Broken Trace Options

[ReaperX_BR]

Man, you HAVE some GOD soldering skills

[RDC]

Man, you HAVE some GOD soldering skills

Thanks, though bumping an almost year old thread for the compliment isn't really the right way to go about it.

If anyone else posts keep it on topic please.

P.S. The LED repair was just a quick and dirty repair, I really think it's a horrible job and prefer doing that kind of SMT repair a lot differently.

[ptr.exe]

I'm glad it got bumped after so long, otherwise I would never have found it.

Bookmarked for when I will undoubtedly need it

[YUNG ERIC]

just so you know there is a pinned topic at the top of thi forum that has links to this, and all of the other tutorials.

[pnyce777]

good stuff very simple will deff come in handy if any of these problems arise KUDOS

[xTKxhom3r]

oh wow rdc you have some AWESOME skills i mean like REALLY AWESOME lol what type of tips do you use on y our soldering iron? and whats a good/cheap iron you would recommend ?

you should see the tip to the iron im using iv had it for like a year now and it looks like a big chunk of it is missing lol... but i kinda like that gap it holds the solder pretty good

[RDC]

Thanks.

I use a 2.4mm chisel tip on a Hakko 926 for the majority of the soldering I do. It's been replaced by the 936 now, and if ya plan to do a lot of soldering it's a good iron and ya can get it for under $100 if ya look around. Weller is also a good brand and they have several irons that will do. It really depends on how much soldering you're going to do and how much ya want to invest in the equipment, a lot of things now should only be done with hot air, and some only can be, just depends on what you;ll be doing as to what ya should get. No matter what iron ya end up with though learn tip maintenance before anything else, you can make a better solder joint with a cheapo iron and a well maintained tip compared to a $100 iron ya let the thing go on.

[subliminall]

oh wow rdc you have some AWESOME skills i mean like REALLY AWESOME lol what type of tips do you use on y our soldering iron? and whats a good/cheap iron you would recommend ?

you should see the tip to the iron im using iv had it for like a year now and it looks like a big chunk of it is missing lol... but i kinda like that gap it holds the solder pretty good

Like RDC said it mostly depends on personal skills. But I got a radioshack 15/30W and honestly, after a couple of uses I just couldn't get it to do what I wanted. Then went to ACE hardware (any hardware store would work)
And there's a Weller 30W for about $15. This thing has worked AMAZINGLY for me. I mean, I'm no RDC lol, but even I can get some pretty nice stuff to come out with this iron....and yes, tip maintenance is huge also.

[xTKxhom3r]

LMAO i think we have the same iron dude i i also couldnt get the ones from radio shack to work so i also bought one from ace lol! and yes it does work really well but after a year of use i think the tip finally gave out lol

[subliminall]

LMAO i think we have the same iron dude i i also couldnt get the ones from radio shack to work so i also bought one from ace lol! and yes it does work really well but after a year of use i think the tip finally gave out lol

Lol, that's so awesome!! that weller is way cheap but works so amazing!! I mean I've done tons of crap and retarded things to it but it still rocks, I always recommend that weller whenever people ask ;-)

[SG Jaycurl]

First of all RDC, thanks for taking the time to write down all of this. It's been immensely helpful for me.

I am trying to do the via wiring as you have shown earlier in this thread. I suspect that I have either a technique or equipment problem, though. I've got the via scraped away to the point that I can see the shiny copper ring. I'm using a 15 W iron and whenever I try to add solder, it seems that I slightly melt a thin layer of the coating on the PCB right near the via, and it covers up the via.

Luckily, I haven't ruined the via and I've been able scrape off the material and get back to the copper. But, before I went further, I thought I'd ask if you have any guesses what I might be doing wrong.

I am a noob to soldering, so maybe the answer is "Put down the soldering iron and back away slowly," though I'm the stubborn type who likes to learn new things and do it himself.

Thanks for any help you can lend.

[RDC]

Sounds like you're talking about the Rosin form the solder, and that would be normal, but if the solder isn't taking to the exposed copper then ya either aren't getting it hot enough or don't have it exposed enough. If you're 110% sure that you're down to the copper, and if ya are then don't scrape on it any more or ya can kiss using that spot goodbye, flow a little bit of fresh solder on there and keep the iron on there for a couple of seconds and see if it takes.

[SG Jaycurl]

Thanks much, I'll try that. I guess I'm so paranoid about ruining the PCB - maybe I'm not holding it long enough.

[SG Jaycurl]

Just wanted to thank you again, RDC. I think you were right about not holding it long enough. I was able to solder to that via and that particular direction is working fine.

[TK-101]

Thanks RDC. You Saved my controller!