Where to buy high quality resistors for voltmods?

[nflesher87]

Anyone have any input? I'm having trouble find the type I want, also does anyone have any opinion on where and which soldering iron to buy? Atm I'm figuring on the Weller Fine Point Precision Soldering Iron at PPCs

Note that this is particularly for video card modding

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Only buy ones with adjustable heat and remember to buy extra tips to your soldering iron if you intend to solder alot.

I use a solder sucking machine when I am around them and it is very useful. I just call it a solder sucker. Much easier than using solder wick.

 

[nflesher87]

Only buy ones with adjustable heat and remember to buy extra tips to your soldering iron if you intend to solder alot.

I use a solder sucking machine when I am around them and it is very useful. I just call it a solder sucker. Much easier than using solder wick.

thanks for the input but I'm not sure what you're talking about in that second paragraph lol

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Do you know what soldering wick is?

Its a small metal mesh that absorbs solder when you need to remove excess amounts of it on a board.

 

[PVTCaboose1337]

http://www.designnotes.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SOLDERWICK.JPG

 

[DaedalusHelios]

A solder sucker is a machine with a suction and you use it to suck excess solder off your PCB. It is an industrial soldering tool. I used to use them in school and in a friends garage when we made robotics. Best tool for soldering aside from the soldering iron.

 

[nflesher87]

gotcha

 

[muka3d]

If you're looking to purchase resistors (or other electronics components), check out http://www.digikey.com. They offer same-day shipping, and insane variety of good quality stuff. You just have to know what you're looking for, and how to sift through their billions of items .

 

[Scrizz]

so does anyone know where to find the high quality resistors requested?

EDIT: nvm

 

[nflesher87]

If you're looking to purchase resistors (or other electronics components), check out http://www.digikey.com. They offer same-day shipping, and insane variety of good quality stuff. You just have to know what you're looking for, and how to sift through their billions of items .

lol yikes, I don't even know where to begin when it comes to their resistor offerings

anyone with an easier solution?

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Do you have any formal electronics training or any classes that related to soldering hands on?

Do you know how to read resistors? They have striping and you read the stripes to calculate the rating.

 

[boshuter]

Do you have any formal electronics training or any classes that related to soldering hands on?

Do you know how to read resistors? They have striping and you read the stripes to calculate the rating.

If he's looking into doing volt mods, he will be using VR's, they won't have stripes.

If you are lucky you can find the VR's at a local Rat Shack, some of them keep them in stock, some don't. My local one usually has a few, but they will have a very limited range of sizes, you can order from RS online and it's usually a lot easier to find what you want than places like Digikey.

 

[lemonadesoda]

SOLDERING IRON TIP:


1./ Dont buy the weakest Wattage soldering iron. While they "look" small and delicate... they dont have enough heat. The consequence is you hold the "tip" onto the solder point for too long waiting for it to melt. And that actually means you create more heat damage due to prolonged exposure of components to the "95%-hot-enough" heat source.

2./ Get a soldering iron with a "click turbo button" on it. What's that? Well the iron is normally, say 20W, but when you click the button it goes up to 120W. That's useful because it generates a rapid heat up (or re-heat up) which saves a lot of time. You also use it if you need to (un) solder large joins. A small iron just doesnt have enough thermal capacity and you dont melt it... so you click the 120W button and it goes much faster.

3./ The iron I described is a MINIMUM. Better ones are where the power supply is separate and has knob for variable heat control. Its called a soldering "station". But they are expensive.

Here are some links for ideas:

http://www.inta-audio.com/pp/PA_Equ...ronic_Switchable_Soldering_Iron_20W/130W.html (red button is the switch)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Soldering-iro...980545QQihZ008QQcategoryZ106001QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/circ/wlc100.html

http://www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/200006/oven_art.htm

http://www.action-electronics.com/weller.htm#Irons

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/cold-soldering.htm

 

[nflesher87]

http://www.action-electronics.com/weller.htm#Irons

I really like the options there, if you were to buy an iron (and) controller and weren't too worried about price, and the purpose was just PCB work, what all would you buy?

 

[lemonadesoda]

This is really an excellent read, a how-to-solder with a lot of useful information:

http://www.action-electronics.com/pdf/SolderingTips.pdf

Which soldering iron?

>> DO NOT get a 12W iron. I bought one once... and threw it away. It looked perfect for the job... but the tip was so "cold" it would only just melt the solder... but could NOT heat solder AND PCB AND component, ie, it could NOT desolder.

>> Weller is a good brand, but to be honest, if you dont buy one of their more expensive soldering stations, get a cheaper iron with more features from another company like this one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Soldering-iro...980545QQihZ008QQcategoryZ106001QQcmdZViewItem

Just google "Switchable" or "20W/130W" to find a local supplier. There are hundreds of different brands... all essentially the "same" chinese supplier.

 

[DaedalusHelios]

>> Weller is a good brand, but to be honest, if you dont buy one of their more expensive soldering stations, get a cheaper iron with more features from another company like this one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Soldering-iro...980545QQihZ008QQcategoryZ106001QQcmdZViewItem

That has a UK plug, its not compatible in the US. It doesn't fit our plugs and it could catch fire with a cheap adapter that can't handle the 120W function.

 

[lemonadesoda]

LOL. Twit. That was just an example of what the iron looks like. Get a local one using the google tips I gave you in my earlier post. LOL