General My first soldering attempt

[sneezy007]

Hey guys,

Been watching lots of videos on soldering. I need to solder 5.5mm bullets to a Castle ESC.
The ESC has 10 gauge wire which is pretty thick. I gave it a go yesterday but because the wire is so thick I couldn't get the solder to flow into the wire to tin it. I ended up putting solder on the iron and kind of spreading it around. The soldering iron I am using was set at 750 degrees but the ESC wire was getting pretty warm so I started getting worried. Most of the videos I've seen for these bullet connectors are the cup design. These ones are from HK and they have an open half cup design. I couldn't find any videos for this type of connector.

Anyhow these are the pictures of my work. Does this look ok?

Thanks,
Dino

 

[trainrider06]

There is one of those wires that is not properly tinned, you can see the copper of the wire on it.
Those thicker wires can be a pain to do, but I use the 5 sec rule, for one make sure your tip has solder tinned on it. It won't make a good contact to the wire if not. Also use a screw driver tip on the iron, the round tips will take for ever!
I don't like those half open connectors but those in the pic need to be attached better it looks like.
For larger bullet connectors I will tin my wire end, then take a bakers torch and heat the connector to melt the solder into the connector end. You have to do it quickly with the torch but it works great.
Something that has been a good investment for me is this...
And this.....

 

[Smoggie]

Dino,

Those need a bit more work. Big bullets can be hard to solder, the thick wire sucks the heat away so you need a powerful iron preferably with a 'chisel' shape tip rather than the pencil point ones that are used for fine soldering. It looks very much like you need to get more heat into the joint until the solder flows.

Here's one I soldered five minutes ago, yours should look similar, solder filling up the cup, forming a smooth fillet and being fully absorbed into the strands of the wire rather than sitting on the wire in 'blobs'.


If the solder runs a bit it's no big deal, you can remove it with a file later. If we weren't thousands of miles apart i'd say pop round and I'd give you some pointers.

 

[trainrider06]

There ya go now that's a good solder job! It'll just take some time and experience to get it right, I always to a tug test grabbing the wire and connector giving it a yank to test it.

 

[Tony]

On bullets with silicone wire, don't worry about getting them too hot. Heat the hell out of them. Tin the wire and make sure the solder is completely through the wires from one side to the other. Then, heat the bullet again, push the wire in and wait until you see the solder on the WIRE melt meaning you have heated everything. From there, remove heat and you have a perfect solder joint.

 

[Heliman450]

There ya go now that's a good solder job! It'll just take some time and experience to get it right, I always to a tug test grabbing the wire and connector giving it a yank to test it.

Hi Rodney! Don't forget to let the joint cool before you grab it

 

[murankar]

For the new guy soldering. Make sure you use something to hold the bullets secure without sucking the heat out. I like to use a block of wood with holes drilled to match the bullets. Then I proceed to solder the bullets. When I did my RC Pro Plus connector I did something different. I tinned the wire like normal but then I slid the wire into the bullet. Got both nice and hot and then fed in solder around the wire. Worked just fine for me. Just remember to 1) Use a large tip on the soldering Iron; 2) Get the heat on and off as quickly as needed to get a good joint (prevents wicking); 3) Make sure the tip is CLEAN; and 4) Dont touch the end to test the heat level.

 

[PLANETGETLOW]

I usually tin both pieces with solder, then fill the cup 1/2 way, get the cup hot and put it in

 

[sneezy007]

Hey guys life has been busy the past couple of weeks. Thanks for all your tips.

Next question should I stick to bullet connectors or EC5? A fellow club member swears by EC5 and much prefer them.
I'm thinking of going to the EC5 because the spark freaks me out with the bullet connectors.

Cheers,
Dino

 

[trainrider06]

I use deans/ec3 connectors on my 450 size heli's. 500 and larger I use ec5's.
Only time I use a bullet by itself is to extend a wire, or you can solder the two together. But if your not that great a solderer probably be better to use bullets then shrink wrap them, and or tape or sleeve them.

 

[Smoggie]

EC5 are pretty popular and seem to work fine most of the time. I've seen a few people have problems with them due to overheating and 'de-soldering' themselves but usually only very hard flyers. Personally on my 700 size helis i use 5.5mm bullets because they are easier to series connect and more compact, BUT (and it's a big but) that are very easy to short circuit. I'm very careful these days and touch-wood dont have any issues, but when i first started using bullets i did have a couple of spectacular short circuits that gave me a nasty burn and damaged a battery or two.

