So... I want to learn to solder...

[Flak Beard]

There's been a few projects I've wanted to take on over the last six months, but they require soldering, something I've never done before. Chipping my PS1, replacing SNES cart batteries and now possibly modding an arcade stick. So before I get into this, I have some questions in the matter...

First of all, is it easy?

I notice a lot of people on gaming forums doing these things, so I imagine it can't be too difficulty. What would you say the learning curve is?

Also, what all do I need? What's a good iron to start with? Is it relatively inexpensive?

Any starting tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Niode]

It's best to start off with a good variable control soldering iron you want to be spending at least $50/£50 on one. Anything cheap will just piss you off in the end. Especially if you are going to be doing any pcb work. A cheap one is fine for big stuff like soldering wires in guitars and guitar amps/pedals but for pcb you need one with variable heat and lots of control, preferably with interchangeable tips.

The best way to learn soldering is to watch somebody else do it. If you don't know anybody who can solder then I'm sure you can find video tutorials on youtube.

[marurun]

Actually, Radio Shack has a cheap 15 WATT that's perfectly appropriate for messing around inside consoles. It isn't the most delicate thing, but it's more than adequate.

It's true that the more expensive units offer you greater flexibility with what you can do, but cheap ones are fine to start with. It's better to spend $10 - $15 to see if soldering is for you and then spend another $65 later once you have some experience. Start with simple projects and work your way up.

[Flak Beard]

Actually, Radio Shack has a cheap 15 WATT that's perfectly appropriate for messing around inside consoles. It isn't the most delicate thing, but it's more than adequate.

It's true that the more expensive units offer you greater flexibility with what you can do, but cheap ones are fine to start with. It's better to spend $10 - $15 to see if soldering is for you and then spend another $65 later once you have some experience. Start with simple projects and work your way up.

Would something like that be suitable for replacing batteries in NES/SNES carts and joystick modding?

[skate323k137]

should be fine, probably safer than what i use (25w for most work)

[Hateshinai]

Coincidentally, yesterday I decided to learn to solder as well. I got a few spare SNESes amd megadrives so I decided to try modding them.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/ looks like a decent place to learn the very basics.

By the way, can anyone recommend a good online shop for switches, resistors, capacitors and such things? Ideally based in Europe but anywhere would be fine as long as they ship worldwide.

[Niode]

I use Maplin.co.uk but I don't know if they ship to europe.

[marurun]

Actually, Radio Shack has a cheap 15 WATT that's perfectly appropriate for messing around inside consoles. It isn't the most delicate thing, but it's more than adequate.

It's true that the more expensive units offer you greater flexibility with what you can do, but cheap ones are fine to start with. It's better to spend $10 - $15 to see if soldering is for you and then spend another $65 later once you have some experience. Start with simple projects and work your way up.

Would something like that be suitable for replacing batteries in NES/SNES carts and joystick modding?

Oh, absolutely! Now, if you want to mode a more recent console you should probably get something more expensive with variable settings and multiple tips, but for the stuff you mention right here, definitely sufficient. You need the soldering iron, some solder, some flux, maybe a solder wick, and a steady hand. I know Radio Shack sells little project boards and random resistors. Those are good for practice.

And remember to work in a well-ventilated area over a surface which is fire/heat resistant.

[Anapan]

Make sure you use flux if possible on all the contact points.
an alternative is a fibreglass brush/pen it's very useful - http://www.modchip.ca/store/product.php ... 260&page=1
Heat the points that are being connected, not the solder-wire used for connecting them.
Having recently modded all my moddable systems I can say that a $9 soldering iron is not as good as a $40 one. If you can't control the heat it can damage the chips themselves.
Practice a few times before trying to install a mod chip. Make sure your wires can be tugged on a bit as a weak connection can cause half-working glitchy gameplay in a modded system, and debugging that can cause headaches you wouldn't believe.

[Ziggy]

A cheap one is fine for big stuff like soldering wires in guitars and guitar amps/pedals but for pcb you need one with variable heat and lots of control, preferably with interchangeable tips.

I'd have to disagree with you. The reason I learned how to solder in the first place is because of guitars, so I'm here to tell ya, a cheap soldering iron is NEVER good. Also, guitar amps and effect pedals are PCBs, save for a pot, jack or switch. Might just be my ignorance, but I have done various work on PCBs and I never used an iron with variable heat or different tips, and while I'm not a professional soldering technician or anything, I don't think is necessary.

You could use a heatsink to prevent damage to components, but I've never done this either. You attach it before a capacitor or chip so the heat from the iron doesn't get through to it, and possible damage it. But honestly, if you're holding the iron onto a contact point long enough for it to damage a component, you're doing something wrong.

I own 4 different soldering irons and my favorite one I paid around $30-45, some where around there. The worst one that I have, was something like $15, and is impossible to use. So I'd suggest spending a decent amount on it. It's not worth the headache.

The best thing to own along with the iron is a desoldering device, and it should be $5 or less. It's really essential when you're changing parts. If you're trying to swap a resistor or capacitor on a PCB it's a lot easier if you remove some or most of the solder first.

I have flux, and every one swears you have to use it, but I actually never had. You really don't need to if you're working on brand new parts, and most of the time that's what I'm doing. When you have some old guitar in front of you and the pots are all gunked up, its well worth replacing them over trying to salvage them.

Flak, if you can't find a good video any where let me know and I'll make one for ya. I've actually been wanting to for some years now, but never got around to it. Soldering is really easy, if you have a steady hand. If you can't find anything good enough on the 'net, let me know. I'll get some videos and type up a proper guide for ya.

If you don't read any thing else in this post, READ THIS: Like others have said, the first time you attempt to solder something, you might wanna try it out on something of little value. I'm not sure what you're looking to solder, but... If you have some old PCB from anything (broken game console, sensor from a security light, remote control, etc) you could practice on that. Remove a resistor or capacitor and then put it back in place. Hell, pick up a pot from Radio Shack for a few dollars and solder a wire or two to it, maybe a capacitor or something. Just so you can get a feel for it before you go to tackle a project on something you care about.