This community is for electronic hobbyists to discuss projects and is focused on soldering. Everyone is welcome from the noob to people who have been soldering as a hobby for decades to people who solder professionally. We'll talk about materials and techniques, equipment, and projects. Everyone is welcome. All questions are welcome. Post photos and ask for help.
RULES:
All Lemmy.ca rules apply here.
Everyone (see rule 98) is welcome.
If you’ve seen a question 100 times answer it the 101st time or ignore it. Even better, write a complete, detailed answer and suggest that the mod(s) pin it to the community.
[Did you actually think there were 98 rules?]
If you present something as fact and are asked to provide proof or a source provide proof or a source. Proof must be from a reliable source. If you fail to provide proof or a source your post or comment may be removed.
Don’t be a dick. Yes, this is a catch-all rule.
The mod(s) have the final say.
When I started soldering everything was big and had leads that went through holes in the board. You inserted the leads, bent them over to hold the component, flipped the board over, soldered everything, and trimmed off the excess leads.
Now I'm soldering things down to 0402 SMDs (1/4 the size of the smallest component in the picture) using a needle point soldering tip and a microscope.
A pair of 2N2222 transistors, one SOT23 and one TO-92.
Just commenting to say that I love the fact that this discussion/community randomly popped up in my feed. SMD soldering gives me the heebie-jeebies
Welcome. It's more of a challenge than soldering THT, that's for sure, but it can be done even with basic equipment. I'm going to Walmart tomorrow to buy a $10 soldering iron and I'm going to remake the SMD soldering videos on my YouTube channel using that $10 iron to show that it can be done. No one should be afraid of soldering SMDs.