Soldering on a perfboard

Carefully note the position of a component on your bread- board, and then move it to the same relative position on the perfboard, poking its wires through the little holes. Turn the perfboard upside down, make sure that it’s stable, and examine the hole where the wire is poking through, as shown in Figure below.

 A copper trace surrounds this hole and links it with others. Your task is to melt solder so that it sticks to the copper and also to the wire, forming a solid, reliable connection between the two of them. Take your pencil-style soldering iron in one hand and some solder in your other hand. Hold the tip of the iron against the wire and the copper, and feed some thin solder to their intersection. After two to four seconds, the solder should start flowing.



Allow enough solder to form a rounded bump sealing the wire and the copper, as shown in Figure below :

Wait for the solder to harden thoroughly, If all is well, snip the protruding wire with your cutters. See Figure below :

 

PerfBoard Errors :

 TOO MUCH SOLDER :

If the joint is thin, the wire can break free from the solder as it cools. Even a microscopic crack is sufficient to stop the circuit from working. In extreme cases, the solder sticks to the wire, and sticks to the copper trace around the wire, yet doesn’t make a solid bridge con- necting the two, leaving the wire encircled by solder yet untouched by it, as shown in Figure below. 

You may find this undetectable unless you observe it with magnification. You can add more solder to any joint that may have insufficient solder, but be sure to reheat the joint thoroughly. 

COMPONENTS PLACED INCORRECTLY :

It’s very easy to put a component one hole away from the position where it should be. It’s also easy to forget to make a connection. I suggest that you print a copy of the schematic, and each time you make a connection on the perforated board, you eliminate that wire on your hardcopy, using a highlighter.