You have parts, you have the time and you want to build your drone, but there’s an obstacle in the way, soldering. Don't worry, even though it might seem intimidating at first, with a little practice and the right techniques, you'll be soldering like a pro in no time.
Iron settings
Your iron settings will dictate how your soldering experience will go. Beginners tend to go too cold and the tin doesn’t flow as well on the pads. Rule of thumbs is that for smaller pads, like flight controller and receiver pads , a temperature of around 720°F (380°C) will help. Going hotter will make it harder to solder small gauge wire as the sheathing can melt (for non silicone sheathing). With time, you’ll be able to figure out what iron settings work better for your soldering.
Preparation
Wire and Pad Preparation
Before soldering, you’ll want to prepare your work area and your work piece. Start by making sure you don’t have anything in the way that you could burn or melt with your iron. You will then need to strip the wire to expose the conductor. Make sure you strip the wires enough for the solder to flow, a couple millimeters is all you need. Then you can also apply a little bit of no clean flux or paste flux on the pad to facilitate tinning.
Tinning
Tinning your wires is also super important to have a solid solder joint with good penetration. Tinning consists of applying tin onto your wire end and on your corresponding pad. This method will ensure good penetration in your wire and that solder flows nicely on the pad. Doing this will also make you apply less heat because the solder on your wire and pad will make contact and melt, making the heat spread to the pad quicker.
Technique
The technique is the next thing that will greatly affect your experience. As you practice and solder more, you’ll develop your way of making your joints look and work nice. We recommend starting by aligning your wire on the pad in the position you want it to be, holding the wire with tweezers is easier since you won’t feel the wire heating up, then applying the iron on the wire and letting the iron and wire sink into the pre-tinned pad. This will give you a visual cue of when the solder starts to flow and when the wire and pad are ready to be cooled off. If the wire doesn’t sink or the solder doesn’t flow, you can always keep the iron on the joint and add a little bit of solder for it to flow and create the joint.
Desoldering
When desoldering, you’ll need to do the exact opposite of the previous paragraph. Start by putting a little bit of solder on your iron, this will increase the surface area that is in fusion and make the process of desoldering wires faster. This will ensure you can easily remove the wire and resolder on that pad later.
Soldering might seem daunting at first, but remember, practice makes perfect. Start with small projects and gradually work your way up to more complex builds. Don't be afraid to experiment and find what works best for you. With patience and perseverance, you'll soon be soldering like a pro and building your dream drone!