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Best Solder and supplier?


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Evening all

My reel of flux cored solder which must be 30years old at least is unfortunately almost done. I tried using some supplied with my gas iron and it was shall we say well C..P. It must be some kind of lead free stuff.

Can those folk with an interest in electronics and thing electric recommend the best product to buy?

Thanks

Andy   

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Plenty of  '60/40 tin-lead rosin cored solder' available on e-bay Andy but mind the diameter.  Some on offer is a bit thin for normal use

This should be OK - 'multicore' was always  good stuff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325148078144?hash=item4bb455f040:g:wJsAAOSwnk9iWaAf

 

 

Edited by RobH
typo
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54 minutes ago, RogerH said:

free next working day  delivery

Roger,

Although they say free delivery, there have been occasions when I've ordered stuff from RS and then discovered that there were "Exceptions" to the free delivery, and I have been charged.

Charlie.

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It's only free if you spend £30, or if you have a business account.

I used to have one (from work) & it still worked after I retired for some years, but sadly no more.

 

Online orders

For business account customers, delivery is free on all orders. For private accounts and guest checkout customers, delivery is free for orders over £30. ¹ For orders under £30, there is a charge of £4.95.

 

Bob

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21 hours ago, Lebro said:

It's only free if you spend £30, or if you have a business account.

I used to have one (from work) & it still worked after I retired for some years, but sadly no more.

 

Online orders

For business account customers, delivery is free on all orders. For private accounts and guest checkout customers, delivery is free for orders over £30. ¹ For orders under £30, there is a charge of £4.95.

 

Bob

Their prices are so high you will easily spend £30  :lol::o

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Come back my high street Maplins ….all is forgiven.

I am a firm believer in using flux on every soldered joint.   I was told as an apprentice flux not only cleaned the metals but provided an heat sink to even out the temperature.

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Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
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Be VERY careful with flux.  Unless it specifically states it is for electrical joints, do not use it for that work.  Normal metalworking flux is corrosive and electrical joints made using it will fail in time.  Much safer to use rosin-cored solder which does not need extra flux.  

(I agree about Maplins, though towards the end I seem to recall they stopped stocking tin/lead solder and went entirely lead-free.  Horrible stuff. They did morph into more of a a toy-shop but it was still useful to be able to get the odd component locally). 

Edited by RobH
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22 minutes ago, RogerH said:

it looks like they are still out there but 'On-line' only

Not much in the way if components though - it looks to be just the 'toys' bit. 

Tandy had the same sort of failing business-model, but about a decade earlier I think.  Still going in the US as Radio Shack. 

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2 hours ago, RobH said:

Not much in the way if components though - it looks to be just the 'toys' bit. 

Tandy had the same sort of failing business-model, but about a decade earlier I think.  Still going in the US as Radio Shack. 

Radio Shack in the US was a great place to empty your wallet whenever I was in the States. Managers deal of the day was always the first thing to look at ;)

Stuart.

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Must be getting old Tandy, Maplins and if you lived in Leeds Headingly Radio Spares amongst other Aladdin's caves for ex MOD valve tackle and components. Spent many an hour rummaging though what many would describe as junk in search of parts to build DIY HI FI amps based on Leak, Quad and Williamson's circuit designs as I was skint 

Then there was the amateur radio rallies another good source of interesting gear  including my last reel of solder- Ah all gone replaced with with a true description of junk namely computer junk. 

Kids don't know what they have missed!

Andy

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13 minutes ago, PodOne said:

Must be getting old Tandy, Maplins and if you lived in Leeds Headingly Radio Spares amongst other Aladdin's caves

Or rather further back, Henry's Radio in the Edgware Road,  Laskey's in Tottenham Court Road, Home Radio in Mitcham,  various surplus shops in Lisle Street, Shop-on-the-Bridge in Reading........

There used to be a wonderful shop in Reading called Sergeants (I think) which sold anything for the mechanical workshop from a slide-rule to a  milling machine.  I bought a pocket-size six-inch slide-rule there, that saw me through college. 

 

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6 minutes ago, RobH said:

Or rather further back, Henry's Radio in the Edgware Road,  Laskey's in Tottenham Court Road, Home Radio in Mitcham,  various surplus shops in Lisle Street, Shop-on-the-Bridge in Reading........

There used to be a wonderful shop in Reading called Sergeants (I think) which sold anything for the mechanical workshop from a slide-rule to a  milling machine.  I bought a pocket-size six-inch slide-rule there, that saw me through college. 

 

Forgot about Laskey's. There was one in Leeds as well.

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37 minutes ago, Charlie D said:

Who remembers Fluxite?

It's still available Charlie - I have a tin in the garage. Not for electrical use though !  

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My go to shop for electonic parts was Watts Radio in Kingston Apple Market, & there was on in Surbiton as well, but it's name escapes me.

Then there was Basic Electronics in Guildford.

Bob

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Electrovalue - in Englefield Green were very good in the late 60's early 70's and were bigger than RS Comps for quite some time.

They then dwindled. Still around but on-line only.

 

Roger

Edited by RogerH
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15 minutes ago, RogerH said:

bigger than RS Comps

Somewhere I think I still have a Radio Spares catalogue from the 1960's.  It's about 40 pages of A5 size and is just bits for radios and TVs - line output transformers, big wire-wound mains droppers and that sort of thing.  Also they would only sell to the trade then. They've come a long way.

 

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Hi Rob,

 I have the same catalogue. I wonder if RS HQ would like it.

At BEA one of the electronics genius's would make instrumentation for our NDT inspections and used Electrovalue to get his ferrite rids and cups. 

They stocked a huge selection. 

 

Roger

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For solder and other electronics type stuff you might try CPC who have a lower £17.50+VAT threshold for free shipping. I think of them as part way between Maplin and RS or Farnell and in fact they're owned by the same people as Farnell. I have an account with them but it seems pretty easy to register or buy without an account.

 

17 hours ago, RobH said:

Shop-on-the-Bridge in Reading........

There used to be a wonderful shop in Reading called Sergeants (I think) which sold anything for the mechanical workshop from a slide-rule to a  milling machine.  I bought a pocket-size six-inch slide-rule there, that saw me through college. 

Rob, I remember those shops. There used to be 2 or 3 "radio shops" on Kings Road but one by one they closed leaving the more electrical "Shop on the Bridge". That moved to the other end of town in the 90's and I see it only recently closed.

Sergeants was opposite the Butts Centre and, as you say, was an "Aladan's Cave" of mechanical tools. They moved out to Cardiff Road in the 80's I think and didn't last much longer. I still have a set of tiny Allen Keys with their branding on and some other tools.

Perhaps too biased to s/h electronics test equipment, but maybe you remember Chiltmead, which was renamed Stewart of Reading in the 70's. They advertised in places like Wireless World and are still going, albeit in Mortimer.

Cheers, Richard

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1 hour ago, Spit_2.5PI said:

For solder and other electronics type stuff you might try CPC who have a lower £17.50+VAT threshold for free shipping. I think of them as part way between Maplin and RS or Farnell and in fact they're owned by the same people as Farnell. I have an account with them but it seems pretty easy to register or buy without an account.

Cheers, Richard

Yes I use CPC also, they do good deals on "bulk buys" things like batteries etc. They are part of the Farnell group

Bob

Edited by Lebro
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