electronic parts/gear ??

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Harry
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electronic parts/gear ??

Post by Harry » Tue Feb 21, 2006 5:39 am

I learned a little about soldering and stuff the other day and it seems pretty easy. So I guess I need an iron,solder,cutter/stripper,(shrink wrap?) maybe a multimeter?...and a source for parts like foot switches and jacks.

I figure by the time I fix all my broken shit I'll be ready for one of those neat O' preamp kits.

So where do you guys get your parts?
Thanks,
Harry

blakbeltjonez
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Post by blakbeltjonez » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:08 am

Digikey or Mouser for mail order stuff - you can go to mouser.com or digikey.com and order a free catalog or browse PDF-style.... they are immense catalogs so the real deal is the way to go.

you could just pop down to the local Radio Shack and get the stuff you need but you'll pay a bit more for a bit less in quality and selection. for all but the most delicate soldering, a cheapo Radio Shack iron and a small tip is fine. the solder is so-so, used to really like the silver solder they had but it seems like they changed the formula and it doesn't melt quite as easily. any 60/40 solder will probably be fine, 60% tin and 40% lead although there are solders that have a slightly differnt mix that allow for a lower melting point and thus better behavior (i.e., heats better and less chance of cold solder joints). Kester is one of the better brands, you can get it from mouser or digikey.

Harry
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Post by Harry » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:59 am

Thanks.....good info there.

I'm sure it sucks but I have to ask............cold heat soldering??? kick ass or oxymoron?????????:>)

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Post by A-Barr » Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:05 am

Somebody got me a cold-heat gun for my birthday not too long ago. It does work and it is in fact cool, but it's more of a jewelry thing. It can't solder to anything with too much mass or else the heat will dissipate too much and it just won't melt. It's like using a match to boil water - it's hot and all, but it just doesn't have enough energy. I also got one of those little butane-powered soldering irons. Now those I can recommend! When your (or my) radio shack iron just isn't getting hot enough to solder something to a pot or chassis, I pull this baby out and it does it in a jiff. A bit hazardous to work with because you can burn yourself or your gear with it's exhasut vent, but it's great in the right situation.
Good luck!

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marc
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Post by marc » Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:11 am

A-Barr wrote:Somebody got me a cold-heat gun for my birthday not too long ago. It does work and it is in fact cool, but it's more of a jewelry thing. It can't solder to anything with too much mass or else the heat will dissipate too much and it just won't melt. It's like using a match to boil water - it's hot and all, but it just doesn't have enough energy. I also got one of those little butane-powered soldering irons. Now those I can recommend! When your (or my) radio shack iron just isn't getting hot enough to solder something to a pot or chassis, I pull this baby out and it does it in a jiff. A bit hazardous to work with because you can burn yourself or your gear with it's exhasut vent, but it's great in the right situation.
Good luck!
Conversely, I got one of those Cold heat deals for Christmas, and I find that it works really, really well for PCB/perfboard/component soldering, actually. Also, what wattage is your RadioShack iron? Just about everything I've bought there I've thrown away, but the 40W iron I have I've used to solder pots, pickups, speakers, et al. and it seems to work fine. Note: once I'd used it for a long while. All of the CrapShack irons I've seen/used (about 4) seem to have just one very small hotspot which I now make note to find and mark on the handle before I solder anything. I've had to point this out to three people now, each of whom were about to buy new irons before they realized [for some reason] only part of the tip is usable.

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A-Barr
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Post by A-Barr » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:14 am

Well that does make sense, I've only tried my cold iron on guitar wiring, which wasn't so great, but I imagine it would be good on a pcb. The fact that it's wireless is also a great advantage.
I have no idea what wattage my iron is, I've burned through 3 cheapo rat shack irons over the past few years. The one I have now looks like it was from a different manufacturer, much more heavy duty and doesn't feel as much like a plastic squirt gun with a chunk of metal at one end a power cord on the other. Maybe it is the 40W version, whatever it is, it's a lot nicer than the other cheaper stuff they sell. Of course once I plugged it in it sat and smoked for a good long while as it burned off whatever finish it had on it. I recommend doing this outside, since it's probably somewhat toxic. :kotzen:

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Post by space_ryerson » Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:52 pm

I know this goes against the grain of a lot of things I've read, but I've actually had a lot of luck with RatShack irons. I have and older cheapo one, which works well if you keep the tip clean, but tends to run a little hotter than I would like, and a digital variable temp one which I've only been using for a couple of months, but works great. I'm not saying that either of these are phenominal, but I've also owned some not so good ones from Weller as well as Radio Shack.

The real breakthrough for me with soldering was realizing that cleaning my tip often makes things a lot easier. I know it seems obvious, but I thought I only had to clean it every now and again.

Other than an iron, solder, cutter/stripper, multimeter; I would get a solder sucker, some desoldering braid, a pair or small hemostats, and some sort of clamp grabber thing (like the one Brian suggested in the other thread). Oh, and if you get into building more than kits, a breadboard is a wonderful thing to own.

Harry
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Post by Harry » Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:53 am

I'm having trouble finding parts.
specifically..... A/B switch for a stomp box...1/4 inch jack for a guitar and a volume pot for another guitar.
No luck at the local stores?

I'm sure they are available at the sites mentioned earlier in this thread but there's so much stuff there I can't find them.

Is there someplace that deals in stuff like guitar parts, and or stomp box parts,and or amp parts????
Thanks
Harry
(BTW I did pick up an iron(40w) solder(60/40) and some cutters at the local shack for under $20)

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:20 pm

I think the two catalogs mentioned have them it just takes a little time to find the part you want maybe..

cheaper irons are fine..they kind of get shot a lot faster than a nice one though..so either get one nice one or keep using the throw-aways..I'm currently using throw-aways..then buying another..its actually more expensive..get one with a removable tip so you can put new ones on at least..

Harry
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Post by Harry » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:31 pm

I'll order the catalogs....might be easier to find than the site?

parts are not all created equally right?...like a Gibson volume pot has 1,2 and 10 but a Fender has a nice sweep that includes 3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
(this has been my experience anyway)
Is this due to the pot or the pickups?
And switches....some seem pretty cheap and some are smooth?
I want to get the good stuff if I can.

As far as the cheap iron goes...I'll be pretty proud of myself if I wear one out at this point.:>)
Thanks
Harry

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:36 pm

guitar tek is kind of Greek to me man..but with mixer faders..the good ones are usually expensive like the P&G's that are used on nice consoles are about a couple hundred each..

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Post by joel hamilton » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:57 pm

beard_of_bees wrote:guitar tek is kind of Greek to me man..but with mixer faders..the good ones are usually expensive like the P&G's that are used on nice consoles are about a couple hundred each..
Where can you get P&G's these days? I have been looking with no luck...
Not looking hard, but just searching via google doesnt yeild much...

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Post by idylldon » Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:09 pm

joel hamilton wrote:Where can you get P&G's these days? I have been looking with no luck...
Not looking hard, but just searching via google doesnt yeild much...
Here: http://www.manquen.net/

They ain't cheap and I have no affiliation with the place.

Cheers,
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Don

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