Text byBrion Sohn
Battery Soldering:
An iron of 60 watts or more is generally the choice for soldering battery packs. I personally use a Hakko 60watt and get very good results. The Tip is about a 1/4" wide.
The optimum method that I have found is:
1. Tin each end of the battery so there is a blob of solder about 3/16" diameter on the Negative side and covers the entire Positive terminal.
2. Tin both ends of the battery bar that is to be used. If you are building a stick pack and using the nickle plated tabs, these do not need to be tinned.
3. Clean the soldering iron on a wet sponge at this point (this is important otherwise you will end up with contaminents in the weld.) After cleaning re-introduce a tiny bit of solder to the tip so it transfers heat well again.
4. In a battery jig put the bar over the battery ends positive to negative as normal. Hold the battery bar at the center with a pair of long nose pliers. Press the soldering Iron on top of one end of the battery bar and wait for the tinning on both the bar and the battery to melt. Take the Iron away and hold with the pliers until it cools. Do the same thing to the other end of the battery bar. You now have a perfect solder joint.
5. Return to step 3 and do the next bar. Continue with each battery bar until you are finished with the pack.
Wire Soldering:
The process of soldering wires together or a wire to a tab (such as a motor tab) is very similar to soldering batteries. The main difference is the wattage of the iron to be used. 60+ watt irons will tend to be to hot and will melt surounding plastic or insulation. Normally an Iron of 35 - 50 watts is used for wires except when it is 12ga. wire to a battery in which I would still suggest using the 60+ watt iron. A 10 - 25 watt iron is best for receiver or servo wires because or their small size.
The method for soldering wires is:
1. Tin the end of each wire to be soldered together or the tab and wire in the case of motor leads or batteries.
2. Clean the soldering iron on a wet sponge at this point (again this is important otherwise you will end up with contaminents in the weld.) After cleaning re-introduce a tiny bit of solder to the tip so it transfers heat well again.
3. Hold the soldering iron to the joint to be made and wait for the solder to melt on both peices. Remove the soldering iron and hold the wires still untill the solder has cooled (blowing on the wires will speed the process). It may be difficult to hold two wires together so you may have to purchase a jig or have a friend help you with it to get a very good solder joint. You now have nearly a perfect solder joint, this depends entirely on how still you are when the solder cools.
Motor Capacitor Soldering:
The key to soldering motor capacitors on the can of the motor is to get a solid solder joint on the can itself. This is not the easiest thing to accomplish. A 60 watt iron is a minimal choice for this, an 80 watt or better iron would be a more appropriate choice.
The method for soldering to the can is:
1. File the can at the point where you wish to attach the capacitors. Make sure that the can is filed copletely to the bare metal, if it is not the solder will not stick nomater how hot you get the can.
2. Clean the soldering iron on a wet sponge at this point (again this is important otherwise you will end up with contaminents in the weld.) After cleaning re-introduce a tiny bit of solder to the tip so it transfers heat well again.
3. Hold the soldering iron to the filed point on the can. You will probably have to hold the soldering iron to the can for one minute or longer to build enough heat in the can to melt solder to it. To put solder on the can, move the soldering iron off to the side of the filed portion while still keeping the iron against the can to transfer heat. Touch the solder to the filed spot on the can, if the can is hot enough the solder will melt on it's own though it sometimes will require prompting by touching it against the iron. After the solder melts and cools check how solid the joint is by scratching the solder pool, if it comes off the can was not hot enough.
4. To solder the capacitors to the can, after the solder pool is secure, reffer to wire soldering instruction 3.
I have seen many people (even experienced racers) have lots of troble with soldering, it's really not that hard you just have to make sure that the solder has melted on both peices being soldered. Practice makes perfect but I hope that this will give some direction to make soldering easier.
©1998 Penguinr/c
