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YourFace
107
Jun 20, 2016
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Man I REALLY want this but I'm worried about soldering the switches myself. I've never soldered anything before. I've always wanted to learn how but I just feel uncomfortable learning on a KB as expensive as this one. To be honest I don't feel comfortable sending my stuff to a random person to do it, especially since this is a skill I want/need to learn. Does anyone have or know of any good guides out there? Also, some suggestions of things I can practice on before working on one of these?
Jun 20, 2016
Neblin7
545
Jun 20, 2016
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YourFaceSure, go search for the eevblog soldering guide on youtube. Never mind, I did it for you.... .

That crazy aussie knows what he's talking about. For practice, idk, you could take apart something electronic that you dont care about. Then desolder one of the components off the PCB and then practice soldering it back in place. As far as spending the least amount of money practicing, that's all I know. I guess you don't own a soldering iron? Unless you want to invest in a piece of equipment that you think you won't use but once or twice, I'd just ask your buddies if they have the skills you seek or know anyone that does. Good luck.
Jun 20, 2016
YourFace
107
Jun 20, 2016
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Neblin7Thanks a lot for this!
Jun 20, 2016
SamPittman
85
Jun 20, 2016
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YourFaceSparkfun is good, too: https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=soldering Check their tutorials. You could buy a cheap kit from them, and practice on that.
Jun 20, 2016
Data
2004
Data
Jun 21, 2016
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YourFaceFortune favors the bold. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Etcetera.
Soldering is not hard if you have decent (or corrected) vision and a moderately steady hand. All it takes is the will to learn. Watch a few Youtube videos and you'll see how easy it is. There's a "technique" do doing it well and yes, good tools help. But you gotta start somewhere.
Jun 21, 2016
YourFace
107
Jun 23, 2016
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SamPittmanthanks!
Jun 23, 2016
SamPittman
85
Jun 23, 2016
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YourFaceOne more recommendation: if you get your own soldering equipment, then also buy a solder vac like this one: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13203 One of these can rescue you from a soldering mistake in short order. It is really cheap insurance, IMHO. Two alternate sources in the U.S.: Mouser Electronics or Digikey
Jun 23, 2016
Neblin7
545
Jul 4, 2016
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SamPittmanSure you could spend 5 bucks on that plus shipping but if you want a solder sucker that doesn't suck, no pun intended, then I would ONLY recommend the Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker. You can find it many places but I believe ADAfruit has it for the cheapest. Not sure about their shipping prices though. It's just under $30 on amazon with free shipping, but it works and works very well, and you'll never need another one. Matter of fact, I think I'll try to get a drop started on here for that very item. Maybe we can all save some money! =)
Jul 4, 2016
SamPittman
85
Jul 4, 2016
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Neblin7Nice. That SS-02 has a silicone tip, so it won't melt.
My vacuum is a Soldapullt SS350 that I've owned for around 20 years.
I don't own the one at Sparkfun, I just listed it because I mentioned Sparkfun earlier. With that in mind, the TOL-13203 does not look bad. It's got a metal body and plunger, for example. For a casual user, and for someone who is already buying other stuff from Sparkfun, I think it could be okay. YourFace might not be soldering enough for it to matter.
Jul 4, 2016
nafs_asp
86
Jul 4, 2016
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Neblin7Can vouch for the Engineer SS-02 Solder Sucker, I got one recently and it works wonderfully and has excellent build quality.
Jul 4, 2016
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