Outside of a few specific cases, a standard chisel tip is all you need. Yes, even for surface mount.
The wires found in some thin flexible cables (like USB or headphone cables) are sometimes coated. Solder won’t stick unless you get it hot enough to burn off the coating, or scrape it off before soldering.
This was a few months ago so I can’t recall a lot of the specifics unfortunately.
What I can recall was using a 90w Ali Express soldering iron with a conical tip to solder a damaged original Xbox controller cable. The leaded solder seemed slow to melt on the tip but wouldn’t melt to the wire when I applied heat on the under side.
Sorry I can’t tell you more. I was looking to do some practice this weekend and wanted to know if I should be ordering a thicker tip or something.
The temperature is set too low. The solder should melt almost instantly when applied to the tip if the iron is set to 350°C.
Those fine point conical tips that typically come with soldering irons are terrible. Get a 2-3mm chisel tip, that will be suitable for most soldering jobs.
Wattage does not mean how hot it gets, it means how fast it gets to the desired temperature. Also Chinese vendors tend to exaggerate greatly with specifications, especially with cheap products.
As a young child, I had a wooden board with a bunch of different light switches mounted to it. Nothing to tinker with, but I had a lot of fun with the physical sensation of switching them on and off. I think that’s all you can really ask for at that age.
Later on, I enjoyed taking the switches apart, figuring out how they work and using them in my electronics projects.
My point is, whatever you choose should be physically fun, even without understanding it. A few switches and maybe a blinking light can entertain a toddler for a long time. The tinkering can come later.
Play memory or with a wooden kitchen. I’d say 3 is too young. you can get some basic electronics kits for children. just visit one of the toy stores. But playing with electronics and doing experiments starts being fun at around 5 to 8 years. Maybe playing with an extension cord at 4. but you wouldn’t want to encourage a little kid to play with extension cords, plugs and mains power…
Don’t worry, we’re already doing all the typical toddler games and I’m not keen on raising a STEM child prodigy. That’s why I asked for hands-on experiences with prodcuts specifically for toddlers.
Alright. I think i misread things and thought you were after an (strictly) educational kit. Just wanted to say that. We gifted an (quite comprehensive) electronics kit to a seven year old and that seems to be a good age to start. but under 5 i can’t see a kid having the attention span, dexterity or mental abilities to grasp concepts aside from on/off, this is a light and this is a switch. but i may be wrong. there is certainly no harm in starting too early. i just think it wont be fun or of value for a 3 or 4 year old. in my experience they get bored quickly if you try and convey theoretical concepts. at that age i see kids playing with wooden tools, train their dexterity with a small hammer and nails game. or mimick their parents and play something like cooking or doing the dishes, that has something to do with their every day life. nonetheless. try it. i’ll bookmark this and read all the ideas and experiences of other people. maybe i’m completely wrong. one thing i observed kids are interested in all kinds of silly stuff. and they start asking questions as soon as they can. and i believe it is a good thing to encourage them in asking questions and figuring out concepts and how things (including physics) work.
edit: some dads build a big wooden box with (old) sturdy buttons, switches, indicator lamps, a vandalism-proof keypad, etc for their toddlers. i saw a few blog posts years ago. But that was completely DIY. I don’t think it teaches anything but dexterity, but toddlers like pressing buttons. And it’s a cool project. And a few years later you can use it as the main console for your imaginary space ship. ( youtube.com/watch?v=j6zseFi070E )
Get them working on their mathematic skills, instead. You can give them a really good head start - mine could solve simple differential equations at age 11.
maybe something like littlebits kit? I haven't tried them myself, but they look fun, educational and kids friendly (not sure about 3yo thou) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7B0mWvnE1Q
The oscillator is creating both DC and AC. The DC component is the average value of the signal. In the case of your 0-10v square wave, that is 5v. The AC compnent is the part of the signal that changes. The effect of the capacitor is to block the DC component, leaving only the AC component. The waveform is shifted vertically to be centered around 0v.
Growing up I usually had a little 50 in one or 100 in one electronics project kit.
Keeps all the stuff on one kit, and you connect wires under little springs. Still adult supervision required for sure, but on the upper range of what’s possible.
Breadboard is a cool idea, but your first experiments will likely be super simple right?
Here’s a few thoughts.
How about some double conducting copper tape and sheets of craft paper or cardboard. (Double conducting conducts on the top as well as the sticky side so overlapping joins completes the circuit).
You can draw/plan and then route the copper sticky tape like a circuit board. Fashion basic switches from the copper tape around a cardboard flap, tape down any “flat” components like resistors.
Add some tinned leads to anything that would stick up from the board.
I often find the more tactile “MacGyver” approach is a better teaching aid as there’s no mystery behind the scenes (no hidden board wires, no pre-mounted components or connectors). Everything is built up from existing skills and experiences.
When you start to get more advanced, 80s Aussie kids grew up with:
That has a complete list of components needed for the projects in the book. Same idea as the copper tape, just with bits of wire and screws. The project in the book were all built onto a pre-drilled block of plastic with the schematic laid on top. They were fun little projects and easy enough to do - the flashers and sirens were a hit for me.
I really like the cardboard approach. Maybe I can come up with something on a plywood basis. Copper tape is a great idea. Also thanks for the link, I imagined something like this just a little bigger and sturdier and with more basic components (resistors included with the LED for example). Will save the book for later.
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