Soldering Tips

[@XaserII]

couldn't have explained it better. a few extra tips: - Make sure you work in a well ventilated place or use a vapor-sucking-machine-thingy.. - Extra Pro Tip: breath in before soldering and slowly breath out through the mouth in a focused stream to blow away the "toxic" vapor - When using solder wick, apply a bit of solder to the wick before using it, because this way it will transfer the heat to the acutal solder below the wick much faster and suck the solder in better. - Flux is lethal to the solder iron tip. get it of there ASAP after you are done soldering. - Do not heat up pads that are close to semiconducters too much, as the heat will transfer into the semiconducters and potentially destroy them. - When soldering through-hole components, make sure not to use too much solder, because it may flow through the hole and short with an adjacent hole on the bottom side. Hope this helps guys :)

[@FPV-wi8fw]

nice tips :)

[@AMAStudios]

Thanks!

[@williwonti]

Right, it's the flux or rosin that makes the smoke bad for you. However, to keep your tip working for the longest time possible you should tin the tip of it a bit when you're done soldering for the day, even if the solder has a rosin core.

[@XaserII]

yep, this will way, the solder tin coating will oxidize when the iron is not used and can be cleaned of the next time the iron is turned on. just make sure that you use just a bit of solder and that the flux has evaporated fully from the tip.

[@si-fi]

Fume extractors are cheap and easy to make from computer fans, and most geeks will have the parts lying around, so all you need to buy is the carbon activated filter. Some good tips there Xaser. For sensitive jobs (FC, ESC, VTX, ...) I put electrical tape on top of the bits not being soldered to help avoid solder splatter. Another tip I've read is to leave any ground/negative soldering work until after signal/positive soldering has been done. Rationale being ground is shared on the PCB, so more metal needs to be heated, and getting heat into the board first will make the job easier.

[@ThinkBeforeYouSleepYT]

Thank you for making sure the room was properly lit and the camera was in focus. A lot of channels screw that up and you can't see anything they are doing.

[@k9palmer73]

Chad i gotta say thanks. I've watched all of your soldering videos and they have helped so much. I just got my soldering station a week ago and its great not having to rely on others to solder my stuff. You guys rock. Hopefully soon I'll be building my first drone. Thanks Chad Palmer

[@jesstheheathen]

Thanks! It's been over 20 years since I soldered anything. The last time was my electronics class in high school. I really appreciate these how-to videos.

[@troyboy1900]

Best soldering video I have found so far.

[@ofiasdfnosdf]

Good episode! Please more where you tackle common problems such as video interference and vibrations, and build tips. I'm happy to support you guys by continuing to buy from the RR store.

[@CrobleFPV]

NEXT EPISODE - VIBRATIONS FROM MOTORS AND WAYS TO GET AROUND IT!!!!!!!!!!! - Causing high/mid/low throttle Oscillations... (soft mount, filing the holes in kiss fc, filtering, capacitors, etc...)

[@thomashaddad891]

I second that

[@inteous]

Thomas Haddad I third that

[@jamesa876]

CrobleFPV Fourth that!!

[@jmwijnholds]

I fifth that :)

[@AMAStudios]

Step 1:Never get an FC with a MPU6500.

[@DuckyRC]

Perfect guys.. finally a video that shows what temp for what job!

[@videonut28]

Great video, Rotor Riot! I've been soldering for a while. However, I am always up for learning new techniques. Your methods are a great help!

[@DarkLawify]

Thank you for going over the basics! Lets us newbies get in on the action quicker!

[@DarrenlinesUk]

Finally, a tutorial with someone who can say solder properly. Thanks Chad 👍🏻

[@Devoider]

very glad i got to meet you the other day chad!

[@jordank867]

I've wanted to see a video like this for a long time. Thanks allot.

