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Beginner Relay Question

R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I'm playing around with some relays and need some guidance.

I have this relay:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480&cp

It's not going on a circuit board. I'm planning to just solder some wires
to the contacts with a 25 watt pencil iron.

Do I need to use a heat sink to protect the relay coils and contacts
inside?

Not if you use small wire (maybe #22-24), wrap it around the end of the
post, and don't linger too long (use a hot enough iron, and solder it
quickly; if you get a cold joint, let it cool completely before you try
again.)

Make sure everything's clean and shiny, and use a good flux-core solder,
like Kester 63-37, which RS also has.

Have Fun!
Rich
 
J

jasen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I'm playing around with some relays and need some guidance.

I have this relay:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480&cp


It's not going on a circuit board. I'm planning to just solder some
wires to the contacts with a 25 watt pencil iron.

Do I need to use a heat sink to protect the relay coils and contacts
inside?
Bob

No heatsink is needed. If you can make the joins with less than
about 5 seconds of direct heat on each pin (which shouldn't be
difficult) the relay will survive.
 
R

Ross Herbert

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi all,
I'm playing around with some relays and need some guidance.

I have this relay:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480&cp


It's not going on a circuit board. I'm planning to just solder some
wires to the contacts with a 25 watt pencil iron.

Do I need to use a heat sink to protect the relay coils and contacts
inside?
Bob

Many of the cheaper relays have their pins in plastic which won't take
direct soldering. Anything more than 2 seconds will see the pin being
soldered wilt sideways. If this happens you have to let it cool and
then judiciously apply more heat while straightening the pin and
holding it with pliers for a few seconds until it is once again in its
normal alignment. They are fine when mounted to a pcb and up to 4 or 5
seconds can be tolerated because the copper traces act as a heatsink.
 
J

John Popelish

Jan 1, 1970
0
AB said:
Hi all,
I'm playing around with some relays and need some guidance.

I have this relay:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480&cp


It's not going on a circuit board. I'm planning to just solder some
wires to the contacts with a 25 watt pencil iron.

Do I need to use a heat sink to protect the relay coils and contacts
inside?

Probably not. I think this unit is designed to be soldered
onto a printed circuit board, so it is designed to have its
pins soldered.
 
B

Bruce

Jan 1, 1970
0
AB said:
Hi all,
I'm playing around with some relays and need some guidance.

I have this relay:

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062480&cp


It's not going on a circuit board. I'm planning to just solder some
wires to the contacts with a 25 watt pencil iron.

Do I need to use a heat sink to protect the relay coils and contacts
inside?
Bob

Hi Bob,

I've use this same relay for several projects, and never had a problem with
soldering wires to leads or mounting them on boards.


Regards,

-Bruce
http://www.rentron.com
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
Many of the cheaper relays have their pins in plastic which won't take
direct soldering. Anything more than 2 seconds will see the pin being
soldered wilt sideways.

I'm sorry to bust your bubble, but this is really more a matter of
technique, albeit 2 seconds should be enough time for any small solder
joint like these.

The secret, of course, is the same as the route to Carnegie Hall:
Practice, practice, practice. :)

Cheers!
Rich
 
R

Ross Herbert

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm sorry to bust your bubble, but this is really more a matter of
technique, albeit 2 seconds should be enough time for any small solder
joint like these.

The secret, of course, is the same as the route to Carnegie Hall:
Practice, practice, practice. :)

Cheers!
Rich


Rich, I totally agree with your conclusions re practice...... However,
the OP said he was a "beginner' and thus is not likely to have yet
learned the hard way how to achieve perfectly soldered joints in under
2 seconds. Even then, the wattage and/or the type of soldering iron he
has will be relevant and we don't know what he has available. For
example, if he uses a 60W non temp controlled iron the plastic will
allow even less than 2 seconds of heating before the pin sags.

During my professional tech days we always used high quality switches
by C&K (circa 1970 - 80's) and the contacts on these would allow quite
long periods of heating without any damage or plastic melting. They
could be soldered and unsoldered many times by a technician properly
trained in soldering techniques. When I had to buy some small switches
a few years back - they looked to be good quality, and appeared
identical in style to the old C&K's, I discovered very quickly that
even with my experience it was easy to get the pins to sag with only
quite short periods of heat application. They were certainly designed
for one attempt only and it would be impossible to unsolder and re-use
these switches.

That is what I was referring to with the RS relay and what the OP had
to be aware of.
 
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