[Coco] Soldering Irons/Stations

[RETRO Innovations]

On 7/1/2020 9:09 PM, Dave Philipsen wrote:
> Jim,
>
> Does putting flux on the bad wick make any difference? I bought a bunch of spools of wick from Circuit Specialists a couple of years ago when they were on clearance. I should be stocked for a lifetime!

It didn't for me, but your mileage may vary.  I decided I was at an age 
when I had more important things to fret over, and tossed it in a free 
bin at a VCF some time back and bought MG Chemicals .050 Super Wick.  
I'm sure there's nothing special about it per se, but it works, works 
well, and I can focus attention on other things.

In early years, I always thought my inability to solder well was due to 
me being just plain bad at it.  I have realized that, while I may not be 
an expert, there is a lot to be said for having the right equipment 
(though I do still keep my Radio Shack $9.99 soldering iron pencil for 
sentimental reasons, I would never use it again for any work), and the 
proper consumables. I know Ed uses solder paste, and I've not gotten 
there yet, but I have a nice bottle of Kester 959 flux, a bottle of MG 
Chemicals liquid flux, and spools of .015 and .031 63/37.  I routinely 
solder TQFP 144 pkgs, and they look nice and work fine after I'm done!

Jim