[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

I rarely use rosin ... makes too big of a mess, especially when working on little stuff like modding AR6300's.

I use silver solder wire myself....

[al_voisine]

Originally Posted by bensidus197217

Use soldering paste it works and it will allow the solder to flow into everyplace the paste is. I've done a lot of soldering over time and this is the only way I have had good reasults consistantly. My iron is one of those cheap $20 models and it works fine when paste is involved. No mystery to this just use paste and you will have no more trouble. As far as thickness of material goes if you tin the areas with solder first (coat them with solder) then liberaly put paste between the areas to be soldered together and place paste on the solder wire itself as soon as you put enough heat to the conections they will bond right away. I have soldered brass fittings to cast iron tanks with the above method it is a little messy though so you need to take that into consideration.

Whatever you do, make sure you DO NOT use paste meant for plumbing! It is acid based and will corrode the wires which will cause failures.

In electric and electronic connections you must use Rosin flux. Rosin is safe and can be easily cleaned with water and soap. But most importantly it will not corrode your wires and components, even if left uncleaned.

Fly safe.

AL

[flycrazy = Darcy Creighton]

... adding on to that. Some of us use silicone to protect pcb's and similar electronic components on our helis. Make sure you use an electrical grade caulk for the exact same reasons..... most hardware store caulks are an acid cure.... not good for electronics.

[Spitball]

Anybody got any comments re this new 'sociably acceptable' type of solder used in Europe and elsewhere called, I think "ROHS"; is it like 'lead-free'?
I'm at home with all soldering jobs using my Weller soldering station but since I've retired they have introduced this new solder/soldering technique. Can things be repaired using regular Ersin Multicore 60/40 electronic wire solder?
BTW Use 99% Isopropyl Alcohol to clean off before and after soldering. Dissolves the flux nicely.
Anyone shed any light?

[Dave Holmes]

Originally Posted by Spitball

Can things be repaired using regular Ersin Multicore 60/40 electronic wire solder?

That's all I've ever used, particularly in electronics, as it has the flux in those multiple cores. I still use paste flux though, and I clean the mating surfaces to be joined before tinning them. It works fine on plumbing pipe, et al, but it is somewhat on the expensive side. I understand that it is no longer acceptable for plumbing due to the lead content, but when I worked with my dad as a plumbers helper (half a century ago) all the solder contained lead. At that time we used 50/50.

Basically, if it's not going to be in contact with food or drink the leaded solder works well, except in high stress places where silver solder is required for extra strength.

[craneman32]

This might help.

http://www.echelon.com/products/rohs_faq.htm

[Spitball]

I'll check that out, thanks craneman32 - I mentioned it because I thought it may be the cause of your problem and wondered if one could use conventional (old!) soldering techniques on this new stuff.
I see you are a disciple of Mr Bib and Savabit Multicore too Dave!! The 1% copper content really does preserve the bit.
Used it for decades! Still have 1lb reels half used! Cheers.