I've composed this article to specifically target those of you that seem to be terrified of trying to solder wires to an electrical object or component. SPPS sells the Spli-switch for those of you that may be reluctant to try but soldering isn't really that difficult when using the correct tools, supplies and knowledge. Sure, soldering these types of objects may be a bit more costly because there's an added investment of tools and supplies to absorb but that's just it......purchasing tools shouldn't really be considered a loss of funds but are in fact, an investment.

Tools & Supplies

Choosing the correct tools and supplies are very important when soldering. For instance: if you try to solder a very thin 24 gauge wire to a small electrical component with a 100 watt soldering gun using thick gauge solder, you're headed for trouble. The gun will generate too much heat and when contacting it to the thick gauge solder may leave a gigantic glob of solder on the component and wire or may even be so heavy and hot it will just keep rolling off the intended union. Did I mention generating so much heat you melt the component you're trying to solder the wires to ha ha!? Same goes for the opposite situation. If you're trying to join some thick wires of a car wiring harness using a 20 watt soldering iron and some minute gauge solder, it's just not going to happen! The soldering iron will not get the wires hot enough to accept the little tiny bead of solder yielded from the thin gauge solder you're trying to use. It will most likely leave a small drop of solder laying on top of the wire and after it's cooled, drop off.

I'm going to suggest some tools and materials that apply to soldering small gauge wires and components that pertain to paintball marker electronics such as boards, components and wires that attach to the boards.

• 20-40 watt soldering gun/iron
• .032-.062 diameter rosin core solder
• Wire insulation stripping tool
• Soldering work station
• 20+ gauge stranded wire

As mentioned above, the soldering iron you use should match the gauge wires and solder you use. Choose flux/rosin core solder because the flux/rosin itself is an acid that cleans the surfaces to be soldered while soldering and promotes adhesion. Using a wire-stripping tool will remove only the plastic insulation and not the strands of wires it encapsulates. A soldering workstation is a tool that consists of a heavy base, has alligator clamps on mechanical arms attached to hold wires and components and some even have a magnifying glass attached for those tiny jobs tough to see with the naked eye. The thinner the wire you use, the less resistance conducted. This means that the thicker the wire the less power it will conduct or let pass through it and the thinner the wire the more power it will conduct or let pass through it. The low voltage used in electronic paintball markers requires thinner gauged wires since there is little current utilized to operate the electronics. When replacing or adding wires, it's best to duplicate whatever is currently being used on the existing electronics to be safe.

Soldering Tips

Ha ha.......no pun intended but come to think of it, the soldering tips you use are an important aspect of the soldering task as well. For our intended applications here, I would suggest using a thin pointed tip on the soldering gun or iron. A large flat tip is just not intended for intricate soldering tasks such as the soldering theme intended here.

Now I'll will leave you with some random tips in the slang not literal sense. Please remember this: I cannot completely spoon feed you everything. You must rely on some common sense of your own. If you are apprehensive but still wish to try this on your own, I would suggest practicing to the side first with some objects that will incur no great loss. Some old electronic component you may have thrown in the back of the closet and were about to throw away anyhow or such is good practice material. Your own little Frankenstein can opener or radio with 15 additional practice wires perhaps. Please......don't plug it in! After you have built up some confidence then jump into that major or minor project you have in mind

• Make a workstation platform from an old board to work on. This is something you will not need to worry about burning, marring or disfiguring while soldering your projects.

• Make sure the soldering gun/iron is completely hot before attempting to solder your wire or component. The way I test my iron is by touching it momentarily to the workstation board. Once I see it’s hot enough to burn the wood I know it’s hot enough to start soldering the project.

• Use some sort of metal or ceramic caddy if you are using a soldering iron so it doesn't roll off the work surface you are using while not in use.

• When using an old soldering gun/iron, occasionally sand the old accumulated residue from the tip of the soldering gun/iron till you see bare metal. If you do not, the residue creates a coating that restricts the heat generated by the tip. In affect this will make it more difficult for the solder to melt quickly. As stated earlier, be sure to match the output wattage of the soldering gun/iron with the gauge of the solder and the spectrum of the project you’re working on. If you don’t, you can rest assured concerns will arise.

• If you’re trying to remove old solder from an object, simply heating it and trying to use the tip to remove it may not work that sufficiently to remove all of the solder. You’ll find that heating the solder then immediately tapping the object lightly on a hard surface while still in a fluid state will remove most all of the old solder from the object.

• Try to work as quickly as possible. The longer you hold the gun/iron to a wire or object, the hotter it’s going to get.  Holding the gun/iron too long on a wire and it will melt the insulation from it. Holding it too long to a component can melt the material the component is made of or can literally burn out some intricately composed electronic components.

• When soldering an item, touch the preheated gun or iron to the object first then touch the solder to the tip and let the solder melt down into the object you're soldering. Don't lay the solder on the item first then touch the gun/iron to it.

• While soldering, keep a cotton rag such as an old t-shirt handy and wipe the tip of the gun/iron on the rag to rid it of any excess solder or residue. Do this every time you touch the solder to the tip of the gun/iron.

• When solder will not stick to a wire or component, chances are the iron is either too hot or too cold for the application you’re working on or you are not using flux or a resin cored solder.

• Since you only have 2 hands, it is at times tough to solder while holding the component and/or wire at the same time. If you cannot find or afford a soldering workstation, try to at least have some alligator clips handy to help hold things in the right position while you solder the components together. An extra pair of hands in the form of an assistant will suffice as well.

• Always unplug a soldering iron after use and put it in a safe place so others that are not aware that it’s still hot are not prone to inadvertently burning themselves on it. Unplugging it will also evade any fires that could be caused by its contact with low combustion materials.

• Last but not least: By all means, don’t burn yourself. 

Well there you have it. No real big secret but just a little bit of common sense. It's certainly not everything you'll need to know but it's a good start anyways. I may add more random facts to this article in the future as they come to light. The greatest knowledge you will acquire is through experience and practice. If you never try it, you'll never know how simple it really is.

For those of you looking to solder your own micro switch into your markers you can see how to add the switch to your marker in the Spyder Micro Switch Replacement article in the SPPS tech info section. SPPS offers 2 solder yourself switches, the 'Good' switch and the 'Best' switch. I'd venture to say the SPPS Best switch will be the best you will find available anywhere for your Spyder or clone. And for those of you still a little apprehensive, the Spli-switch is always available for the quick splice-it-in installation.