Thought I’d try making a lead that will let me run my BBC Micro and Acorn Electron through a scart socket on the TV. This requires some resistors, cable, a scart socket and a 6 DIN plug.

My soldering is crap. I have managed to melt the DIN plug so all the pins are now out of line. I think I’ll give up on soldering. I should have just bought one from eBay from the off.

If you don't try you won't know. Well done for trying anyway.

Reminds me of the time I tried to fix my sister's laptop. It was a Dell Inspiron and developed a well known fault of the DC jack no longer working so the laptop wouldn't charge/power up. I duly read the service manual, stripped it down and tried to melt the solder points with a soldering iron. For the love of me I could not get it to melt (apparently something to do with the solder/process used) and I ended up having to chuck it away.

I don’t see how people can solder so neatly. I always manage to make a huge splodge of solder. I think this was just too intricate for me.

Clean work, clean iron. Keep the tip clean, and wipe it clean on the damp sponge before taking it to the work. Apply the iron to the work, bring the solder to it, and keep it on the work only long enough for the solder to melt and make the joint.

For fine work it helps having an adjustable temperature-controlled iron with interchangeable tips.

A potential spanner in the works these days is lead-free solder. The lead in the old-fashioned cored electrical solder helped it to flow under heat. Now it needs more heat to flow properly, risking damage to the work.

Not forgetting needing five hands. One to hold the soldering iron, one the solder, and a few more to keep the work in place. At some stage, something moves at a critical point. Usually wire pinging out f the hole in the pin it's meant to be in.

The downside today was the solder not going into the pin at the right time, the plastic melting and the pin going out of line.

So I have to either buy another plug and try again, or try to heat the current one up and realign it.

The trick is to cut away the existing dc jack then you can de-solder the solder tails whilst pulling on them with tweezers. I fixed a couple of laptops doing it that way, just the other week.


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I expect it's salvageable but only with a new DIN plug. I'm just bloody annoyed that it was that easy to make a mess of it.

This is so that I can take a couple of old computers to the school next week to show the kids doing Code Club that this is how computers used to be.

Gf said I should get a case for my phone yesterday, had it 5 months and it's still in good shape

"nah it'll be fine I said"


Dropped it 3 separate times today and wrecked the back of the case *facepalm*

I have cases for mine but never really use them that much.

The usual problem is that the "average" soldering iron has a broad (4 - 5mm head). For electronics work, you need a point head.

The usual problem is that the "average" soldering iron has a broad (4 - 5mm head). For electronics work, you need a point head.[/quote]I have a pointed head on my soldering iron. Oddly, the "how to" videos I have been watching on YiuTube all use flat heads.

Oh, well. I have ordered a lead from eBay. Costs a tenner. I'll be persevering with this one - but I'll have to get a new part on Saturday.

When repairing my car I tried to solder some wire. It worked but the end result was seriously messy. In the end I stripped it off and used these bad boys with a heat gun. Hands down the best way to join a wire I've ever come across http://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/926/category/9