After he saw the mess I made trying to fix a old VCR from a thrift store in Eugene, he sat me down and showed me how to properly tin the tip and use flux. Turns out I was holding the iron like a pencil for way too long and burning everything. He made me redo 6 joints before he let me move on to the next component. Has anyone else had a family member completely change their technique with one comment?
Found out from a sparky on YouTube that mixing up neutral and hot on a standard lamp socket can short the whole thing out, and I had to ask my neighbor to help me fix it after I fried two bulbs in a row, has anyone else done this dumb mistake?
I used to think flux was optional when I was 19 fixing old game consoles in my parents' basement. Figured if the solder had a rosin core that was good enough. So I tried reflowing a cracked joint on a Sega Genesis power jack and it just balled up like water on a greasy pan. After three failed attempts I finally caved and bought a little tin of flux paste for like $4 at RadioShack. Night and day difference the stuff actually stuck and flowed into the joint. Now I won't even touch an iron without flux nearby. Anyone else stubbornly skip basic steps when they first started tinkering?