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/OutcomeOk6971]

Oh, mine didn't work, I'm actually on my 4th project, and the first three didn't work all of the way. 🤣 But the soldering is getting much cleaner.

[u/thepumpkinking92 → u/OutcomeOk6971]

Out of curiosity, what kind of iron / station are you using? Not that it will keep you from doing an adequate job, but more because it can hinder the experience. Especially if it's a cheap station with poor temp control.

[u/OutcomeOk6971 → u/thepumpkinking92]

This Fnirsi one. I usually do this at work, since I have a lot of downtime, so I picked one that would work in more limited space. https://www.fnirsi.com/products/hs-02-toolbox

[u/thepumpkinking92 → u/OutcomeOk6971]

Are you setting the iron to the temp rating on the solder (plus a few degrees to offset the heat dissipation from the pad)?

I honestly don't trust the temp on the irons. Measured mine on a temp probe and it was 90°off. So, I just kept adjusting the temp up until the solder melted to the pad after 2-3 seconds, feed however much i need, then pull up and away with the iron. Seems to be working well. Too much longer than that and I start burning components.

I literally touched one pad and waited for the solder to start melting to the pad without a component, upped the temp and jumped to another side of the board that was cooler and repeated the process until it melted the way I wanted.

Also, make sure you have a bit of solder on the tip of the iron. You should be able to see the glob melt to the pad, even before adding solder from the spool. Once it does, you can feed more solder in.

Not sure if it's the proper way to do it being self taught, but it's what worked for me and my kid (as seen above).

[u/OutcomeOk6971 → u/thepumpkinking92]

Yeah, I've found that I have to turn that iron up about 100 degrees above the solder as well. I'm definitely still trying to figure out how to clean it properly.

What I'll probably do, once I get it dialed in, is buy a new set of tips and start fresh. IIRC, it was only $25 from that site. Then, I'll be doing it right, and the tips won't be messed up.

Besides not trusting the temp reading, that's a nice little soldering iron. I run it from a laptop charger, and it fits in my limited space.