100+ reddit and youtubes asking "what temperature you solder!?".
Unless its XT90, if you find you MUST use 400C+ all the time, you are doing something wrong.

I did a quick test to see how low you can go.
Nothing fancy. Basic TS100. Only 12V PS.

Important! TS-BC2 bevel tip. A fine conical tip will certainly need +20C.
MG Chemicals 63/37 eutectic (183C). LOTS of rosin flux.

As low as 220C is "possible" on AWG30 thin signal wires. 


I repeated test on Mamba F405 Gnd pad. Wedged tip between wire and pad. 
Sure enough it didn't work.

Day-to-day I use 300C. unless its AWG16 or bigger.
Its hard to do XT90 with TS100 even at 450C- you need high watt iron.

I tend to solder at 370C, unless it's a really thick ground or a battery terminal, in which case I'll crank to 410C. A fast heating will help get things molten before the board gets time to leech heat into the surrounding components. If I needed prolonged contact, I'll blow on the part after I finish a solder joint. So far, I've only ever killed one part, and that was a regulator with a really stubborn ground on it.

So i have decided not to run at 400C any more. At 300C I have never taken a pad off. At 400C I have taken two off. So back to 300C for me. Most of my soldering is done with very thin gauged wires and even the power wires are only XT30 standard.

As to cooling, normally after I tin something or do a joint, I will put the component on the fan I use to get rid of fumes for 10 secs. But that 400C on the iron killed an FC for me. But you live to learn.

Just to be 100% clear for grammar Nazis out there...

Im not saying NEVER use 400C+. Im just showing its far more than needed 90% of time.

I generally use 350°C for most of my soldering and bump up to 400°C if required, and in cases where I'm soldering to large ground pads on an ESC that need and can take a lot of heat I use 450°C.

Just keep in mind that what the temperature gauge says on your soldering station might not be the actual temperature at the tip. Some of the top brand irons might be accurately temperature calibrated at the factory, but a lot of the Chinese soldering irons very likely aren't, and even the decent brand irons can go out of calibration over time unless you get them regularly re-calibrated. So take any temperature reading on the soldering station display with a pinch of salt and consider it as a rough guide for most soldering stations. Over time you will start to get a feel for what temperature display settings on your particular iron produce the soldering results you expect.

(14-Jan-2024, 09:05 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: Just keep in mind that what the temperature gauge says on your soldering station might not be the actual temperature at the tip. Some of the top brand irons might be accurately temperature calibrated at the factory, but a lot of the Chinese soldering irons very likely aren't, and even the decent brand irons can go out of calibration over time unless you get them regularly re-calibrated

That's not a bad idea. Time to break out the thermal camera and see what it is vs what the iron is reading.

(14-Jan-2024, 09:09 PM)Suros Wrote: That's not a bad idea. Time to break out the thermal camera and see what it is vs what the iron is reading.

The same applies to a thermal camera. Those also need to be periodically calibrated if you want to guarantee they are showing a correct reading. Maybe your soldering iron is actually calibrated correctly but your thermal camera isn't. The problem is how to know which one is correct. Only with an up-to-date calibration certificate for one of them will you ever know for sure.

(14-Jan-2024, 09:05 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: I generally use 350°C for most of my soldering and bump up to 400°C if required, and in cases where I'm soldering to large ground pads on an ESC that need and can take a lot of heat I use 450°C.

Just keep in mind that what the temperature gauge says on your soldering station might not be the actual temperature at the tip. Some of the top brand irons might be accurately temperature calibrated at the factory, but a lot of the Chinese soldering irons very likely aren't, and even the decent brand irons can go out of calibration over time unless you get them regularly re-calibrated. So take any temperature reading on the soldering station display with a pinch of salt and consider it as a rough guide for most soldering stations. Over time you will start to get a feel for what temperature display settings on your particular iron produce the soldering results you expect.

