Soldering

Soldering and Desoldering Tips and Tricks

Video Walkthrough

How do I turn on the soldering irons in PRLTA 103?

How do I solder through-hole components by hand?

How do I solder surface mount components by hand?

Capacitors, diodes, inductors, resistors

DPAK-style components (MOSFETs, voltage regulators)

Integrated circuits (ICs)

How do I solder surface mount components using a reflow oven?

This method involves applying solder paste to the pads on the PCB, manually placing your surface mount components into the solder paste, and baking the board in a special oven to solder the entire PCB at once. This method is not really easier than hand soldering for one-off PCBs; you are trading one set of challenges for a different set. If you are interested in using solder paste and the reflow oven to solder your components, please contact Osama Jameel in PRLTA 109.