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How to solder w/o a soldering iron.. or heat gun... ?


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Alright, so one of the control wires poped off the circuit board in the control unit of my radio, for the aux in mod. I left my soldering iron & heat gun back up in NH... I'd rather not take a lighter to the circuit board... any ideas? it's sort of current sensive in there... and i can't stand driving w/o music... so...

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Hm....well of course the solder needs to get to melting temp to, well, melt. Non heat options maybe try to adhere the wire to the board with super glue or a dab of RTV?

 

If there's a harbor freight near by could probably get a soldering iron for a couple bucks. Maybe someone you know has a soldering iron?

 

I know radio shack for a while had these lighter style soldering strips don't know if they still have those...

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[...]I'd rather not take a lighter to the circuit board... any ideas? it's sort of current sensive in there... and i can't stand driving w/o music... so...
No, no, no...lighters are for shrinking heat-shrinkable tubing, not for soldering. :)

 

What you need is a propane torch or gas range, and one of these ;) :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-Vintage-COPPER-SOLDERING-IRONS-BLACKSMITH-TOOL_W0QQitemZ320151203084QQihZ011QQcategoryZ39728QQcmdZViewItem

:Flame:

 

Actually, if you have a piece of copper rod that can be appropriately filed, or tubing that can be crushed flat at the end, and a source of heat as I mentioned above, you can make do. Just be sure to hold the copper piece with something that will isolate you from the heat, because copper is about as good at conducting heat as it is electrical current :eek: . Tinning the "business" end before soldering is probably necessary.

 

Of course, if you have the right gauge of bare copper wire, and a low-voltage source of sufficient current, you could make the equivalent of a soldering gun... (1/2 ;) ) = (only half kidding)

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The fastest, absolute bestest way is to just buy another soldering gun. You'll never do it very well with a jury-rigged setup and you'll like burn something else.

 

Radio Shack or anywhere they sell tools should be able to hook up up for under $10.

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The fastest, absolute bestest way is to just buy another soldering gun. You'll never do it very well with a jury-rigged setup and you'll like burn something else.

 

Radio Shack or anywhere they sell tools should be able to hook up up for under $10.

 

Plus, you'll have a spare for when your first iron goes out.

 

Nathan

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