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Re: My A2 Hardware Projects

Polymorph wrote:

Thanks for all of your advices - its good to get the low-down from the
pro's.

BTW, I do own a solder sucker, but I find it hard to use effectively.
When removing solder you've got to be so quick and acurate in moving
the sucker over hot solder for it to work. I tend to find that there is
always some residual solder left that won't budge, and in the cases
where I have been trying to remove a component, I find that the
residual solder is strong enough to prevent me (from removing it).


It takes a little practice to use a solder sucker efficiently.  You
need to position both the iron and the tip of the sucker at the same
time, so that the joint is well heated and the solder sucker tip is
already properly positioned--then trigger it or release the bulb, and
all the molten solder in the area will disappear into the sucker.

Paul's recommendation of the Radio Shack desoldering iron is also
worthwhile.  It combines the iron and the sucker tip into a single
tip, making the coordination easier.  But the desoldering iron is
45 watts, so you have to be fast to avoid overheating more delicate
circuits and boards.  (For an Apple II, it is well sized.)


I've
heard and read about the fluxed copper braid, and would like to try
that in these instances. Is that what you guys would do?


For "cleanup" of small quantities of solder, the braid is excellent.

BTW, avoid the "cheap" braid--brand-name braid costs more but has
a far superior flux, which is what gets the capillary action going.


Maybe if I plan to do a lot of this kind of work, I might invest in a
desoldering iron as suggested.


If you need to remove more than one DIP or DIP socket, then it's worth
your while to invest in a desoldering iron.  For the occasional cleanup
during repair or construction, however, another iron is too much
trouble.

-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
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