This FAQ will look at how a PC board loaded with anywhere from just a few to hundreds of components is soldered in one smooth process, and the fascinating technology and systems it takes to do that.

The basic metallurgy of solder. How to make a solder joint. How to repair a circuit board. The vintageTEK museum is a geek’s paradise to tour if visiting the Portland, Oregon area. The museum has ...

I've got a Bosch dishwasher that, like many Bosch dishwashers loves to melt the solder off the heater relay and requires repair every 12-18 months. (Bosch dishwasher engineers are completely ...

Here is a simple but inexpensive inverter for using a small soldering iron (25W, 35W, etc) In the absence of mains supply. It uses eight transistors and a few resistors and capacitors. Transistors Q1 ...

Soldering to a PC board can be tricky: Too much heat can make the copper trace lift right off the board substrate. Use a soldering pencil rated at 15-25 watts, no more. (Watch the video; story ...

Hand soldering of surface mount components is a bread-and-butter task for anyone working with electronics in 2024. So many devices are simply no longer available in the older through-hole formats, and ...

The cheapest PCBs – and therefore most common – are green solder mask with white silkscreen. It works, but it’s also incredibly boring. This is the way things were done up until a few years ago with ...

We've got a feast for your eyes today, and it's some of the most mesmerizing footage we've seen through a microscope this year. Robert Feranec, a hardware design engineer and educator who runs an ...

Hand-soldering a few PC boards is surprisingly popular given how many components come only in surface-mount technology (SMT) packages these days, especially when you consider just how small some of ...