<snip> do you just tin the wire, then stick the solder on the wire on that flat spot and add the solder?
The other question still relates to the button\switch. I know it has two prongs with holes in it but do you just stick the wire in and wrap around it then just solder the wire or do you tin the wire first and just solder it to the outside and cut off any excess?
Thanks again for any help anyone can share,
Soldering 101 - I think there are some vids/tutorials in the stickies... and DEFINITELY many on-line but the quick answer:
You heat the parts, not the solder. The solder flows onto the hot metal when the metal is at or slightly above the melting point of the solder. It's all in the prep/setup. The actual soldering takes literally 5 seconds. The prep, assuming you are a normal human without three hands, can take a bit.
You usually have 3 or 4 things to hold at once:
1) Part A
2) Wire B/Part B
3) Solder
4) Soldering Iron
get a "helping hands", put an alligator clip on parts, get a friend to help hold, twist stuff together, whatever. The little holes on the connectors are great for looping the wire through before you heat the connection. Many people tin the wire 1st, but as long as you heat it and the connector both, you'll be ok. Stranded wire can be twisted on the end 1st, then looped through the hole. Solder with the flat part of the tip...
/
/ iron
/______/
=============
Part
=============
to get as much of the tip contacting the metal parts as possible. Heat BOTH parts together (i.e. at the same time) and touch the solder to the metal (not the iron). When it flows on the connection, remove solder and iron, ur done.
If you fail to heat both parts, you will either end up with still separate parts, or worse, a "hollow" solder joint that can be a PITA to detect and give intermittent failures. So HEAT BOTH.
<snip> do you just tin the wire, then stick the solder on the wire on that flat spot and add the solder?
The center of the atty is a little tricky. Sometimes I put a dab of solder on it 1st, and then melt the wire into the still warm part with the solder on it using the iron. This must be done quickly to avoid over heating, but still hot enough to avoid a hollow joint. The center pin is small and so is the wire, so they heat quickly. Some connectors have a hole in the center pin so I just stick the wire in the hole and solder both together at the same time.
Try not to overheat the center connector and toast the insulator (I think it is silicone and pretty hardy tho). You only need a very little bit of wire exposed; you don't want wire to touch from center to outside/ground. I've been known to put a segment of heat shrink tube on the wire, solder it, then slip the shrink tube down into the atty over the center connector and shrink it.
ALWAYS check that you have no short between the outside/ground and the center with a multi-meter. Make sure that you gently wiggle it around and still get no short. It's tough to solder to the center connector, and to the ground and not bridge it, so be careful.
As for wires/LEDs ( and other leads)... I put heat-shrink tube on 1st, slide it away form the joint, twist the wires together, heat both, flow solder. Put heat shrink tube over exposed wires and shrink it.
Basically, as long as you get both the parts hot enough, and don't touch the solder to the iron, you'll be ok. If they get too hot, you can destroy/melt the part. Welcome to the wonderful world of soldering.
P.S. Use lead free solder.
P.P.S. Note that LEDs have a "polarity"... they are diodes so they only allow current to flow in one direction. USUALLY, the shorter lead wire is the ground side of the LED. Resistors, (generally speaking) have no polarity.