I'm after replacing mine with one of those ATE Soldering Stations that YourFPV sell.  I had a look at some reviews on YT and on the web.  They say ATE products are good.  Yes they aren't a Hakko, but they also cost half the price of a second hand Hakko.  That plus decent gel flux and more of that Kester solder I got last year.  I am going to get this soldering squared away this year.

https://yourfpv.co.uk/product/ate-ae970d...g-station/

(14-Jan-2024, 09:30 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: The same applies to a thermal camera. Those also need to be periodically calibrated if you want to guarantee they are showing a correct reading. Maybe your soldering iron is actually calibrated correctly but your thermal camera isn't. The problem is how to know which one is correct. Only with an up-to-date calibration certificate for one of them will you ever know for sure.

The thermal cam is a one-ish year old Flir model. Apparently they calibrate them before sending them out. Definitely have more faith in the readings it gives than my $20 iron. What's very interesting is that the hottest temp it ever saw was roughly 240C when having the iron set to 370C. Darn iron would read more accurate if they just changed the C to an F.

Just to be clear, using a 425C degree iron all the time is NOT doing 
something wrong if you know how to use it. Just different than what 
you use. Even with a hot tip, the pad temperature doesn't get much 
over the melting point of the solder (183C degrees for me) it just 
transfers the heat faster so that it only takes a second or so and you 
are in an out. I have been soldering for over 50 years and haven't 
had any issues; never burnt any components, and since working on
drones, I have never lifted a pad. Hmm. 

Also, I don't have to keep fiddling with the temperature for different
jobs or sizes. I also use a medium size conical tip for everything. I 
have tried other types and keep coming back to this one. It works
on everything from the tiny round pads to the heavier gauge battery
lead wires and pads. Yeah, I don't have to fiddle with changing tips
either. 

Am I really that lucky? 

Hmm. Maybe, just maybe, I am doing something right. 

There is no rule or law for soldering iron temperature as long 
as the material (pad or wire) gets hot enough to melt the solder. 

I am sticking with 425C degrees and medium conical tip. 

I'm not criticising anyone with my post although it probably came over that way. All I am really saying is I ran it on 300C (regardless of actual temperature) and never killed an FC or took any pads off anything. Then I cranked it up and did both. So for me it isn't going to work on high settings, except if I was say soldering a stack with XT60 or XT90 connectors, then I might benefit from more heat. But on these thin whoop AIOs it seems more heat isn't so good. but then my kit isn't either. I have some ideas for upgrading my iron, solder and flux choices then I will see if it makes a difference. But one thing I do know is the soldering tips i have don't work on these small pads at all. They are too wide.

i suspect in your case, iFly, it's called years of experience and having a set of rules and routines that you have followed and refined over so many years that is now pretty much second nature. Same with some of the others. I know Lemony had some specific way of dealing with soldering that worked for him and as far as I know, that's how he always did it. But for me I haven't got there yet. I will do in time. Probably working out the iron, solder and flux is the key to it. Or it might not be. We'll see.

Hi Pathfinder,

No worries, Mate. Nothing that you said.

Well,  soldering is sort of second nature.  So much so, that it is almost
therapeutic, relaxing. Keep it simple. Turn on the iron, let it get hot,
set up the work, bing, bam, done, just like that, turn the iron off.

I have seen a lot of poor quality, cold, solder joints as a result of 
people not using a hot enough iron. 

It is simply arrogant to say that someone is doing something wrong
if they MUST use a hot iron all the time. Why would that be? What
is WRONG with that?  It works and works well. 

What is wrong is when someone doesn't understand the physics and 
basic principles and THAT is why they have issues soldering. In the 
past, I have seen more people screw up soldering by having an iron
that is not hot enough, not getting the workpiece material (pad, wire,
etc.) hot enough, and getting a cold joint that looks and performs
poorly; often breaking loose. 

Anyway, No Worries, Mate.

Later, iFly  

I'm reading about all this soldering just prior to doing some soldering....

It can be scary, so just practice.  I have a crapped out FC as a practice board that I have soldered and desoldered a bunch of times.  Mostly at 350C.

What I really need is a good magnifying glass.  I just got a jewelers loupe to try out.

I use 6.00+ Reading glasses.

I actually wear a pair of reading glasses over another set which works very well. For all out magnification, I have a third pair I can add...