After a while you get locked into a certain type of connector just because of the hassle of changing connectors on dozens of batteries, charging leads and ESC's. But if i were starting over today I'd probably go with Supra X connectors, they are the best available, though not cheap.

 

[Smoggie]

PS.. here's what a moment of inattention can do to bullet connectors:

 

[holtneil]

Hi guys I use the EC5s on my Goblin 630 I dont fly hard but are fine not had any problems , I also use the AS 150 antispark so there is no spark when plug it in
The only thing I will say on the EC5 if the wire will not fit through the plug so you can solder and pull it back through you can push the pug back in from the back of the plug but do it when the joint is still hot they pop in easier

 

[trainrider06]

PS.. here's what a moment of inattention can do to bullet connectors:
View attachment 16454

Unreal how that battery can burn something like that! I've sparked a battery or two when soldering ends on em. scary stuff!

 

[trainrider06]

Hi guys I use the EC5s on my Goblin 630 I dont fly hard but are fine not had any problems , I also use the AS 150 antispark so there is no spark when plug it in
The only thing I will say on the EC5 if the wire will not fit through the plug so you can solder and pull it back through you can push the pug back in from the back of the plug but do it when the joint is still hot they pop in easier

i try and snap mine is soon after soldering them it does help!

 

[KLA]

PS.. here's what a moment of inattention can do to bullet connectors:
View attachment 16454

I've never had any problems with my batteries on multiple helis, but I have had a full size car battery blow up on me. Took the battery out of the car and put it on the ground, hooked up a load tester and hit the load button, as soon as I hit the load button the battery exploded!! The bad thing is that on the load tester the cables are only about 18 inches long so you can test the battery while it is in the car. Luckily I had fast reflexes and was able to get my face turned fast enough that I didn't get any battery acid in my eyes. I ended up getting battery acid on one side of my face, my neck, my arms and all over my clothes. Any parts of my skin that got acid on it ended up with some pretty nasty burns and after I had washed my clothes they all looked like Swiss cheese from getting battery acid all over them. Overall, I guess I got pretty lucky cause I didn't get any acid in my eyes but it definitely scared the hell out of me. Until that day, I have never seen a car battery blow up like that.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi guys, I've been thinking of changing my connectors from Deans and have to admit as a relative rookie that I don't really understand all the names or recognise them when I see them. I googled a bit and came up with the following:

https://www.facebook.com/SUPRA-X-Connector-RCPROPLUS-CORP-140794192693371/

RC Radio Control Car, Truck, Heli, Airplane, Traxxas Hobby Store - RC Planet

I then searched for connectors and got almost 2500 results but no Supra X. I think I'll look further into Steve's Supra X as I have such a small 'fleet' I can afford the change sooner rather than later.

Cheers!

 

[Smoggie]

Phil,

For smaller helis with currents up to 60 amps I use Hobbyking XT60. They are a Deans direct alternative but in my opinion a much better connector for many reasons.. some of which:

• They have solder cups to insert the wire into so much easier to solder than Deans
• Both male and female plugs have shielded connectors so safer from shorting
• Easier to grip for making and breaking (deans can be a pain to separate)
• They are cheap and come standard on Hobbyking batteries

Hobbyking also do an XT90 and an XT90 AS (anti-spark) which are good for 90A constant and higher burst rating, I use these on my 600 size helis.

For the big stuff the Supra-X are worth a look for sure. I don't use them but I've seen their connectors and they are a notch above anything else: http://www.fast-lad.co.uk/store/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=supra+x&x=0&y=0

 

[Heliman450]

Cheers Steve, I'll do a count of what I need to convert everything and look for the best anti-spark option available for each current rating. I hate to see the connectors being slowly degraded, even on the smaller ones. I'm just fussy when it comes to cables

 

[Smoggie]

Some HV ESC's have anti spark circuits built in which negates any requirement for anti-spark connectors. The ESC's I know of with AS are the YGE HV series (and the YEP/RotorStar clones) plus the Hobbywing HV V4 range.

I'm not aware of any low voltage (6S) ESC's with AS.