I soldered some of the wires today. This page is my explaination of the steps that I took to get the job done.

SET UP

You have to decide what you are going to do before you do it. Get all your parts together, and READ THE MANUEL. This will give you specific instructions on how to make each piece.

double check that you are connecting the wire to the right place. You might want to think of a color system. (For example, always use white wire for the grounded line, and black wire for the power supply. )

Strip your wire enough for a piece of the heat shrinking tubing to fit on. The tubing piece should be long enough to cover the entire exposed wire. Slide on the tubing BEFORE you solder. It should slide down far enough so that it will not get heated by the soldering iron.

Soldering and Un-Soldering

Soldering

• The tools you need for soldering are
  • soldering Iron
  • soldering wire
  • tweezers or some kind of tool for fine movement
  • wire stripper
  • wire cutter
• Plug in your soldering iron, and find a place that you can rest it so that the metal tip is not touching anything. It will get VERY hot, so be careful.
• Wrap the stripped end of your ribbon wire around the place where you want to connect it (either the male header or the sensor/motor, usually). You can use the tweezers for this if you think they are helpful. I found this part to be the most challenging because the ribon wire was so fine and the place where I wanted to put it was so small. It will pay off in the long run, though, if you have a neat connection, so don't skip this step.
• If you have the ability, clamp or mount the wire you are working on somehow so that you don't have to hold it.
• In one hand hold the soldering iron, and in the other the soldering wire. The soldering wire melts fast, so don't be skimpy on the lead you give yourself.
• Touch the soldering wire to the iron for a second to prep the iron. This will put a few solder drips on the tip of the iron.
• Touch the iron to the place where you want to solder, and, almost at the same time, touch the soldering wire to the same place. The iron will make the spot hot enough to melt the soldering wire, and the solder drip will naturally go to the place that is hot. This is a better method than trying to melt the soldering wire onto the iron.
• It only takes a second for the solder to go into place, and you don't need that much. A good soldering job is when there is a round bead of solder, with no pointy edges. If you need to do a touch up job, touch the iron to the soldered spot WITHOUT using the soldering wire. You can mold the solder a little bit when it is liquid.
• Put the soldering iron down SAFELY.
• I found that it was easier to do all my soldering before I dealt with the heat shrinking tube, but you may choose your own system.
• KEEP TRYING! This takes patience and practice.

Un-Soldering

Heat Shrinking Tube

• Make sure to put on the tubing BEFORE you solder. I repeat this because it is a big pain if you don't.
• Find a heat source. I have heard that a hair dryer works. I used a bunsen burner.
• Put your tubing exactly where you want it to be when it has shrunk.
• Hold the wire under the heat. It might be helpful to move your hand back and forth, pulling the wire through the heat without actually puring yourself. You can see the tubing shrink, so you will know when you are done. If you are not sure, you can gently tug on the tubing to find out if the tubing is secure. When it is, you are finished.