Roger Johnstone wrote:
In <45189e9c$0$15641$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet.net.au> Mark McDougall wrote:PZ wrote:These a both great addendums Mark. Fresh solder definately motivates better than the old moldy stuff already on the joint! This is especially true for those extra stubbon pins.Yeah, but don't you hate the pins connected directly to huge power planes without any thermal relief! :(I occasionally have to service arc welders at work, which often involves removing large power components. Not only are they normally soldered to large, thick copper planes, but they also often have their own heatsinks, which of course are very effective at keepimg the component cool while my soldering iron is trying to heat them up!I've found the best way to deal with this is to heat the area around the component with a hot air gun. Not hot enough to melt the solder, but enough to get the board, components and heatsinks hot to the touch. Now when the iron is applied the heat isn't immediately drained away, and a normal 45W temperature controlled iron can remove large components.
A hot air gun can be very useful for removing many-pinned components quickly. (And, of course, very useful for soldering surface-mount parts.) -michael New, faster SUDOKU v2.0 solver for Apple II's! Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/ "The wastebasket is our most important design tool--and it's seriously underused."