[@infernalbill9366]

You listed flux as part of the process and discussed how you clean it off, but I don't think you ever showed how you use it or discuss when it should be used (particularly given the fact that flux is already in your solder). I've been soldering up FPV rigs for a few years now and have never used extra flux. That being said, your trick to tin up a bare wire by rotating it with your fingers and touch it to the extended solder wire is genius. I'm definitely incorporating that into my normal operating procedure. Thanks very much.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Sometimes when I add servo pins to the FC I find some extra flux added before I solder it on helps make the job easier. Some guys like to add flux before each time they solder something new to aid in the process. I like to add it in situations I know I will have trouble doing it quick enough.

[@timbell8208]

Great info!!! Nice to see I'm not the only enthusiasts up at this late hour.

[@JiraiyaPlaysRetroGames]

Many Thanks Chads this came in very handy today.

[@Quakcer]

Thank you! I am building my first quad. This video helps a lot. Best, Oscar

[@TinyPirate]

Nice pile of details - thanks for that!

[@remkye]

very helpful thanks! I put wires incorrectly and created a short lol but after the board blew a small part of the copper inside I added some tin, a small piece of wire and some liquid electrical tape to protect it and it works fine so far. wish I could post a picture here

[@ziggyzbeak]

get a smoke stopper or build one

[@Politicallyhomeless957]

This video helped me allot. Thank you Chad 🙏

[@jamesmanderson5311]

thanks chad # 1 FAN demolition

[@EricMilewski]

Good job with mentioning about the use of flux, thumbs up

[@57andyp]

Good tips and great to see you casted the one member of RR that pronounces Solder correctly ;-)

[@SiggyNowak]

Great tips and tricks for the beginner..

[@PaulHilton1]

Thanks for this video. Just getting into DIY quads and this really helps.

[@starshipfpv]

Chad Chad Chad!!!!!! I saw you in the air hog commercial you look so happy

[@swarmfpv635]

Always clean the tip fellas...

[@kulmajaba]

Great tips for beginners. One I would add is you should consider the soldering action a 3-step process: preheat, apply solder, afterheat. Of course it's not quite the same if you've already put the needed amount of solder onto e.g. the PDB pad but the idea stays the same.

[@codydean8393]

Good work. I would like to see quad building classes integrated into after school programs. You guys would be perfect for helping develop/endorse such a program. A few years back we pushed for archery, robotics, and even fishing for after school programs in KY. I think quad flying and building would be an educational hit.

[@sadistix82]

Very useful. Thanks guys!

[@davehygrell9801]

Thanks! Very good Information there!

[@glenby2u]

Very concise and good. Tell us about why wire strippers are really useful in relation to soldering and why shiny solder is good?

[@freezetmshockfreezingtm1680]

very very nice thank you so much Chad

[@randomwisdom845]

Oh man, I'm using 270C on my solder and thinking it's too hot, saw that tip on some electrical engineering blog :D But when I need to solder some battery wires, it's so daunting. Now I know I need to go above 350C :)

[@Shazzkid]

Always breathe in the solder fumes, if superhero movies have taught me anything its if you wanna become big and strong u need to do dangerous stuff in the lab

[@doktordrone]

Shazzkid cool 😁👍👍

[@MadMarcWinnipeg]

Thanks man! That was a really good tutorial.

[@ring0s]

It's very good soldering tutorial.

[@neezamzulkifli]

Thanks Chad!

[@3-danything977]

Great video man

[@jjooyycc33]

Cool old school weller station :D

[@valderja]

Nice tips. I used to struggle with an iron which wasn't powerful enough and made a mess of things as well as burning myself. :-)

[@ankitmallick843]

Very informative.Why do people(59) even dislike these types of videos?

[@jimmysgameclips]

I've got to solder a fan onto my 3D printer so, good timing! Thanks

[@RollsFPV]

Great Instructable, someone taught you well. Only thing I would add is not to blow solder joints cool as it causes dry joints too..

[@sprocket374]

Great video boss.

