I'm refining my magiquest wand modifcation. need advice

[Yakko Warner]

Well, the magiquest wand is lead free and my weller only has a 7 tip should i get a higher temp tip to solder onto it. my previous attempts we not very good I was using a soldering gun thing.... ugh.

also I have some 22awg solid core should i switch to 22 awg stranded ?

I was able to get the wand pcb into the zapper shell but my ground wire from the battery broke off at the solder point.

my positive wire that came attached to the board isn't that much better.

I am going to re-wire the power and hopefully put in a battery box for either 2 aaa or a 123V

Any suggestions on where to source the battery holder with or w/o leads?

and or if I should use stranded vs solid ?

[Yakko Warner]

7 tip is aprox 700F

also i couldn't seem to solder to the battery directly ;-) which is why i am looking for a battery box/holder.

[EschewObfuscation]

If you are not an experienced solderer, I'd say use conventional solder. 63/37 is best, 60/40 is acceptable. If there is some requirement for lead free solder, the accepted commercial alloys now in use require an 800 degree tip, which would run probably around $5, but is a little nuisance to obtain. Even with the 800F tip, lead free will require better technique to get a good bond. Solid wire will be easier to solder, use stranded if you expect a lot of flexing in service. Gateway probably has suitable battery holders on hand, if you want local retail.

[yakko.c...@gmail.com]

I have only soldered 2 projects. my problem is that the board where I want to solder to already has lead free solder on it where i need to make the connections. If i could get it off then i would be good putting my non-lead free on it ...

Would gateway have #8 weller tips?

I will give them a call today.

[EschewObfuscation]

Weller tips are common enough equipment, I expect they'd have them. But... just because there is 800F solder on the board doesn't mean you can't use 700F solder to attach to it. If you have access to 63/37 or 60/40 solder, give it a try; you'll likely find you can make that joint fine. Concentrate more on wetting the iron's tip, keeping everything clean, and getting flux on everything, more than the tools. (Consider: you don't have to melt the copper wire to solder to it, right? You may or may not be able to soften the 800F solder, but you don't have to to solder to it, either, any more than the copper.)

[Yakko Warner]

well, if tips are as inexpensive as you say i have a tip from the 60's still in my weller... well do for a replacement. =)

I have flux also and some of the leadish solder not sure what it's makeup is b/c it was just given to me by someone at arch-reactor years ago.

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[EschewObfuscation]

There are different types of tip, so you need to match them up. The classic Weller thermostatic irons use the curie point of a magnet to control temperature; newer ones use, I think, a thermistor feeding back into pwm circuitry in the base. If you are using an older, no adjustment style base, then PT7 or PT8 series tips are likely what you need. Take your model numbers down before inquiring with Gateway to be sure you get the right kind.

The solder you have should be marked, if it's still on its spool. If it's unmarked and old, likely it's 60/40, which is suboptimal, but good enough.

Have some emory paper and some 0000 steel wool for cleaning things, rosin flux, and (if you need to violate the rules in the name of expedience) some corrosive flux, plumbing type consisting of grease with zinc chloride, and you will make the joint adequately. Soldering success is only 10% equipment, 90% technique. Once you have any proper thermostatic iron, the rest of your attention should be on your methods.

[yakko warner]

luckily this time i have till august to get it back to working again.

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[Chris Weiss]

the primary advantage to stranded vs solid is flexibility and min bend angle.  if it won't flex and bend angles are not super sharp, go solid.

[Chris Weiss]

mixing leaded solder into lead free on a board is a common technique for desoldering as well.  mix away if ROHS compliance ins't important.

[Keith Rogers]

You can use that leaded solder to lower the melting point and flow temperature of the silver solder.  Just get some leaded solder balled up on the iron and work it into the existing silver solder, then remove with a solder sucker or braided solder remover.  Repeat as required until you can get a good joint with just the mostly leaded solder. 

