Bench Soldering Equipment / Tools Suggestions

[MidiMagic]

I remember using a “vapor degreaser” at Hughes. It was a tank about 3’ square and 4’ high, with about 8” of trichloroethane in the bottom. To use it, the trichlor was heated to boiling and the sides of the tank were cooled to catch the vapor. You put your circuit board in the vapors and they condensed on the board and dissolved the flux, which drained off and back into the pool at the bottom. You always got distilled solvent on the board. But it was hell on your hands. I used a lot of corn-huskers’ lotion in those days.

I used one of these years ago. It dissolved all of the trimpots on the board.

 

[barfle]

All this talk about soldering iron temperature leads me to say that I almost always use a 700F temperature controlled tip on my Weller pencil. They make several different configurations, and for the most part I use the longer, more tapered tip. There have been occasions where I’m working on something with a bit of mass when I have to go to the 800F tip, but that’s very rare.

 

[Imbobman]

Im 73 years old so I guess that makes me OG in the lingo of the modern age. But because of having used 60/40 Rosen core lead solder since I was a young lad of 15 I just have to say that I love the smell of solder in the morning always have and always will!

It smells like victory!.... To borrow a line from the movie Apocalypse Now...

 

[bsco]

Yeah this was on telecom equipment so as a protective layer. Not sure exactly what the substance was but in the room where it was applied the people were wearing hazmat type suits/respirators.
Made sort of a pita to troubleshoot the boards.

the stuff that I have used has a very strong smell to it.....you really should wear a mask......

 

[bsco]

You probably have the requisite knowledge but I took electricity in high school and built a couple of simple devices. Nothing since then.
I would like to take a beginning or intro class for electricity and electronics to basically be able to do what you want. I have and know how to use a soldering iron but that's it for me....

check out a video from a guy over in the Canary Islands....he has a channel called "Learn Electronics Repair" that in my opinion would be a great start...he has an "All You Need To Know" series of videos related to electronic repair and component theory and testing.....

 

[furui_suterioo]

I would like to get deeper into fixing vintage equipment. So far i have only changed out caps and some transistors but i still don't have overall understanding of the whole board such as adjusting bias. I have lots of 70s stereo equipment and old portable players which will need tune ups.
I worked with some nice equipment in college classes but i don't think I could afford for myself. I also want to be able to work on newer equipment such as laptops.
A soldering/desoldering set up budget of around $200 isvwhat i was thinking, also dmm and oscilloscope. Maybe heat gun too? Am i getting ahead of myself?

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I am so glad that @LB-V started this thread. The contributions have been amazing & puts to shame my puny comment about carpet on the workbench. I am probably going to upgrade my electro-workbench based on these comments.

 

[mandrix]

I took full day classes of Industrial Electronics in my 20's. I really enjoyed it. Half a day in class, half in the lab. I lacked the time to take Calculus at the local College so I never got that AS degree. So very far from the EE's we have on the forum!
The school had some pretty good tech for the time, donated by companies.

I would encourage anyone at any age to take classes in DC electronics if the desire and time is there. Get the basics down and probably without hours number crunching (part I was good at but you know, maths, lol)

 

[barfle]

I would like to get deeper into fixing vintage equipment. So far i have only changed out caps and some transistors but i still don't have overall understanding of the whole board such as adjusting bias. I have lots of 70s stereo equipment and old portable players which will need tune ups.
I worked with some nice equipment in college classes but i don't think I could afford for myself. I also want to be able to work on newer equipment such as laptops.
A soldering/desoldering set up budget of around $200 isvwhat i was thinking, also dmm and oscilloscope. Maybe heat gun too? Am i getting ahead of myself?

I won’t say that I’m fully set up myself, although I have most of the stuff you’re describing. A lot of it is left over from the days when I thought I could make a living selling boards I built (long before surface-mount).

At some point I intend to acquire surface-mount soldering and desoldering gear, but almost all od the stuff in my “fix this stuff” pile is through-hole, so I’m good for now.

For the most part, bias is intended to make the signal clip symetrically - top and bottom at the same levels. Q-current in power amps is a bit trickier, and you definitely need a scope to see what you’re doing in either case.

