Need help soldering.

samsam7

I'm attempting to replace the drivers on a pair of headphones and I found a 30 watt generic and brand new soldering iron. I'm wondering if this is too high a wattage for working with headphones and small gauge wires? This is the only DIY project I'll be doing for the foreseeable future so I'm not gonna be springing for a temp controlled soldering station or anything like that. Will this 30 watt be ok or should I pick up something weaker?

Also, I know the proper technique for soldering components to a PCB, but for headphones, I'll be soldering stripped wire to exposed metal tabs. How should I go about doing this? Should I be resting the wire on the tab and then heating the tab and applying the solder or...?

It should look just like this after all is said and done:

http://cdn.head-fi.org/b/ba/1000x500px-LL-ba62099b_hd555driver_2.jpg

acidlacedpenguin

30w isn't too much but it certainly increases the chance of burning the board or components, so make sure it's hot enough for the solder and try not to hold it down for too long.

for wires, what I like to do is tin the wire beforehand, flux and tin the connector tab, then hold the tinned wire against the tab with the iron tip, the solder on either end of the connection will melt into each other, the wire will sink down to the tab, then simply add solder if there isn't enough already there. It might not be the proper way of doing it but so far it has worked out for me.

samsam7

Ok cool, pretty much every technique I've seen or read says you're supposed to actively be adding and melting the solder but I've only seen examples for pcb parts that are held into place. I just don't want to mess this up since the headphones are kinda expensive and obviously sound quality after I finish is paramount. I've picked up some cardas quad euctectic solder for a few bucks as well, which apparently has a low melting point.

Madpanda

I've actually done this before, not on those specific headphones but the same operation pretty much. The method described above works well.

I just heated the connector tab for a second and fed a small bit of roisin core solder onto it. Then tinned the wires, if they are stranded make sure to twist the crap out of them, place wire over connector pad, apply iron from the top, wire will melt into the pad.

Judging by the pictures the solder pads are similar size to the ones I was using, which is freaking huge compared to normal pcb soldering.

You can use the activly adding method when working on the connector tab, but unless you have helping hands or alligator clips it will be a pain in the ass.