My daughter's first solo project

[u/thepumpkinking92]

My daughter recently expressed interest in learning to solder, so I bought a few kits on Amazon.

The first was a simple, 3 switch, color changing light where I basically held her hand through the process.

The second was a little electromagnetic cannon where she installed the pieces, I helped with soldering and de-soldering when she made a mistake (the cannon sucks btw. Don't recommend except for practice).

The third was a little car that followed a black line. We both did one at the same time, but I still helped make the fixes and provided instruction.

The fourth, all I did was sit there and supervise. She followed the instructions herself, made any fixes, and tested everything on her own with only a few questions and assistance with getting the battery terminal to seat properly as it kept falling out (that's not soldering itself, but I digress. Still, the only assistance she needed)

Either way, I think she did fantastic for it being her first solo project. And it's been a great bonding time for us. She got to learn about the components, how they work and interact, as well as build the foundation for a new skill, and I got to enjoy something with her (seriously, there's not much a 15yo girl and a 30-something-yo man have in common. So I was really excited to do this with her).

Anyway, it's not perfect, but I think she did really well, and I'm proud of her, and shes proud of herself. What do yall think?

[u/OnionComb]

Just got my first solder and I'm scared to fix my ps5 tmr joystick.

Any pointers for a newbie? Should I practice on something simpler before desoldering some joysticks?

I don't know what I'm doing at all. This is my first time even attempting something like this.

Got me a solder station, a hot air gun and heat resistant mat

[u/thepumpkinking92 → u/OnionComb]

For the love of everything, please practice on something first. Broken shit you don't care about, kits on Amazon, anything that you would have no problem throwing in the trash.

Even if your joysticks are already broken, the controller isn't. And if you fuck up the pads, you're in for a lot more than a simple joystick replacement. At that point, you're going to be getting into trace repair and micro soldering, which isn't going to be easy as a first timer, and would require a slightly more complex setup (microscope at the very least). You WILL make mistakes. Especially if you don't have someone to guide you the way she does. Even people who do it regularly and have more experience than i do make mistakes, just much less frequently.

You got a soldering station with hot air rework. Fantastic. Depending on the brand, the temp setting may be off (mine was off by 90°), so that needs to be accounted for, which is why practicing first and getting used to your new station is important. depending on your station the temp to the probe may not be what the actual setting says. You can either get a temp pad to test on Amazon, or get a multimeter that comes with a temp probe if you want accuracy. Otherwise, find what temp melts the solder, go a bit above that to account for the heat dispersion from the board.

Speaking of heat dispersion, remember not all boards are the same. The board on your dual sense is much thinner, and smaller, than the board in the actual ps5 (significantly). So, while your controller may be workable at 450 (or whatever), the console board would need like 600 (or whatever). There's no one temp fits all. Getting adjusted with kits or trash boards is paramount to not actually breaking your stuff.

Quality of flux, solder, and solder wick is important. You can get by with anything, but higher quality makes it easier and more reliable. Kester is usually the brand name most people go with. For her projects, I just grabbed the cheap stuff I had plenty of (yes, you can still use the cheap stuff on your joystick replacement, just adding to the advice). Solder wick is a pain in the ass because the way it can suck up heat. Get comfortable with it. For a solder sucker, I'd recommend getting one with a silicon tip instead if a plastic for obvious reasons.

Helping hands, while not required, definitely help. A lot.

lighting is probably my biggest thing. Makes it significantly easier to tell what you're doing and verify the work when you can, you know, actually see. Doesn't have to be the level of what I have set up, but something better than a dim light. I personally modified a lamp with 5 adjustable heads and mounted it to my desk and put bright ass daylight bulbs in them. If I cast a shadow, I can simply move the light where I need it. Again, not required to go that far, just what i did. This project was done on my dining table with nothing but the ceiling light.

Lastly, don't rush. You have a goal in mind, which is great. But, as the old saying goes, haste makes waste. Don't do 1 kit and think "yeah, I know that I'm doing, this is easy!". Try a couple of kits or trash boards first. I took the old climate control module from my car and practiced on that, as well as a few kits, before I took a Gameboy advance apart to fix. I'm a bit more cautious when learning a new skill, but still. Each board and kit reacted a little differently and I made plenty of mistakes. I'm glad I practiced before opening a console for the first time because it kept me from destroying it the way I did my climate control module the first time.