I'm extremely new to the world of quads, but I'm going to try and build. Since I lost an antenna I figured I might as well get started and order some soldering equipment. My question is how important is price when it comes to these things? I'm not exactly loaded and this hobby is mighty expensive, but I've seen some soldering gear on amazon that's around £20-30. Is something like that going to cut it, at least to start with, or is it just going to cost more in the long run? How much did people pay for their first set up? Cheers in advance for helping a clueless newbie.

Will a cheap iron work. yes. but you get what you paid for it. it is nice to have some temperature control, so you don't want to burn the boards. you want to be able to change tips.

But at the end of the day, a $20-30 will work.

Thanks for the reply. I have no clue about any of this so I'm just trying to get a handle on things and see if I love it without ploughing loads of money into. The flying is awesome, so much fun and satisfying when I actually have a decent flight. The build side of things is a little intimidating, but I'm keen to have a go.

I have a Weller station that i use....stick with Weller or hakko if possible....ive used cheap ones in a pinch but you definately want some temperature control.
I dabble in loudspeaker design periodically so its been important to me to have a temperature control so as not to burn up $200 Clarity caps or Mundorfs....gets expensive really quick lol
Dont be shy to look in the classifieds, thats how i got my Weller station and it only cost me $20

Livyu who is the king of RC electronic repairs uses one of these...

https://www.banggood.com/KSGER-V2_01-STM...07443.html

So it goes to show you don't necessarily need to have the best branded stuff. Temperature control and the ability to use different sized tips is the most important part.

I use one of the following and it has done me well for the last few years. I've never had any issues with it whatsoever. Obviously it's more than you want to spend but it also includes a hot air rework station which you don't really need. I'm just using it as an example to show that some of the Chinese branded stuff is decent quality and works well.

https://www.banggood.com/YIHUA-995D-2-In...29823.html

If you want something more portable then take a look at the TS100 or TS80 soldering irons. I also have one of the TS80's.

https://www.banggood.com/MINI-TS100-Digi...84214.html

https://www.banggood.com/MINI-TS80-Digit...30060.html

Good solder is also important.

Consider getting good solder. 60/40 or 63/ 37 from a name brand manufacturer.

Also flux. It puts extra points on your soldering skills levels.

(28-May-2020, 11:17 PM)voodoo614 Wrote: Good solder is also important.

Consider getting good solder. 60/40 or 63/ 37 from a name brand manufacturer.

I use 63/37 exclusively for my projects and its also worth mentioning that you will have a much easier experience using leaded solder rather than lead free or silver. I always use lead solder even on high end projects...its so nice to work with.

MINI TS100 is my recomendation for you

+1 to the TS100. Love being able to fix stuff in the field. Heats up really fast and has been working without issue for over a year now I think with my poor handling(dropping it and stuff). I only have the tip it came with and a broad tip and so far I've never needed anything else.

For electronic soldering you need:  
1) soldering iron 
2) good quality 60/40 or 63/37  rosin core solder; thin wire (don't get the thick stuff)
3) flux, for these small parts, I find that a flux pen works pretty good.  
4) something to solder (yeah, the obvious).

I got an inexpensive 60 watt adjustable soldering iron from Amazon that works just fine . I use it all the time with no problem. It also has changeable tips and the kit came with a bunch of stuff. If a soldering iron gets hot, it will work. Just me, but I keep it hot...about 425 degrees C. Yes, you have be careful, but things heat quickly without spreading a lot of heat through the board. The longer it takes to heat (such as with lower temps), the longer the iron stays on the pad , the more heat dissipates through the board that could cause damage.

Mine is very similar to this one = Cost Effective  I paid about $15 for mine. 

If you are not sure what you want to do or you are on a budget, something like this might be a good option.

I keep looking at the famous TS100, but just can't justify it since all of my work is on the bench at home and I don't need it to be portable. Once you have an iron that works (that is, it gets hot, like anything over 350 degrees C) there just doesn't seem to be any reason to "upgrade".  Another thing about an inexpensive iron, there are not a lot of things to break...a very simple board, a switch, and a heating element.

Just a word about soldering. For this thermodynamic bonding to occur the part (wire, metal pad, metal hole, etc.) must be hot enough to melt the solder. It works this way: the iron heats the metal, the solder is applied to the metal, the hot metal melts the solder and binds to it. Yeah, use flux on the metal. This can be illustrated by tinning a piece of wire. First, put flux on the wire. Next, touch the iron to the bottom side of the wire. Finally, touch the solder to the top of the wire. Note that the solder is not touching the iron. When the wire gets hot, the solder will flow...all over the wire. So this is how it works. Thing is, for small electronics, you often have to get the solder and iron to the pad at the same time. AND...sometimes you have to put a drop of solder on the iron then heat the pad...the solder will flow from the iron to the pad when the pad gets hot. So...some variations in technic, but the process is still the same; solder will not bond to cold metal (do not melt solder onto a piece of cold metal, it will not bond...that is what they call a "cold solder joint").