[@eliotcaber9606]

this was so helpful.

[@Vampir4997]

i just had to say ty. this video made the most sense. now my quad is all good to go(after some magic smoke more then once).

[@droneva9354]

That is quite helpful for people like me. Thanks Chad. ;)

[@nappingpup105]

Great video. I did read all the comments below, but I need to ask. What is the typical wire size feeding the PDB for the 3 or 4 cell powered racing quad? I am talking about a pig tail wire to the PDB pads.

[@owenwilkins6563]

This is unrelated to the video, but could rotor riot please do a comparison between the QAV R and the Alien 5 inch frames that we all know and love? They look very similar in terms of construction, price, weight, etc. And I'd like to know how they stack up against each other in terms of durability, quality, flight performance, and just general convenience. thanks! you guys are awesome! keep doing what you do!

[@ObsidianMirage]

This video taught me how to solder ✌️

[@FPV-wi8fw]

I see a stryker on the wall in the background. I love those planes :D

[@FPV-wi8fw]

You should do an episode where you guys mess around with some fixed wing stuff (Yes, I know, the channel is called rotor riot but it would be fun:P)

[@TheMono25]

When I do any complicated soldering I cover up the areas that don't need to be soldered with a bit of masking tape that way nothing is exposed and it will just land on the tape

[@williwonti]

Hey soldering newbs! It's really easy to solder. Just try it. Get 60/40 rosin core like he says. Then get a small chisel tip. You can basically do ANYTHING with one. A good cheap soldering station is the Aoyue 469. It takes standard Hakko tips. I'm pretty sure it's not actually ESD safe though.

[@kerwinfernandes9583]

Great tip Chad.. I have a 30w iron will that be enough or should I get a 40w??

[@rclokers]

Good video Bro!

[@ReubenRasmussen]

Thanks for the tips! really helped!

[@kellyokamoto1604]

Hey, great vid! Very clear and concise instruction! Thanks! Question. Why do the good folks from across the pond say, "saL-der"? And we knuckleheads in the US say, "sawh-der"? Cheers!

[@MasterHaunter]

Thanks Chad!!,

[@awilliford]

thanks for the tips.

[@muhammadmasri5238]

that is some nobel peace prize soldering tips

[@kennylinda7303]

A good tutorial ! By the way, I appreciate E-design's fine tip soldering iron.

[@paulkornel7405]

I've never built but I'm very keen to get into the fpv race drones and I'm doing as much research as I can before I buy. I can't find much info on what soldering iron is the best for this sort of stuff, any brands I should go for or stay away from? From Australia, and there's not many hobby stores in Brissy near me that do this stuff so I'll be buying online and they ALL say they're the best so any info from the community would be greatly appreciated.

[@fsarfino]

great tips Chad. maybe this will help all those people that keep lifting pads off of kiss boards.

[@Jay-uv6ph]

Can you do a video about Power Distribution Boards (PBD)? There's a lot of crappy ones out there with different features. I think builders should be aware of PDB's ratings and limits. Which mini PDB do you like to use?

[@IsrarKhan-uw8be]

very good video

[@mich5167]

hey bruce do you think 20 awg wire from my pdb positive and negative to my esc on a 130mm will be enough or should o stick with the 18awg?

[@HaroldMaduro]

great, thanks!

[@ElectricalDynamo]

great job man very very helpfull

[@irvine40]

Soldering pronounced the right way!

[@v.joseramirez8866]

excellent video! I have a question, what diameter is the tip you used on the welder? Greetings from Venezuela!

[@davidpierson]

Chad went all How to Basic on that sponge.

[@nyeinchanzaw6936]

Hello Rotor Riot, I'm from Myanmar. I'm your big fan and I love tricopter more than quad. But I didn't see you guys flying tricopter. Why didn't you fly tricopter? Is tricopter not good as quad for fpv racing?

