# Need help from all scale members



## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Need some suggestions to "unsolder" these wires from the connections. Tried to apply iron to the metal tips but cant get it hot enough...

Thoughts and/or suggestions???


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I know this sounds odd but, unplug the iron from the wall and turn the plug around.


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## dicgolfer72 (Dec 4, 2015)

if you have not done it already add fresh solder first that usually helps melt the old solder

if that does not do it its time for a better soldering iron


I use these for board level repair in my arcade biz they are cheap and work really well
http://www.microcenter.com/product/391342/Low-Cost_Soldering_Station


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

daveh219 said:


> Need some suggestions to "unsolder" these wires from the connections. Tried to apply iron to the metal tips but cant get it hot enough...
> 
> Thoughts and/or suggestions???


I've had the same problems, but finally found the answer, lol!!! You have to keep the soldering iron tip impeccably clean in order to transfer heat.. Once it's clean you'll have no problem un-soldering the wires from the jack plug. Trust me, been there done that!!.. Any crud on the tip will cause the soldering iron to lose a impressive amount of heat. When my tips get bad, I use a piece of sand-paper to clean off all the crud.. That usually does the trick. After each use, wipe off the tip while it's hot on a wet sponge. That will clean it clean.. Hope this helps... I have about 4 soldering irons, and have had trouble with all of them until I found that keeping the tip cleaned, and tinned, is/was the answer.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

What size (wattage) is your iron?? All of mine are between 30-40 watts.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I have a 100W soldering gun my dad bought in the early 50's. It still has the original tip. As mentioned, keep the tip clean, warm up the pin, I slide the tip of the gun along the pin. After about 10 seconds the wire should come free.


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## Dave Farquhar (Feb 20, 2013)

If you're lucky enough to still have a Radio Shack near you, this stuff is awesome:

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-tip-tinner-and-cleaner-0-5-oz?variant=5717831429

I use it every time and it makes soldering and desoldering much easier.


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## RonthePirate (Sep 9, 2015)

I have the Radio Shack work station. It does do a good job of soldering wires, but when it comes to soldering to rails for block sections, I use a 100watt gun I bought on Amazon:








It seems to work better on those tough rails from Lionel's 027 track.

And yes, it's true. Adding more solder does help loosen up the old connections.
You just have to be ready to pull them apart when it's loose enough.

Just saw flyernut's post. Try a wire wheel. It cleans the tips without taking away any of the actual metal.


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## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

*Thanks to all*

I want to thank all for the advise and suggestions for this 'simple' problem. After reading all posts I went back and cleaned up all of my tips, re-tinned them and went to work. As usual, the suggestions were right on and things progressed quickly. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

daveh219 said:


> I want to thank all for the advise and suggestions for this 'simple' problem. After reading all posts I went back and cleaned up all of my tips, re-tinned them and went to work. As usual, the suggestions were right on and things progressed quickly. :smilie_daumenpos:


neato!!!:smilie_daumenpos:


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