Almost all of the constructional articles apppearing in SILICON CHIP involve soldering to make electrical
connections.
With modern tools and solder, most readers are able to do a
good job. However, an understanding of the soldering process, plus some practical experience, can make for reliability and professional appearance.
Typically, a project will involve a PC (printed circuit) board
plus some ICs, discrete transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors and so on: all new and shiny with leads finished with materials specially designed for easy soldering.
You have a length of solder wire and a small soldering "iron".
The solder is placed to touch, say, a resistor lead and PC board track to be joined. The soldering iron tip is applied to the solder (more often than not, in the form of a thin wire). The solder wire melts and molten solder flows over the two component leads. The soldering iron tip is then moved away and the solder solidifies in a few seconds and leaves a reliable connection.
In most cases, it is that easy. But it's not always so. For
example, the solder may not flow over the component leads - it may look like it has but the lead is not actually coated. Or it may have moved before the joint solidifies. Or the heat of the solder might have damaged the component...
