Hello from France to the whole planet earth, I wanted to share my experience with a thermometer / Hygrometer house, uses a wire for earphone music or telephone kit, it is necessary that the wire is colored copper, to locate the probe of humidity in The module, desolder and solder each wire on controller, I am amateur badly welded modified to have a nice solder tin, to finish welded the same sides of the wires on the module and tested, normally it works, I also tried To do the same with the temperature probe but its not worked, maybe we need another more powerful wire like the internet connection cable (yellow cable). Finally its walking to monitor the humidity in the fridge outside the fridge, I think you can do better than me, sorry for mistakes I use a translator, I share my experience, thank you.
Maybe I can start using my solder to actually solder wires instead of making holes on plastic containers ;D
Thank you for sharing!
Hello AnnDee, after testing the moisture measurement with saturated salt, I read 64% instead of + - 75% !!! I asked advice to friends, it advised me not to weld all the wires together, solder only 2 or 3 wires and not used the others, now the test is more conclusive, thank you for your participation, good job.
As a final result, I changed the connection cable with a USB type cable, there were 4 copper wires very thin, I used only 2 wires (black and white). As the wires are very thin the frequencies passes better (I think), after the test sela seems very accurate, here is wanted shared this simple experience but useful for us home cheesemakers, good work.
Col,
In theory, as I understand it, the thinner wires should not work any better or worse - but thinner wire is much more appropriate for this application, and it will solder more easily. Your solder joints look like you could have what is called a "cold solder joint," which will can give you inconsistent connection and thus inconsistent results. It also looks like too much of the wire is exposed in the first picture; I would be concerned about the possibility of it accidentally contacting something in the circuitry, which again would lead to inaccurate results, and could even damage the circuitry.
Here is how I would recommend getting good solder joints. First, you need the right tools and supplies (at least some of which I assume you already have, but this list is for the benefit of others who may read this). Note that the links are to illustrate, not intended as recommendations - these are just what I find in a quick search on Amazon; I have not used any of these particular products:
- Wire stripper - there are lots of varieties, some of them quite fancy, but I prefer something simple like this: https://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-CP-301G-ProsKit-Precision-Stripper/dp/B005JVJDIA/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906589&sr=1-6&keywords=wire+stripping+tool. (https://www.amazon.com/Eclipse-CP-301G-ProsKit-Precision-Stripper/dp/B005JVJDIA/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906589&sr=1-6&keywords=wire+stripping+tool.) Note that the stripper is intended for certain sizes of wire - the one in the previous link is for small wire sizes. Here is one that handles larger wire sizes: https://www.amazon.com/Topzone-Multifunctional-Stripping-Cutter-Electrical/dp/B01EMC9ZUC/ref=sr_1_11?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906589&sr=1-11&keywords=wire+stripping+tool (https://www.amazon.com/Topzone-Multifunctional-Stripping-Cutter-Electrical/dp/B01EMC9ZUC/ref=sr_1_11?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906589&sr=1-11&keywords=wire+stripping+tool)
- Wire cutter - often included with the strippers, but often those do not work as well. I prefer something of this type: https://www.amazon.com/Cutter-Diagonal-Cutting-Pliers-Nippers/dp/B01N9IPNNP/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500906319&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wire+cutter+pliers&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/Cutter-Diagonal-Cutting-Pliers-Nippers/dp/B01N9IPNNP/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1500906319&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wire+cutter+pliers&psc=1)
- Soldering iron - again, lots of varieties, but for the work you show here, something simple will suffice: https://www.amazon.com/Delcast-Watt-Precision-Soldering-Iron/dp/B0071N75H0/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906986&sr=1-16&keywords=soldering+iron. (https://www.amazon.com/Delcast-Watt-Precision-Soldering-Iron/dp/B0071N75H0/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500906986&sr=1-16&keywords=soldering+iron.) You do not want too much heat for working with circuit boards and fine wires - at 30w, the one in this link is even a bit high - but it might not be hot enough to work with larger wires if you ever anticipate doing that. For a bit more money, you can get soldering irons with variable output and with changeable tips. For circuit board work, you definitely need one with a fine tip.
- Fine (thin) rosin-core solder - you do not want the heavy (thick) solder that you find in the plumbing section of the hardware store, and you must NOT use acid-flux; you need something fine with rosin flux included that will let you more conveniently and precisely control how much solder goes into the joint. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Mandala-Crafts-0-6mm-Solder-0-6mmm/dp/B06XWJ8JS9/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500907258&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=rosin+core+solder&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/Mandala-Crafts-0-6mm-Solder-0-6mmm/dp/B06XWJ8JS9/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1500907258&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=rosin+core+solder&psc=1) - this one is the classic solder containing lead; it melts and works the most easily, but some countries and/or applications call for lead-free, which is also widely available.
