if i can't solder, I'm quite good with adhesives 

[steve]

I can glue my fingers together very easily.

[Velktron]

Saying that I can't solder would be a lie. Saying that I'm consistently good at it however, is a different story. I never had formal soldering training, and I ignored even basic skills like e.g. keeping the soldering tip clean, using flux etc. until recently. Sometimes I can do a masterpiece, sometimes I can struggle for an hour with a dirty joint that just won't "catch" solder. Bah....

[seanb]

I can glue my fingers together very easily.

Pah, we can all do that.
Come back when you have managed to glue you hand to your face and then you're part of an elite group

[chinnyhill10]

I can do basic repairs. Found it easier since I ditched the modern solder and got me some good old leaded solder. The modern stuff is rubbish!


Currently have a broken +2 on the bench which the guys at WOS are helping me fix.

[Bryce]

As a hobbiest you should avoid lead-free solder at all costs, except for where you have no choice. Aswell as it being much worse for your health than the leaded stuff, it's also more difficult to solder.

Bryce.

[Velktron]

Funnily enough, most "1 Euro" shops have those chinese noname solders which just don't give a damn about EU or EPA regulations or anything, and are lead all the way 


Of course, not everything is peaches and cream....many come only in fairly large gauges (0.6-1 mm) and can be pretty rough to solder with, and despite their "2% rosin/flux core" content.

[chinnyhill10]

Funnily enough, most "1 Euro" shops have those chinese noname solders which just don't give a damn about EU or EPA regulations or anything, and are lead all the way 

It's perfectly legal to buy and sell leaded solder for personal use. One of the UK's largest electronic components suppliers will happily sell you top quality leaded solder for personal use.

[Bryce]

Yes, leaded solder is still (legally) widely available. If you want to do decent PCB soldering you should try to get solder of a diameter under 1mm. I usually use 0.75mm or 0.5mm, with multiple flux cores (I think most are about 5 core), with a 60/40 or 63/37 mix.

Bryce.

[TFM]

Yes, agreed. 0.8 mm works best for me (because I got a too big tip on my soldering iron already, haha).

[Gryzor]

As a hobbiest you should avoid lead-free solder at all costs, except for where you have no choice. Aswell as it being much worse for your health than the leaded stuff, it's also more difficult to solder.

Bryce.

Huh, learn something new every day... Of course everybody knows lead=bad, but we don't think about what's in the lead-free stuff we buy.


Throwing out my solder packs right away...

[seanb]

Huh, learn something new every day... Of course everybody knows lead=bad, but we don't think about what's in the lead-free stuff we buy.


Throwing out my solder packs right away...

Same here.
Thankfully I still have some lead solder I didn't throw out years ago when I was told lead-free was better.