Soldering is unfortunately becoming one of the skills that seems to be disappearing as the hands-on art of electronics becomes less popular and our consumer driven society grows. Engineering schools seem to focus more on theory, disregarding the conceptual, practical skills learn by soldering a REAL circuit together. Whether or not you are interested in learning electrical theory or just looking to build something fun and learn a thing or two, soldering is a skill that will always bring enjoyment to a rainy day or in my case, lake effect snow at -5°F!

The Art Of Soldering

      The benefits of constructing a circuit may not seem as prevalent at first, but as the builder troubleshoots a circuit it will become quickly apparent that "Funny' things can happen. For example, in the real world many components such as a resistor will be slightly "Off" the correct value, slightly changing the results that may be calculated using "Ideal" components. Never-the-less, a lot can be learned without diving into math! Learning to solder is easier that it seems and all it requires is the right tools and a little bit of practice. To avoid "re-inventing the wheel" I won't write up a whole article of soldering but I have found a few great links and videos that demonstrate the process very well. This "How to solder" article is meant to provide a direction to find content that provides a good in-depth instruction.

     Tom Hammond (N0SS) has a great PDF guide to soldering on his website as seen embeded below.

Finding Projects

     When I started out my first attempts to solder something together I saw my far share of non-working projects and troubles. One of the most frustrating and road-block inducing problems when learning to solder is finding projects to build! Although there are thousands of websites, books, and other sources to find kits, schematics, or a whole guide, finding a simple project that is not overly complicated for the first time builder can be difficult. Google searching can become your best friend but I hope to provide you a quick start guide to getting on the right track.

ARRL (American Radio Relay League) Projects

     The ARRL has an extensive information and project resource right on their website. They are geared towards both begginner and veteran electronics hobbiest's, providing much of their content for free although some of the article required a valid ARRL membership. This is by-far one of the best resources as the projects are well documented and written professionally. The ARRL TIS (Technical Information Service) contains hundreds of well written articles ranging from basic troubleshooting to RF Amplifiers. Take note of a few sections that should be of interest to the new-comer that provides guides to actually building electronic circuits. The "Construction Techniques" articles detail different construction methods as well as "Tips & Tricks" to soldering. A QST column written by H. Ward Silver, N0AX called "Hands-on Radio" is one of the best series available and does a great job explaining a complex subject in simple terms. The column also usually provides a circuit that can be built! Take note though that a valid ARRL membership is needed to download the PDF versions of this column.

     The photo to the right is one that was constructed using the "Hands on Radio" project #1. It is really simple and provides a lot to be learned, even if you do not understand the math presented (You don't have to do the math!). The author provides a schematics that can be built and requires no math or design, although he has cleverly provided the resources to do so. Building even the basic circuit can help improve your circuit construction skills along with learning a thing or two about transistors! If their is one thing to remember from this, trying new and "Unknown" projects is something that should be sought after, not avoided.

All About Circuits

     A great resource available free online is located at www.allaboutcircuits.com. This website provides a long list of simple to advanced circuit theory and projects to go with them. It is great to see that someone spent the time to write the content present on allaboutcircuits.com, there is certainly a wide ranged on topics and pictures. The website is organized into "Sections" that begin at the most basic electronics principles, leading to more advanced topics. The website also provides projects to build (on a breadboard or whichever your preferred method is) while following the discussion of topics. Along with the web pages introducing these topics videos are available to watch as the author explains in more detail the topics presented. Adding even more usefulness to this website, a collection of "Worksheets" are available to download to test your knowledge!

Other Sources For Projects

Kits

     Kit building is one of the best ways to start learning to solder as it removes any fear of building from just a schematic. Kit's can be found to cover nearly all facets of electronics from blinking LED's to complicated high-performance radio circuits. Most kits come with a detailed set of instructions that can be followed, removing the need to read the schematic. The guide usually provides information of how to read a schematic as well as what the components do, teaching the builder about the circuit and why it works. Soldering a kit together is by-far the easiest construction method and recommended for beginners. Below is a list of electronic kit dealers that have various types of projects available. I would recommend find something of interest and not worrying too much about complexity as the guides are usually very good and the circuit boards are hard to mess up!

• Qkits
• Electronic kits
• Ramsey Electronics

Website's

     There are many websites that provide a great number of schematics free to use. Although you will need to learn how to read a schematic, they are a great way to jump into building a circuit from junk parts.

• Discover Circuits
• Aaron Cake
• Hobby Projects
• Bowdens Hobby Circuits
• AC6V

Books

     There are MANY books that provide great ways to get into electronics and which a simple google search or browse through the ARRL catalog numerous sources can be found. This will be a topic of another article

Wrapping It Up

     I hope this gives you a good head start in your efforts to learn to solder! It may start off shaky but we've all been there, through practice and perseverance it will become a natural activity. Look here on CollegeARC for project articles providing guides to building circuits that are geared towards college amateur radio clubs.

What Do You Think?

     What's your take on this article? We'd like to hear your experiences/concerns learning to solder. Make sure to post a quick comment to this article using the module below (For EVERYONE, not just CollegeARC members!). When getting into electronics what was your first project? Do you have any questions?