[Blindtlk] Soldering revisited

Sat Aug 13 04:52:31 UTC 2011

Not for employment, just to make my own toys more cheaply than I 
could buy them.  *grin*

Joseph - kf7qzc

On Fri, Aug 12, 2011 at 08:39:46AM -0500, Steve Jacobson wrote:
>Brian,
>
>I probably should not have said what I did, but it was your comment "i'm
>guessing you are a hi-partial and not guessing where the doughnut gaps would be," that just struck me.  The purpose
>of the tube that I described was not just to guide the solder, but to be used sort of like a cand to feel and locate the
>joint being soldered after it is hot.  To avoid bridges, one really needs to use a fine solder, and this can be not rigid
>enough to feel for a joint.  The idea is not to have the solder melt inside the tube but feed through the tube so that the
>very end is melted by the heated joint.  I did see a soldering iron that fed the solder right to the tip but don't know if that
>would be an alternative.
>
>I don't get the impression that Joe is trying to do this to gain employment.  Jobs that involve a lot of soldering are much
>more scarce now than they were at one point.  I know that I could not compete for a job that required a lot of
>soldering, so I'm not telling you that I could, but I think the scarcity of such jobs makes that poine pretty irrelevant
>anyway.  I do believe that it is possible for a blind person who really wants to do it to do enough soldering to get
>through a lab in a class, though, or to do certain repairs on their own.  It is also worth pointing out that although vision
>makes soldering easier, there are many sighted people who would not take up soldering.  I am also not claiming that I
>know all there is about how a blind person could solder.  There are a lot of options now, though, different types of
>irons and guns, for example, that provide possibilities that might help.  There are no doubt blind people out there who
>have tackled more complex soldering than have I, but maybe this discussion will give Joe and others some ideas of
>things to try.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Steve Jacobson
>
>On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:45:44 -0500, Bryan Schulz wrote:
>
>>hi,
>
>>i did it about 20 years ago with sight. i never said it couldn't be done.
>>from mo so show me a total blind person can solder pcb within a reasonable
>>time frame without bridges.
>>the method mentioned with the solder inside a tube sounds like the
>>desoldering gun i had with the squeeze bulb but in reverse.
>
>>Bryan Schulz
>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>
>>To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 10:39 PM
>>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Soldering revisited
>
>
>>> Joe,
>>>
>>> I have done a little of this successfully and I know of others who have
>>> done it.  First regarding the pounding solder flat
>>> and wrapping it, that can work as you said, but you have to be careful to
>>> get the wire hot enough to melt the solder.  If
>>> the iron melts the solder but the wire has not gotten hot enough, you will
>>> end up with a cold solder joint.  I have been
>>> more a fan of placing the end of the solder on the joint and then applying
>>> the iron until you feel and/or smell the solder
>>> begin to melt.  If the method you used has worked, though, you are
>>> apparently getting enough heat to the joint.
>>>
>>> Soldering always involves experimentation with different types of irons to
>>> see what works best for you.  There are
>>> some that actually use the conductor itself as the bridge between
>>> connections thereby heating it.  For the kind of
>>> soldering you are considering, you need a very fine tip.  Some blind
>>> persons have fed solder down the inside of a
>>> hollow metal tube.  The tube can be placed with the end on the desired
>>> connection and is rigid enough to keep in
>>> place.  The Smith-kettelwell Foundation published a series of articles on
>>> soldering and made such tubes available.  It
>>> was made of a metal that shed heat quickly.  I think that all of the
>>> magazines have been archived, so you could
>>> probably find the series on soldering.  Since those articles, there have
>>> been some new irons, though.  Looking for
>>> those articles might be worth it, though.
>>>
>>> Unlike Brian, I do not believe that because I am not good at something
>>> nobody can be.  I have successfully
>>> resoldered a DIP-style connector where a couple of the pins came loos from
>>> the circuit board, and I did quite a bit of
>>> soldering on larger items.  Experiment and see if you can find that old
>>> series of articles on soldering.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>> On Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:27:11 -0700, T. Joseph Carter wrote:
>>>
>>>>ThatG?Ts what I was called growing up, but I can tell you that IG?Tm
