I need some electronics help,
they are pretty simple but not knowing much in this area I'm asking

#1
If I use perfboard,
I'm assuming I just solder what I want into it then use jumpers and cut the traces where I don't want a connection to be?

#2
I have some SSR's I need to fit on a per board,
how do I ft them on a perf board since the pins are thick and irregular ?

Do normal terminal blocks fit in a standard perf board ?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=120469600767
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-30pcs-Block-Termin...=item29fff80ead


#3
Now, I was eying a nice hakko 936 with soldering station with 3 new tips,
I could have and can win a almost new one for around $50 and they go for $80 plus shipping.

If I'm doing smaller projects and want to go cheaper,
could I use a generic soldering iron that's around $15?
Or am I better off with a hakko 936 or weller ?

#4
One last question....
How do I go about cheaply potting a thermal sensor like the LM35,
so that it's somewhat thermally conductive yet is reef safe so I won't poison my tank ?

I thought of using thermal past or epoxy,
having the temp sensor in a test tube in the bottom of it,
then make sure the whole thing is covered/the testu tube is just filled so that the LM35 package is covered then filling the rest of the test tube with aquarium safe silicone.
The wire would come out of the tube,
but is inside of aquarium airtubing so that the wires won't be exposed at all to the water.

Does that sound like a bad idea ?


Thanks for reading and I'd greatly appreciate the help.

1. Exactly. What you are describing is typically refered to a strip board. Perf board usually has unconnected individual solder pads.

2. Either remotely mount them and wire to the pcb, create your own pcb with the right pin layout, or just drill the perf/strip board to fit.

The terminal blocks that you linked to have pins on standard 0.1" spacing, so they will fit fine with all boards designed around 0.1" spacing, which pretty much is all of them.

3. If you can get it for $50, do it. Hakko irons are really nice for the money

4. Dipping the sensor in epoxy or silicone will be enough. Coat enough wire with the epoxy also so that it comes out of the water. There will be less chance for water wicking down the wire to the sensor.

1. Yup, that's all you need to do for perf boards.

2. If the SSR pins are a lil bit bigger, you can just drill the board to fit. You just have to be careful cause some perforated boards connect several surrounding pins in a row. Since you'll be working w/ line voltage, insure that the exposed pads are isolated from everything else.

3. In my opinion, any soldering station w/ temperature control like the Hakko 936 is alot better than the cheapies. It'll reduce frustrations with soldering like burnt/black tips or flux vaporizing cause tip is too hot.

4. Epoxy dip is pretty good for electrical isolation.

Cool!
I'll differently going with a hakko then,
should save time and money from destroying stuff and save me from frustration.

I'll go with aquarium silicone then,
just a blob on the sensor then I'll coat the wire....

mabviper,
I'm too scared(I'm goign to do it soon) to mess with line voltage still.
I bought some SSRs that are rated 60 volts tops for the switching side,
just to control computer fans.
They were so cheap(normally $10 a piece) that they were less than the coil type and besides they use logic voltage

7 for $15 shipped to Hawaii is pretty good, plus they are opto22.

Thanks for you're time, I really appreciate it,
saves me from doing numerous stupid mistakes