[@masonjaquith290]

was desoldering yesterday and had some molten solder fly into my eye and all over my face, wear eye protection!!!!!!! I am fortunate enough to not have any permanent damage to my eyes

[@Chromie21]

Mason Jaquith same thing happened to me, freaked the hell out of me, I was desoldering a bunch of wires(literally) and since there were atleast 5 really thick wires in a glob they had a bunch of tension on them, the solder shot up 2 feet where my face was and I was lucky to see everything in slow motion and close my eye, it was the weirdest feeling having a burn in my eyelif

[@Benzin0]

Holy shit!!

[@XxKaleiXx]

Could you guys do a Quad vs Soloshot to see if the camera can track a drone doing flips and rolls?

[@MirkoFPV]

make a video for custom gopro camera mount

[@modzfpv555]

Soldering tips..... The things at the end of the barrel ;) Good info bud, cheers!

[@cesarango01]

I can see you use almost a screwdriver type tip. Is the tip made of a different type of metal than the rest of unit? My reason for asking is that I am still getting beading, and just refuses to stick to the fc. Heat maybe? I do get the resin, which sucks having to clean it off.

[@3thirty689]

My Wife complains about the size of my tip being too small as well. The struggle is real. Excellent video

[@MrZomhad]

What are youre thoughts about the Runcam Eagle? Would be awesome if you could do a little comparison episode between the populare FPV cameras like the Swift, HS1177, Eagle and so on.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Eagle is nice except it has 40ms of lag. No good for my flying.

[@MrZomhad]

Is it really that bad? The swift got 20ms or something like that too

[@scarlfpv8613]

thanks!!

[@jcfpv3454]

Thanks

[@MukiFPV]

So how would you go about getting a little solder ball out from between components? This happened to me while soldering a kiss esc and the solder went in those tiny spaces that you pointed out. I tried the solder sucker but it's too big to get in between there :/

[@williwonti]

You might have luck with an exacto knife and simply scratching it off. As long as the electronic pixies don't bridge it'll be fine.

[@MrStevegibb]

turn it upside down and brush it out with a tooth brush or something or pick it out with a pin if its stuck with flux

[@twistymlfpv1570]

Muki this used to happen to me all the time... I started using painters tape on the esc while I solder the motor leads

[@williwonti]

TwistyML Good tek

[@donjon1212]

Muki : Just use a tinny iron tip and melted it with any component near, or use alcohol and a teeth brush

[@Bludz]

Thanks for another great video. Can you offer some tips on soldering the new TBS Bulletproof BLHeli_S ESC's? They should be called Solderproof because they coated the pads in something that makes soldering near impossible.

[@sigvaldithor]

have you tried isopropyl alcohol ? the same stuff we use to clean the flux after soldering. not sure if it works, just an idea.

[@FPV-wi8fw]

is it some sort of waterproof coating?

[@Bludz]

Sigvaldi Thor I haven't tried that yet. I need to only remove the coating on pads so will need a small applicator.

[@Bludz]

STRYKA Yes I believe so. Seems a bit pointless when the important connections won't be coated.

[@juancatalan3095]

Bludz FPV sadly that same stuff is over the emax motors cables and makes almost imposible to keep the solder on them ...

[@christianalonzo9342]

Could you guys do a QAV-X build?

[@krishan8170]

Quick question................during your alien 5 build,did you use the 60/40 rosin core solder????

[@FinalGlideAus]

Yes

[@krishan8170]

thanks!!!!!

[@mikefoley360]

Rotor riot description says; "Welcome to Rotor Riot!! Rotor Riot is a weekly KZbin show featuring some of the worlds most interesting and talented FPV multirotor pilots. Imagine Top Gear focused on high performance drones." Such a waste to have chad behind a desk, get flying please :-)

[@FinalGlideAus]

More flying coming. It is quicker to do this tutorial than spend countless hours dealing with the many broken PCB's customers have after bad soldering jobs and we have to help them one by one. That makes me fly even less and makes me cranky :)

[@mikefoley360]

Hold that cranky feeling and use it, let it all go next time on the sticks :-)

[@DominicClifton]

yeah, teach people to fish rather than feed them.. couldn't agree more.