 

[bsco]

I would like to get deeper into fixing vintage equipment. So far i have only changed out caps and some transistors but i still don't have overall understanding of the whole board such as adjusting bias. I have lots of 70s stereo equipment and old portable players which will need tune ups.
I worked with some nice equipment in college classes but i don't think I could afford for myself. I also want to be able to work on newer equipment such as laptops.
A soldering/desoldering set up budget of around $200 isvwhat i was thinking, also dmm and oscilloscope. Maybe heat gun too? Am i getting ahead of myself?

try to find schematics and or repair manuals for the gear you are working on....the most important thing that you will need will be a "Dim Bulb Tester"..you plug that into the wall and then you plug whatever you are repairing into this to protect expensive parts that you just installed...Google that and there are tons of videos on how to make it from very simple to extremely elaborate...I have made a very simple one....also check you tube for videos on that particular piece you are going to work on..somebody might have already posted a video of the repair that they did,,,,,and there are tons of videos about what you really and truly need to set up a basic repair bench.....good luck and let us know what you are working on so if needed somebody can guide you along...I have been at this electronic repair for many years but I am still not an expert......

 

[bsco]

here is something...I just repaired a Behringer powered stage monitor.Eurolive FA 1220A....the owner said it blew the fuse..the fuse was gone but it did look perfect...so the fuse wire broke where it is connected to one of the cap ends and had to be tested with a DMM...if you find that the fuse is black or the wire has completely vaporized, then more than likely you have a serious problem....I did remove the boards, checked all the capacitors, transistors and diodes as well as the multi watt chip ....a TDA7293 if my memory is correct...removed the board, checked the thermal pads for cracks, applied fresh thermal grease and put everything back together...and...I connected it up to a Dim Blub Tester so that if there was something still wrong, the light bulb would sink all the current and protect the amp....everything checked out fine but this is a perfect example in using the Dim Blub Tester....it can save you a small fortune in blown parts some of which can be very expensive...I never apply power to anything without it....once I am sure everything is ok then I plug the equipment directly into the wall outlet...and make sure the fuse(s) are the correct rating....I have seen 20 amp fuses where a 2 amp fuse is supposed to go.....

 

[barfle]

try to find schematics and or repair manuals for the gear you are working on....the most important thing that you will need will be a "Dim Bulb Tester"..you plug that into the wall and then you plug whatever you are repairing into this to protect expensive parts that you just installed...Google that and there are tons of videos on how to make it from very simple to extremely elaborate...I have made a very simple one....also check you tube for videos on that particular piece you are going to work on..somebody might have already posted a video of the repair that they did,,,,,and there are tons of videos about what you really and truly need to set up a basic repair bench.....good luck and let us know what you are working on so if needed somebody can guide you along...I have been at this electronic repair for many years but I am still not an expert......

I’ve never heard of a “dim bulb tester,” but at Altec, we would fire up circuits with a variac that provided low voltage AC to the input windings of the power supply. I imagine what you’re referring to is something else, maybe a dimmer? I have a variac that sees occasional use.

 

[seoman27]

I’ve never heard of a “dim bulb tester,” but at Altec, we would fire up circuits with a variac that provided low voltage AC to the input windings of the power supply. I imagine what you’re referring to is something else, maybe a dimmer? I have a variac that sees occasional use.

No. Consider a light bulb a low ohm resistor. Wich can be used to act as a fuse for your 'device under test'.
If your dut (device under test) somehow fails. The current will try to increase. The light buld will heat up and stop the current increase.
The lamp a full brightness will indicate a short-circuit of some kind (or heavy inrush current) .
The lamp out or extremely dim will indicate no major power fails.

This setup wiil prevent destruction of your DUT or yourselves.
This a a very low-safety protection measure but very effective to run the first tries with

 

[mandrix]

No. Consider a light bulb a low ohm resistor. Wich can be used to act as a fuse for your 'device under test'.
If your dut (device under test) somehow fails. The current will try to increase. The light buld will heat up and stop the current increase.
The lamp a full brightness will indicate a short-circuit of some kind (or heavy inrush current) .
The lamp out or extremely dim will indicate no major power fails.

This setup wiil prevent destruction of your DUT or yourselves.
This a a very low-safety protection measure but very effective to run the first tries with

I understand and not a bad idea at all. But usually the dim bulb in the circuit is me.

