Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Hot and Clumsy - Misadventures in Project Assembly

A few days ago I received the components to build a more polished version of my trip timer project. Today I spread out the parts, printed out the instructions and fired up the soldering iron.

Within 20 minutes I knew I was in way over my head.

I figured that with no experience and haphazard tools I could just wing the whole solder-the-project together step. Yeah, that's not going to happen. I felt like I was trying to perform an appendectomy with a kitchen knife. I managed to melt solder everywhere but where intended, and I'm quite sure I've damaged the boards with excessive heat.

But, I'm not giving up!

I've ordered a proper soldering iron and the recommended gauge of solder. I've got no idea if the random soldering iron and solder I have lying around the house are at all designed for this type of project. I hope not. I also ordered a second batch of components. I figure I can practice on this set and use the next set for the real version of the project.

So I stand humbled, but with the right supplies on way, I'm cautiously optimistic.

No comments:

Post a Comment