Tuesday, February 22, 2011

What's a Soldering Iron?


"Another Radio man who knows the right end of a soldering iron, what a valve is and was around to see Neil Armstrong take 'one small step"

Thank you John...another Analogue Native!

This made me think... How many people now know what a soldering iron is and what it is used for? I still have a soldering iron, but don't use it as much as I would like to. I still have my skills with the soldering iron and can easily solder wires and PC boards without thinking about it even though I have never done it for years! It's like riding a bike...you never forget how to do it!

My favourite soldering iron is the Antex...light and coloured yellow...my favourite colour!

I remember in 1968 when my Dad bought me a soldering iron for the first time from 'Modern Radio' in Bolton. I was only 14 years old, but I learned at an early age!

Yes..I certainly know the right end of of a soldering iron and using it is a valuable skill, sadly, this has been lost now to the young!

Such a shame that young people today don't know how to use a screwdriver, drill a hole, strip a piece of wire or even solder!

1 comment:

David Davis said...

You're a teacher: you should be able to see why today's youngsters can't do this stuff...."health and safety"...You and I probably burnt ourselves a few times before knowing instinctively how to take the right precautions.

and I bet you put one hand in your pocket when poking around inside valve stuff that's switched on...dont you! (We just do, don't we, it comes naturally after a couple of bolts.)

73