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[Yakko Warner]

my iron just isn't quite hot enough... but when i get two new tips i will fix that. =)

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/arch-reactor/CADXZjbK4GA_RZJZakiCw4B0tvbfSZwTfu%2BenPZ8u-T75%3DscsYw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Yakko Warner]

okay, so I have the tips and I bought some AA and AAA battery holders but there just isn't any space in the handle. So i am going back to getting a cr123a battery holder almost all of them seem to have pins on the bottom..

I'm debating which one I should get i see that digikey has a bunch not sure if I should go with the lowest clearance as space is an issue.

[Yakko Warner]

i.e. bh123a

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?FV=fff40006%2Cfff80022&k=123a&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=-759&page=1&stock=0&pbfree=0&rohs=0&quantity=&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25

if i get them from digikey what sort of service should i expect?

also would it be worth looking at the surface mount holders?

[Yakko Warner]

well, i got all the parts and soldered it back together but it seems the trigger when re-connected to the wand switch as it was is not firing the IR led at the front like it used to..

I checked on have continuity when the trigger is pulled... not sure what I am missing here. IF all else fails the motion switches work still. =(

i've also checked for shorts due to soldering ... but no luck as of yet.

any ideas?

On Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 1:44:24 AM UTC-5, Yakko Warner wrote:

i.e. bh123a

http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en?FV=fff40006%2Cfff80022&k=123a&mnonly=0&newproducts=0&ColumnSort=-759&page=1&stock=0&pbfree=0&rohs=0&quantity=&ptm=0&fid=0&pageSize=25

if i get them from digikey what sort of service should i expect?

also would it be worth looking at the surface mount holders?

On Sun, Jul 19, 2015 at 1:35 AM,wrote:

okay, so I have the tips and I bought some AA and AAA battery holders but there just isn't any space in the handle. So i am going back to getting a cr123a battery holder almost all of them seem to have pins on the bottom..

I'm debating which one I should get i see that digikey has a bunch not sure if I should go with the lowest clearance as space is an issue.

On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 12:23 PM, Yakko Warner wrote:

my iron just isn't quite hot enough... but when i get two new tips i will fix that. =)

On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 12:08 PM, Keith Rogers <phog...@gmail.com> wrote:

You can use that leaded solder to lower the melting point and flow temperature of the silver solder.  Just get some leaded solder balled up on the iron and work it into the existing silver solder, then remove with a solder sucker or braided solder remover.  Repeat as required until you can get a good joint with just the mostly leaded solder. 

On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 9:52 AM, yakko warner <> wrote:

luckily this time i have till august to get it back to working again.

On Mon, Jul 13, 2015 at 9:13 AM, EschewObfuscation <googlegroups@mailfilter.33mail.com> wrote:

There are different types of tip, so you need to match them up. The classic Weller thermostatic irons use the curie point of a magnet to control temperature; newer ones use, I think, a thermistor feeding back into pwm circuitry in the base. If you are using an older, no adjustment style base, then PT7 or PT8 series tips are likely what you need. Take your model numbers down before inquiring with Gateway to be sure you get the right kind.

The solder you have should be marked, if it's still on its spool. If it's unmarked and old, likely it's 60/40, which is suboptimal, but good enough.

Have some emory paper and some 0000 steel wool for cleaning things, rosin flux, and (if you need to violate the rules in the name of expedience) some corrosive flux, plumbing type consisting of grease with zinc chloride, and you will make the joint adequately. Soldering success is only 10% equipment, 90% technique. Once you have any proper thermostatic iron, the rest of your attention should be on your methods.

On Monday, July 13, 2015 at 9:00:28 AM UTC-5, Yakko Warner wrote:

well, if tips are as inexpensive as you say i have a tip from the 60's still in my weller... well do for a replacement. =)

I have flux also and some of the leadish solder not sure what it's makeup is b/c it was just given to me by someone at arch-reactor years ago.

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[Yakko Warner]

nvm it was/is working and all back in the zapper.