OARC Soldering Skill Workshop – Winter 2027
Join us for the OARC Soldering Skills Workshop – Winter 2027!
Wayne, VE3CZO has been “learning to solder” for over 60 years, always learning as the tools and technology continue to evolve. This workshop will provide you with the tools and techniques to make your soldering results effective and hopefully enjoyable. Improving your soldering skills, much like many sports, also depends on practice…that’s up to you.
The workshop will span six sessions (see workshop outline below), each will have a how-to lecture portion followed by a skills development session.
Dates: Six (6) Sundays (6 Dec, 10 Jan, 17 Jan, 24 Jan, 31 Jan, 7 Feb)
Time: 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
Cost: $31 (includes basic soldering materials like tweezers, side cutters, solder, solder wick and paste, practice components and kit)
Location: IBEW Education Center, 1178 Rainbow Street, Ottawa, Ontario
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER AND PAY FOR THE SOLDERING SKILLS WORKSHOP [LINK NOT YET ACTIVE]
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WORKSHOP OUTLINE
Session 1 (6 Dec): Tools of the trade and consumables you are going to need and how much you should spend.
Then there will be a one-month break so that you have the opportunity to acquire stuff.
Session 2 (10 Jan): Soldering wires together. How to create several types of joints for various needs and how to waterproof them. Participants will be supplied with wire, solder, and weatherproofing materials.
Session 3 (17 Jan): Solder leaded components into a printed circuit board then remove some of them. We will demonstrate the best techniques and show how to tell a good solder joint from a bad one. Participants will be provided with both a number of components and a PCB. Together we will examine the quality of the solder joints to provide feedback as the soldering task progresses.
Session 4 (24 Jan): Surface Mount. After a talk about how to best solder a variety of surface mount components, participants will be provided with both SMD parts and a PCB, and will install different components the remove some. Together we will provide feedback on the soldering quality and participants will also be able to inspect their solder joints using a microscope.
Session 5 (31 Jan): Kit building. The participants will be provided a simple kit that has both thru hole and SMD components.
Session 6 (7 Feb): More kit building. Finish the kit started in session 5, bring your own kit, or select one from a variety of kits I will have on hand. This time can also be used to review and ask questions about any aspect of soldering.