Procedure for soldering to circuit boards / using small wires:
- Strip the wires, leave only a small amount of the wire exposed from the insulation - around 2-3mm. (It may be easier to strip a larger section of insulation, and then cut the wire to the shorter size.) The wire must be clean - you will not get good results with wire that has been exposed for a long time.
- Allow the soldering iron to heat to full temperature. Melt a little bit of solder on the tip of the iron. Use a damp, folded-up paper towel (or a soldering sponge) to wipe off any excess solder.
- Hold the tip of the iron against the exposed wire. (You need to have one hand free to add the solder in the next step, so this may require creative ways to clamp or secure the wire.) As the wire heats, the insulation may shrink back a bit - this is normal.
- As the wire heats, try touching the solder to the wire - NOT to the soldering iron. The key to a good solder joint is for the part being soldered to be heated enough to melt the solder. The finer the wire (and the hotter the iron), the less time this will take - for very fine wire such as is used in ethernet cable, it may take only 1 second to heat. Before the wire is quite hot enough, it may melt the solder onto the wire in a blob; keep heating until the solder melts into the strands of wire.
- When solder has infused the wire, pull the iron away, and if there is an excessive amount of solder on the wire, immediately shake the wire over a surface that can tolerate some heat to get rid of the excess. (I use a piece of plywood as a base - soldering will get hot enough to darken the wood, but not to light it on fire.)
- Heat the pad or hole in the circuit board with the tip of the soldering iron, again until the solder will melt and flow onto it. (Again, heat the pad or hole, and let it melt the solder; make sure the solder flows onto the pad or into the hole, not just blobbing up on it.)
- Hold the wire against the pad or hole, and touch the soldering iron to the junction. If you are using very fine wire on a circuit board, it will only take a second or less for the solder on each part to melt and fuse together. For thicker wire and/or a heavier connector, it will take a bit longer. If necessary, add a bit more solder to get a nice joint.
- Absolutely crucial final step: Remove the iron, but do NOT move the wire or joint at all until the solder solidifies. If you move the joint while the solder is solidifying, you will get an ugly joint at best, and an unreliable joint at worst.
The step-by-step procedure probably looks way more difficult and complicated than it really is. With a little practice, it is easy to get good solder joints, quickly and cleanly. The hardest part is almost always that you really need three hands - one to hold the soldering iron; one to hold the wire; and one to hold the solder. So again, a key is often figuring out how to clamp or secure the wire in place.
I may have told you lots of things that you already know - my apologies for such an extensive post. But hopefully it may help others who are experimenting with soldering and circuitry.
Hello Awakephd, you are extraordinary, thank you for your very precise explanations, you are a professeu, now I understand the steps, it is really a complete tutorial, thank you again and great cheese for you, my respect for you. I love you ;D
Je vous remercie!
(I hope that is the correct way to say "Thank you"!)
Quote from: awakephd on July 25, 2017, 12:38:37 AM
Je vous remercie!
(I hope that is the correct way to say "Thank you"!)
You speak French, bravo very well said, thank you for your guide, your help and your politeness, a cheese for this wonderful work help for all the house cheesemakers.
Oh, no - it would be far too generous to say that I speak French. I wouldn't dare try, because I know that my pronunciation is terrible. I read some French, very slowly and not very well, but enough to get myself into trouble. :)
I understand you Awakephd, I am of Turkish origin, born in France and grew up in France, the French language is really complicated to write, so to not forget a letter I apply myself, I love French with poetry, The Turkish language is easier and simpler, during the Ottoman Empire the Turkish language was very rich, but after the change of Arabic letter against the Latin Turkish language Lost a lot of words replaced by Latin, in short all languages merit respect, we are cough, our colors, cultures ... are our riches, I love everyone, respect and peace for our planet, thank you .
I have visited in Turkey three times - enjoyed each time very much. I am sad that the country is experiencing turmoil at this time. But it seems that that is true everywhere in the world today. :(
Thank you Andy for your visit to Turkey and I hope that you left some good memories, unfortunately there was a coup, but fortunately the Turkish people were brave, the government works well in turkey, the people are happy unlike To what can be seen in TV channels outside Turkey, I visit once every 2 years and turkey evolves very quickly, security, social, free education, civil hospitals or not free, roads , Metros .... sa will not stop :) everything is in the service of the people, turkey welcomes more than 3 million Syrian civilians (children, women, elderly people) fleeing the war, this people is fed, housed And treated without distinction of religious colors ... being human, I thank the Turkish government for the help given to the poor people of the war and wishes that peace restores it and all humans live happily in this world, with my Respect thank you.
I agree!
Maintenant, je rougis!