[@gregandersen2320]

I'll have to try that method of cleaning the sponge haha

[@GeorgeTsiros]

1. Do not inhale the fumes. Do not inhale ANY fumes. If you smell something, that means you're *more likely than not* inhaling it. Put a fan or whatever to blow it away. 2. When soldering the tinned wire onto a pad or other wire: do not hold the wire with your hand. The solder must solidify without ANYTHING moving. Any movement, no matter if it is imperceptibly small, compromises the quality of the joint. Heat up the pad with the soldering iron ("one thousand..."), *place* the wire onto the pad and feed it solder ("... two thousand...") and finally remove the soldering iron ("... three thousand.") 3. Notice how he places the soldering iron tip *below* the wire. That's the correct way. 4. The temperature must be *just high enough* to melt the solder. Not any higher. If you feel like you need to go higher, then you need to change the tip or get a better soldering iron. 5. This kind of editing is fun for the fun videos, but for explanatory/tutorial videos it is downright HORRIBLE. Sorry for being blunt, but that's how it is.

[@LenfredDueck]

wow you know sooooo much.

[@GeorgeTsiros]

does solder melt at a different temperature when soldering thicker gauge wire? No, it doesn't. Setting it to a higher temperature is a ghetto way to approach this issue. If you want to do it properly, you use a higher wattage iron. Have you not noticed that soldering irons come in various power ratings? Guess why that is. Lenfred Dueck ye, I do, in fact.

[@LenfredDueck]

George Tsiros I hope someday I can be smart like you.

[@VIVAFPV]

Thanks for the video. nice t-shirt - where we can buy one ?

[@jesseoutlawjames9612]

thanks

[@wardope]

where do you get those Aligator clip protective tips ?

[@orechris21]

You put Heatshrink over the clips and you heat it up so it protects the wire

[@wardope]

@@orechris21 4 years later!

[@orechris21]

Hahahahahahaha

[@zippy441]

Why did you use 350°c on that smaller board?? I'm about to solder a crossfire nano, first time I've ever soldered anything so small and I'm bricking it a little!! 😂

[@julianwaters3946]

Thank you for pronouncing solder correctly.

[@perfectblue8370]

How about some recommendations on a brand/model for soldering irons? I'll go first--the Weller WES51 has worked well for me.

[@FinalGlideAus]

Any 40-60w Weller or Hakko is a good choice

[@j.finesseflights1403]

What kind of soldering station do you use, and where to get it for a decent price??

[@FinalGlideAus]

Any decent Weller or Hakko will do that is 40-60w and temp adjustable

[@bondoman16]

Such a good video, only complaint, is that you tell me that Flux is very important, but you never show when and how to use it at all :)

[@pdgiddie]

Separate flux is rarely needed, as Chad has said in another comment. It occasionally helps when the solder won't flow well, but often a bit more solder will add flux and get things moving.

[@propeine]

I know this is from a few months ago but what iron are you using/does rotor riot recommend?

[@pdgiddie]

Anything from Weller is great. You can go cheaper for basic jobs, but avoid anything where the iron plugs straight into the wall. Get a soldering station with an adjustable temperature dial and you'll probably be OK. Also, check out the EEVblog YT channel. He has a great series on starting out soldering.

[@MrFlamethrower32]

this is why quad racing hasnt been a big thing for me...i bought a rtf wizard and one day while flying the esc just burned on me...its so fun learning to fly and do tricks but i have more maintenance time changing broken props, fixing pids and stuff then actually flying the quad...its ridiculous, I JUST WANT TO FLY

[@antramonebullard4035]

Will a 30w solder iron work?