Electronics Barn closing

From: Peter C. Wallace <pcw_at_mesanet.com>
Date: Wed Aug 4 18:27:27 2004

On Thu, 5 Aug 2004 jpero_at_sympatico.ca wrote:

> > The only problem with working on surface mount stuff is that people think
> > it's hard. It's not.
>
> Correct, SMD stuff is not that "impassable" just takes lot of care
> and steady hands. Med or fine tip with temperate controlled solder
> iron, lot of quality flux in a tube, wick and best quality solder.
>
> > As for special tools, yes, a hot-air soldering tool is useful (but one of
> > those butane-powered irons with the hot air tip is OK for repairs). But I
> > just used a normal soldering iron with the finest bit made, and take a
> > little care. I've done PQFPs, SOICs, transistors, passives, etc with no
> > problem at all.
>
> I have done some small diffcult to remove SMD (especially dual inline
> SOJ) taken off with hot air gun like memory IC off the SIMMs or off
> the motherboard.
>
> > Now BGAs are a problem (I wonder what the cheapest setup for doing those
> > is -- I've seen a protoryping rig, but it's about \pounds 5000). But
> > components where you can get to each individual connection are no trouble
> > at all.
>
> Somebody who had success with BGA and hot air gun, I find I couldn't
> melt all the solder if the gullwing style IC is larger than .5"
> square because of heat conduction became too much to keep all the
> solder molten.
>
> So I'm curious how you got around to to get all the balls on the
> BGA melted with that? Also not blowing the BGA off like leaf in a
> wind?


Heat from the bottom of the card....


>
> Cheers,
>
> Wizard
>
> >
> > -tony
> >
>

Peter Wallace
Mesa Electronics
Received on Wed Aug 04 2004 - 18:27:27 BST