Airsoft Forums UK

I gave up and paid someone £20 to change 4 batteries and 3 guns

i dont find them that bad, strip& tin the wire, pop on your heatshrink, pre-apply a big blob to the deans spade then melt the 2 together.

a little bench clamp/vice really helps the process.

200% agree on vice, though at a push molegrips holding them, taped to bench

ANYTHING - just to free up a hand




I use a bit of flux and scratch/key the surface with a pointy file or something, just to ensure it sticks like shit to a blanket

As Luke showed, solder the connectors as a pair, saves the contacts going skewed under a bit of heat

(have to go some on deans but tiny bespoke connectors, like old keyboard AT/PS2 connectors those pins soon melted outta shape, so using the pair: male/female helped keep then in line during soldering)

Also use good solder, and the correct/iron heat for it

using cheapo poundland solder or stuff for plumbing like 500 degrees solder melt with a 10w iron is not gonna work out well

a great big 50w iron and chisel tip for switch contacts is not wise either

a 20w~25w with a tiny flat or medium pointed tip will do both fine stuff like mosfet/switch contacts & deans

A lot of agro is down to shit solder/wrong choice of solder/iron/tip/power

rest is refining your technique, vice, not cutting two lipo wires at one - BOOOM etc....

and a bit of practice - that's all

Once the deans is firmly held in vice/taped down

tin the deans & wire,

you got a hand free to hold wire then just melt the two together

pressing down on iron a little, away with iron, hold wire in place

blow on it to cool quickly if you wish - job done 

I previously had XT60s on my guns, and they were a dream to solder with their nice socket. Swapping to deans just because I don't want double standards..

How come everyone is assuming I can't solder?

"How come everyone is assuming I can't solder?"

well it is hardly titchy SMD components like needing a skilled surgeon

I mean it is a pretty chunky area to weld away on

if you are having grief, try keying the area and tray a bit of flux

once the two parts are tinned, then solder will stick to solder like shit to blanket

soldering is just one of those things folk seem to take weirdly seriously.

at the risk of angering the electrical engineers: i never use flux......

I was just ranting about deans not being overengineered like XTs.

Still, took me 10 minutes to do 4 batteries, 2 guns and a usb charging thingy.

No flux was used.

Flux, flux  and more flux!

Colophony is dirt cheap for a tin, like £2 a tin on ebay. It makes any soldering job 100% easier. It's a glass like resin, If you want a liquid type dissolve a chunk in some isopropanol. If you use it in solid for you melt it with the iron then let it flow off the iron onto the bits you want to solder.

You get faster heat transfer, and the solder just wets out instantly. Seriously if you hate soldering it'll make your life so much easier.

You don't need to clean afterwards, but if you want things perfect just a little isopropanol will remove any leftovers.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40g-for-the-price-20g-tin-Solid-soldering-flux-COLOPHONY-KALAFONIA/121041198430?epid=1123157031&hash=item1c2e9e1d5e%3Ag%3Ac-UAAOxysE5SbCg8&LH_BIN=1

When I was modding consoles way back

I used a fibreglass pen to clean the area I was soldering to

(to clean up any mask/coating & key copper pads/resistors)



That way the thin Kynar 30awg wrapping wire for mod, soldered asap

without too much heat or fuss (pulling off a track/smd resistor)

mind you my first attempts did not go well using poundland stuff

& cheapo ebay 50w MIG welder iron etc...

I bought a decent comprehensive soldering kit with bits n bobs

(de-solder pump, tweezers, spare tips, stand and solder with a bit of FLUX)

Fuck me, what a difference it made for about £15 (bought two in fact)

bit of flux, wipe off excess to avoid yellowy solder, and tttsssszzz - perfect

yes you can get by without flux & use this or that - but it can help/assist

as i said - a lot of easy success is having the right decent stuff to begin with

than perhaps struggle making do at a push - I don't need that...

You don't "have to" key/clean the area or "don't have to" to use flux

just saying what I usually do, but to each their own if it works

But a vice or other pair of hands really helps too

Dunno whether this was just my mindset or not but I had huge issues soldering a "cheap" pack of Deans I got from eBay. When I saw the light and bought better quality connectors they seemed to solder a lot better.

probably cheap slightly alloy copper, knocked out in a Chinese sweat shop, with the sweat still on the deans - hence bit of grief soldering

(if possible check/prep/clean surfaces prior to soldering)

but whatever works best for ya

+1 on that. Had awful trouble soldering on some of the cheaper ones that came free with an order.

Tried the WS Deans ones and had no bother at all.