Also, get some junk electronics to practice on.

I echo what iFly4Rotors said. If you have no need to do portable in-the-field repairs (I never have and TBH I'm not sure if I could be bothered to), then a bench soldering station is the best option in my opinion and has the ability to produce the heat you need without over-stressing the iron. There is a third party firmware update for TS100 that allows you to increase the power/temperature to something it wasn't originally designed for but at the potential expense of reliability and a shortened life span.

If you have the need to do soldering on-the-go then the only real option is a TS100 or TS80, but if you don't then I would just get a bench iron. I bought a TS80 over a year ago but I've only ever used it twice because I find my proper bench iron is so much better and nicer to use. So I really just have the TS80 as a backup. If you have money to get both then obviously you can then have the best of both worlds 

Just found the video below. It is a very good, short, concise, and shows precisely how to solder electronic components. It may be a little dated (2014), but the physics of soldering is constant and does not change over time. A good illustration such as this one will be valid until the end of time.    The video clearly shows the concept of heating the material that will then melt the solder. Even though she does not use additional flux, if you add flux it works even better. 

Basic Soldering Principles

I concur with @Flickeryvision, and @johnwhip, the TS-100 is a great little soldering iron, make sure you get the kit, it's usually under $60U.S.  has a lot of little extras you won't have to buy, plus a car charger, and you can charge via usb, and I think, but don't quote me, same barrel connector FatShark uses.  Like others said, get leaded solder, usually easy to find for electronic solder, I believe they banned it for industrial soldering, that's why you'll see a lot of welders and similar tradesmen saying they miss the leaded solder. 

Two trains of thought when soldering on tiny semi-sensitive fpv electronics.  Some people like to set their solder on cool side, most leaded solder has melting point around 315c - 345c or 600F - 650F, as to not expose board to excessive heat, which can ruin a pad, or other bad things, down side is takes solder a little longer to liquefy. Others are of the belief you should turn iron up to 400c (max for average iron) so you can melt the solder quickly, get in and get out, shorting time of exposure to board.  There's no correct way, you'll have to decide what's best for you, but if you watch some youtube videos on soldering (which helped me a lot when learning)  You might see people debating this subject often.  OOOHH, last thing, almost forgot, not sure if anyone else suggested this, but I didn't know about these until after I kept failing at soldering..lol, HELPING HANDS!!  Will make things sooooo much easier. I'll put a link below, they make all kinds.

TS-100 kit

Simple Helping Hands $11

[url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/Helping-Hands-Third-Hand-Soldering-Tool-6-Flexible-Arms-Six-Arm-Magnifier-Tool/113847233576?hash=item1a81d2ec28:g:lIoAAOSwlxtdZhcP]Higher End Helping Hands $33[/url]

(02-Jul-2020, 08:43 PM)[email protected] Wrote: I concur with @Flickeryvision, and @johnwhip, the TS-100 is a great little soldering iron, make sure you get the kit, it's usually under $60U.S.  has a lot of little extras you won't have to buy, plus a car charger, and you can charge via usb, and I think, but don't quote me, same barrel connector FatShark uses.  Like others said, get leaded solder, usually easy to find for electronic solder, I believe they banned it for industrial soldering, that's why you'll see a lot of welders and similar tradesmen saying they miss the leaded solder. 

Two trains of thought when soldering on tiny semi-sensitive fpv electronics.  Some people like to set their solder on cool side, most leaded solder has melting point around 315c - 345c or 600F - 650F, as to not expose board to excessive heat, which can ruin a pad, or other bad things, down side is takes solder a little longer to liquefy. Others are of the belief you should turn iron up to 400c (max for average iron) so you can melt the solder quickly, get in and get out, shorting time of exposure to board.  There's no correct way, you'll have to decide what's best for you, but if you watch some youtube videos on soldering (which helped me a lot when learning)  You might see people debating this subject often.  OOOHH, last thing, almost forgot, not sure if anyone else suggested this, but I didn't know about these until after I kept failing at soldering..lol, HELPING HANDS!!  Will make things sooooo much easier. I'll put a link below, they make all kinds.

TS-100 kit

Simple Helping Hands $11

[url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/Helping-Hands-Third-Hand-Soldering-Tool-6-Flexible-Arms-Six-Arm-Magnifier-Tool/113847233576?hash=item1a81d2ec28:g:lIoAAOSwlxtdZhcP]Higher End Helping Hands $33[/url]