 

[bsco]

No. Consider a light bulb a low ohm resistor. Wich can be used to act as a fuse for your 'device under test'.
If your dut (device under test) somehow fails. The current will try to increase. The light buld will heat up and stop the current increase.
The lamp a full brightness will indicate a short-circuit of some kind (or heavy inrush current) .
The lamp out or extremely dim will indicate no major power fails.

This setup wiil prevent destruction of your DUT or yourselves.
This a a very low-safety protection measure but very effective to run the first tries with

yes..you run this first before you plug directly into the wall...if you have a Variac especially with a current meter, you can tell by the current draw at a low level ac input voltage if you have issues..if the current drastically increases with a low AC input voltage then there is something wrong...or, if the Variac does not have a current meter, you can use a clamp on current probe to measure the current without having to physically connect it to the circuit.....

 

[zdjh22]

One of my favorite pieces of lab bench equipment is the current-limiting DC current source, which allows setting both the output voltage and current limit. A very safe way to do DC testing, and it gives one both a constant voltage and a constant current source in one box.

Sadly any analogous AC power source on the market is very expensive. This dim bulb tester is brilliant (pardon the pun). The variable resistance (R increasing with temperature) of the incandescent bulb serves the same purpose as the current limiter in a current-limiting DC supply.

I was sure Feynman talked about this, but I looked it up and he just tells a story (in “Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman”) about using a set of 3 bulbs as a child and investigating series and parallel resistance. He noted that his equations didn’t work out because he didn’t recognize the variable resistance with temperature.

 

[zdjh22]

Speaking of variacs (autotransformers), please be very careful with them! They don’t isolate you from ground, and if either the variac is internally wired backwards (I’ve read of folks discovering this with Chinese-made variacs) or you use a “cheater” and insert that 2-prong plug backwards (interchanging hot and neutral) or your AC socket is wired incorrectly, your assumed neutral line on the output side of the variac will be at 120V relative to earth ground. Always check first, or use an isolation transformer.

As the saying goes, “there are old EEs, and careless EEs, but no old, careless EEs!”.

 

[bsco]

Speaking of variacs (autotransformers), please be very careful with them! They don’t isolate you from ground, and if either the variac is internally wired backwards (I’ve read of folks discovering this with Chinese-made variacs) or you use a “cheater” and insert that 2-prong plug backwards (interchanging hot and neutral) or your AC socket is wired incorrectly, your assumed neutral line on the output side of the variac will be at 120V relative to earth ground....

Speaking of variacs (autotransformers), please be very careful with them! They don’t isolate you from ground, and if either the variac is internally wired backwards (I’ve read of folks discovering this with Chinese-made variacs) or you use a “cheater” and insert that 2-prong plug backwards (interchanging hot and neutral) or your AC socket is wired incorrectly, your assumed neutral line on the output side of the variac will be at 120V relative to earth ground. Always check first, or use an isolation transformer.

As the saying goes, “there are old EEs, and careless EEs, but no old, careless EEs!”.

ALWAYS use an isolation transformer..regardless.....

 

[LB-V]

check out a video from a guy over in the Canary Islands....he has a channel called "Learn Electronics Repair" that in my opinion would be a great start...he has an "All You Need To Know" series of videos related to electronic repair and component theory and testing.....

Been enjoying his videos in the evenings...good stuff. Thank you for the reference!

 

[barfle]

Speaking of variacs (autotransformers), please be very careful with them! They don’t isolate you from ground, and if either the variac is internally wired backwards (I’ve read of folks discovering this with Chinese-made variacs) or you use a “cheater” and insert that 2-prong plug backwards (interchanging hot and neutral) or your AC socket is wired incorrectly, your assumed neutral line on the output side of the variac will be at 120V relative to earth ground. Always check first, or use an isolation transformer.

As the saying goes, “there are old EEs, and careless EEs, but no old, careless EEs!”.

Excellent message. I’ve seen a tech use an autotransformer as an isolation transformer (he understood the concept, but not the implementation) and fortunately I stopped him before he actually turned it on. An ohmmeter showed him his mistake.

I was working on a transformerless power amp design once before polarized plugs and got it backwards. Made a mess of a ground trace in a pretty expensive meter, alas.