Soldering Iron.

[Sascha]

Hi Guys. I finally got me some LEDs for my Viaduct station.Now I need a Soldering Iron and Tin.Since they come with different Watt, I don't know which one to get.The right  Any help (and a link) is greatly appreciated.

[kvp]

Imho it's more important to have fine tempreture control and set it to just above the minimum needed. For small leds, something around 20-25 watts would work.

[cteno4]

Sasha,

 

So you are just soldering some wires and resistors correct, not trying to solder up tiny smd LEDs to wires, correct?

 

A simple 40-60w or so soldering can work fine for regular wire soldering for under $10 for the iron

 

https://www.amazon.com/60-Watts-Soldering-Iron-listed/dp/B0006NGZK0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1471462223&sr=8-4&keywords=soldering+iron

 

It's nice to have a point tip and a small chisel tip for various work. I actually find for a lot of general stuff a small chisel tip works well as you get a larger flat surface for quick wire joints and a bit of a tip for spot stuff, but this is personal and not really that different for general soldering

 

A bit nicer is one where you can control the temperature so you get it hot enough for your soldering but don't melt down things

 

https://www.amazon.com/Vastar-Adjustable-Temperature-Desoldering-Anti-static/dp/B01547OES2/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1471461726&sr=8-13&keywords=Temperature+controlled+soldering+iron

 

https://www.amazon.com/Soldering-SOAIY-Adjustable-Temperature-Desoldering/dp/B01C9P7HDQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1471462140&sr=8-8&keywords=soldering+iron

 

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1471461726&sr=8-2&keywords=Temperature+controlled+soldering+iron

 

You can spend a lot of money on irons but for general simple soldering they really don't anything more for you.

 

It's worth having a decent stand (if not built into the unit itself) as a simple lean on one is a recipe for it getting knocked over or cord yanked and out reflex action it to grab for it and that's not good to do with a 500 degree+ object! I know I've done it and I've seen so many do it!

 

https://www.amazon.com/Elenco-SH-1-Soldering-Iron-Holder/dp/B0002LLWEU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471462559&sr=8-3&keywords=soldering+iron+stand

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-Detachable-Metal-Base-Soldering-Iron-Gun-Holder-Stand-Support-Station-/311541471181?hash=item48895197cd:g:5W8AAOSwoydWtBFt

 

And I've found this style tip cleaner great. Just plunge the tip in every few solders and comes out very nicely cleaned. Small we sponges work but are messier and harder to get all around a tip cleaned well.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-quality-Black-Solder-Soldering-Iron-Tip-Cleaner-Clean-Tool-Wire-Stand-New-/172219839652?hash=item28191a34a4:g:3~MAAOSwu4BVzFCt

 

Have you done much soldering? If not take a look on YouTube there are a scad of great videos on soldering to pickup tips from ans then it's just practice. Cut up some old wires and extra resistors and just practice some before going at your wiring. It's really practice practice practice to get a good feel and be reproducible.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Sascha]

Yup. Just wires. Thanks a bunch Jeff!!!

[Sascha]

Have you done much soldering? If not take a look on YouTube there are a scad of great videos on soldering to pickup tips from ans then it's just practice. Cut up some old wires and extra resistors and just practice some before going at your wiring. It's really practice practice practice to get a good feel and be reproducible.
 

I haven't soldered since High school, but I see on the videos, that its not to hard.I forgot to ask what kind of wire I need. Is this one right?

 

https://www.amazon.com/WYZM-20awg-Extension-Strips-Projects/dp/B00ZZ8B9TS/ref=pd_sbs_263_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F1YT0G1PGXQD8RQ8EFJV

[cteno4]

Sasha,

 

You'll be fine, just do some practice pieces it will come back! It really is a pretty easy learned skill, that is mainly just getting the sequence right of cleaned tinned tip to joint to heat up it (some apply a small bit of solder to the joint to add some flux from the solder), then moving the solder into the heated joint (not to the tip) to melt and flow.

 

20g will handle a lot of LEDs! If you are just running power out to individual buildings then you can go with much smaller wire. 20g would be fine for a trunk power line as it can handle a couple of amps easily. I use 30g wrapping wire to run power to small led sets of 1-5. The stuff is fine but very tough and is pretinned so it solders well and does not break while stripping. It's also dirt cheap at less than a penny a foot! Just run these back to a main power feed in an area. This stuff is about 2-3" in dia scale so it could be pipes running along things as well.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-0-25mm-Wire-Wrapping-Wire-30AWG-Cable-305m-10-Colors-/131605891841?var=&hash=item1ea4528b01:m:mI1DcUWLI7Gl-ev7nPILg2Q

 

Also might think of using some 2k variable resistors to let you set the brightness of your LEDs. You can wire them in series with your drop down resistor or use it in addition just don't turn it all the way up (but a fixed drop down resistor is safer!). Let's you set the LEDs just right so you don't have mini Suns burning in your buildings. Use to be cheaper but like 10 cents per led. Of course you can just use larger fixed resistors to dim them,mbut just a pain to find the right one instead of just dialing it in!

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DZ912-2K-OHM-Trimpot-Trimmer-Potentiometer-Pot-Variable-Resistor-RM065-202-x10-/391475827976?hash=item5b25c71508:g:1~UAAOSwvg9XVS8e

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited August 17, 2016 by cteno4

[Sascha]

Ordered everything. Thanks a bunch. I'll let you know if I have more questions.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[inobu]

Funny, I just started the LED portion of my project and had to get a new tip.The size of the LED is going to dictate the wattage level.for the soldering process. I got the pencil tip iron because of the size. It is best to have the variable or a number of sizes as each job could warrant different power levels. Problem is the variables cost a lot but worth it in the long run.

 

On the smaller LED the contact time is 3 seconds or less.I got the 402 and 603 which are practically nothing in size.

 

 

I just picked up a different angle normally closed tweezers and lighted magnifying glass as I got a bunch to do. The cleaner that Jeff posted is the most important. Dirty tips will cause you to fail over and over again an eventually melting the LED.

 

Inobu

Edited August 18, 2016 by inobu

[Sascha]

Finally got light in my Station. Waiting for the Lamps to go with the ends of the stations and than I'll add the Dimmer. Afterwards I'll start with the shops. A big thank you to Jeff with all his tips and links. I really appreciate it!!! :)  :)  :)

[cteno4]

Sasha,

 

Great to see you going at it! Like I said it's mainly practice!

 

Jeff

[JR 500系]

Looking great Sascha san! The station comes alive with lights! Now to add in that resistor and it will look even better! Great job!

[cteno4]

Even better add a variable resistor and you can play with the level!

 

Jeff

[Sascha]

Thanks guys. I do have a variable Transistor. I did never figured out what I need the DZ912 2K OHM Trimpot Trimmer Potentiometer Pot Variable Resistor RM065-202 x10 (foto attached) for.