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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2014 20:47:07 GMT
The Maplin station gets varied write ups on their website.
I have one, and it seems OK.
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Post by yomanze on Jul 11, 2014 23:25:27 GMT
Easy to make but the great interconnect makers that I have experienced like LFD, NVA, Mark Grant, REFFC etc. have way more experience than I and pay good attention to optimal soldering and termination techniques as well as a real understanding of synergy between plug and cable combinations.
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 11, 2014 23:36:05 GMT
Take care and practice is my advice. It's fairly simple to glue two things together with some heat applied to solder. But (and this is crucial to understand) soldering is something altogether different. Learn what it means when experienced people talk about solder 'flowing'. Get to the point where you know instinctively whether the time is right to apply the solder to the heat.
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Post by Eduardo Wobblechops on Jul 12, 2014 9:09:52 GMT
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Post by MartinT on Jul 12, 2014 22:13:08 GMT
I use an Antex temperature controlled iron.
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Post by DaveC on Jul 12, 2014 23:04:46 GMT
I use an Antex temperature controlled iron. I use three. Dave |
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Post by walpurgis on Jul 12, 2014 23:37:48 GMT
Cable making is generally easy enough. Avoid stuff that has a multiplicity of extra fine wires that seem to serve no purpose, like QED Genesis and some of the Gardas cabling. If you are starting out give Van Damme interconnect cable a try, I've tried various of their products and always had good results at very sensible prices (not tried their speaker cable yet though). Many people suggest silver solder, but in actual fact it makes little difference what solder is used due to the conductive cross section of soldered joints, which is normally far larger than the wire being soldered and large enough for the metallic conductivity variation to make little odds.
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Post by kennybunkport on Jul 13, 2014 20:22:56 GMT
Easy to make but the great interconnect makers that I have experienced like LFD, NVA, Mark Grant, REFFC etc. have way more experience than I and pay good attention to optimal soldering and termination techniques as well as a real understanding of synergy between plug and cable combinations.0 I would love to learn about synergy between plug and cable. Where do I look? |
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Post by RFGumby on Jul 15, 2014 17:50:06 GMT
That's not "pseudo balanced". It's a standard single ended cable with a shield only tagged at one end. Typically, the destination end for lowest noise. |
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Post by shuggie on Jul 16, 2014 11:03:46 GMT
I have had two Maplin soldering stations, which appear to be good spec and value, but proved to be rather poor in use. Specifically, they do not seem to be able to deploy their theoretical heat power quickly through the tip, perhaps because the tip design tends to be quite bulky; and quite possibly of poor quality metal which is unable to conduct heat effectively. So, I bit the bullet and bought a Weller WSD81 soldering station, which is truly excellent and much easier to handle. The tip looks tiny, but that belies its ability to sink heat into quite large wires if necessary. My soldering is now in a different league. My advice - buy quality and buy once. The Maplin kit is cheap for a reason. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jul 16, 2014 12:14:59 GMT
Hmm. I got a Weller and after seeing how small the tip was I didn't use it.
Thanks Shuggie
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Post by shuggie on Jul 16, 2014 12:54:02 GMT
But the tips last for ages! A mate has been using the same Weller tip for years, so it comes right back to a question of quality.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jul 16, 2014 14:36:00 GMT
I knackered my ancient old one (1960's ?) nicely and found it less than good.
I should try soldering again.
'Course having Speedy Steve and his nuclear driven industrial iron just up the road makes for easy decisions to not do it !
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Post by Chris on Jul 16, 2014 16:52:39 GMT
Hmmmm....I can see this being a no go. Not really worth buying all the kit just to make one I/C.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2014 17:02:24 GMT
True, but I have replaced the majority of my I/C's with DIY cables. As the soldering iron is not expensive, it soon payed for itself.
I use it for other soldering jobs anyway.
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Post by Andrei on Jul 16, 2014 21:24:58 GMT
Hands the size of shovels ... your'e lucky! I used to dream of hands like shovels! I've got two left hands and I could it. Seriously though, I think it is a fab idea to have a go. You may also be able to use solderless plugs - at least there are such available for RCA plugs. The point is that you can use top-quality materials but not pay extravagant prices.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 3:42:21 GMT
That's not "pseudo balanced". It's a standard single ended cable with a shield only tagged at one end. Typically, the destination end for lowest noise. Yes it is |
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Post by MikeMusic on Jul 17, 2014 8:27:42 GMT
Hmmmm....I can see this being a no go. Not really worth buying all the kit just to make one I/C. Thing is with soldering it can look ok (to me and perhaps you) and still be a crap job. Find someone good to do it right ! |
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