Pretty nice product as long as you're careful
Pretty nice product as long as you're careful.
I used these to put together a stereo unit for my car. I'm terrible at soldering, and I don't even currently have a soldering iron so these were a life saver. Since I heard of so many people saying they destroyed the plastic when trying to heat the solder, I got some shrink wrap as well for my jobs.
I ended up shrink wrapping over all of the tubes, but honestly I didn't even need it. I used a heat gun to first shrink tube the outsides, then I used the heat gun (low setting) on the solder in the center. I didn't overheat it at any point, and it never destroyed the plastic. It was interesting to see it work as well. The heat softened up the solder and then it expanded into the copper. I did take care not to put the heat gun too close (I was maybe half an inch away from the product with the gun) but it didn't really seem like it made a difference either way. With the right amount of heat, the solder expanded and the plastic didn't get destroyed. I'm sure if I left it on too long it would have melted the plastic but it was fine for me. I also took my time and wasn't trying to rush anything which could have helped.
All in all though, this is some good stuff. The connections were solid, and the radio works perfectly with no issues. I'll have no problems using this in the future.
July 27, 2016