>>>>certain it doesnG?Tt much matter in this case.  I canG?Tt see how I could
>>>>possibly do it under a CCTV, and anything short of that isnG?Tt going
>>>>to give me enough magnification to do it visually.
>>>
>>>>If this is going to work for me at all, IG?Td be able to do it under
>>>>sleepshade with a continuity tester to test connections.  ItG?Td be
>>>>slow work to test that way, but IG?Tm probably going to have to do that
>>>>kind of testing anyway.  Testing needs one mini-grabber clip on the
>>>>component lead and a needle probe to make sure youG?Tve got a solid
>>>>connection at the other end of the trace youG?Tre soldering it to.
>>>
>>>>Joseph - kf7qzc
>>>
>>>
>>>>On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 02:45:13PM -0500, Bryan Schulz wrote:
>>>>>hi,
>>>>>
>>>>>i haven't heard of this but it sounds like it would work. i'm
>>>>>guessing you are a hi-partial and not guessing where the doughnut
>>>>>gaps would be.
>>>>>Bryan Schulz
>>>>>
>>>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "T. Joseph Carter"
>>>>><carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>
>>>>>To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 2:39 PM
>>>>>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Soldering revisited
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>I am considering that the solution might be some of the tools used
>>>>>>to solder surface mount devices by hand.  Typically you have a
>>>>>>board with a solder mask.  You apply solder paste, and it will be
>>>>>>repelled by the solder mask.  Unless you use too much paste, the
>>>>>>solder mask should resist solder bridges quite nicely.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Since the solder paste is applied cold, a syringe with a fine tip
>>>>>>should be able to do the job.  Then a hot air pencil.  I donG?Tt have
>>>>>>these things, but it should work.  If others have done it, IG?Td love
>>>>>>to know.  If not, guess IG?Tm the trail blazer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Joseph - kf7qzc
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 01:23:28PM -0500, Bryan Schulz wrote:
>>>>>>>hi,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>if he has, that would be a neat trick as the pins on printed
>>>>>>>circuit boards are about 3mm apart and a bridge anywhere causes a
>>>>>>>failure.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Bryan Schulz
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Hyde, David W. (ESC)"
>>>>>>><david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us>
>>>>>>>To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>>>>Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 12:45 PM
>>>>>>>Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Soldering revisited
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Joseph, get hold of Curtis Wilouby. If anyone does it, he has.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>>From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>>>>>>>[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of T. Joseph
>>>>>>>>Carter
>>>>>>>>Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 11:26 AM
>>>>>>>>To: Blind Talk Mailing List
>>>>>>>>Subject: [Blindtlk] Soldering revisited
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Hey everyone,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Once upon a time, we had a discussion on this list about
>>>>>>>>soldering wires and the like.  A suggestion made was to take
>>>>>>>>the solder, pound it flat with a hammer, and then wrap it
>>>>>>>>around the wire/terminal being soldered. Then you need only
>>>>>>>>heat the connection a few seconds so that the solder can melt
>>>>>>>>and make a solid electrical connection.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I can tell you that this technique works pretty well for
>>>>>>>>stranded wire or stranded to solid wire (such as the leads of
>>>>>>>>an LED for example), and could probably be done for two solid
>>>>>>>>wires if you had sufficient success using third hand clips to
>>>>>>>>hold the thing still long enough.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>But I want to be able to solder packages with pins on 0.1 inch
>>>>>>>>centers. Transistors, old-fashioned DIPs, that kind of thing.
>>>>>>>>I brought it up on nfb-hams, and nobodyG?Ts volunteered a
>>>>>>>>brilliant strategy yet, so I figured IG?Td ask a wider audience.
>>>>>>>>*smile*
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>IG?Tm sure it must be possible for a blind guy to do itG?"IG?Tm just
>>>>>>>>not sure how yet.  Advice welcome!
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Joseph - kf7qzc
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
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>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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