Wire orientation for Ray Wu 5V seed pixels - which wire is V+, Gnd, Data?

[fugley]

clean the tip of the soldering iron

best thing i did when using seeds at that spacing was to just waste one or two seeds
don't cut in the middle, cut hard up to the next seed and throw it away so you can get as much wire as possible

 

[RolyT]

Sounds like you might need some flux on the wires so the solder flows properly or you could have a dirty soldering tip.

Yeah I tried flux, was a brand new iron but I also tried tinning it, then cleaning it etc so got desperate and just used solder tubes so will see how they hold up...

 

[Dreamin]

Yeah I tried flux, was a brand new iron but I also tried tinning it, then cleaning it etc so got desperate and just used solder tubes so will see how they hold up...

I've been soldering for years and still have issues with it now and again. I just started using solder tubes, it's a game changer. Quick and easy, less equipment, less swearing. So much easier, especially for fiddly little wires like on the seed pixels. I just used the red ones to connect the pigtails and white ones for joining seeds wire together.

 

[Skymaster]

(can't even get solder to melt currently or it just balls up and solidifies)

Balling is a sign that your iron probably isn't hot enough. What iron are you using, and is it temperature controllable?
Also - what sort of solder? 60/40? 63/37? Lead free?

 

[RolyT]

Balling is a sign that your iron probably isn't hot enough. What iron are you using, and is it temperature controllable?
Also - what sort of solder? 60/40? 63/37? Lead free?

No it isnt variable temperature. It was just a $40 Bunnings job so probably a get what you pay for situation..