Re: My A2 Hardware Projects

[scott@alfter.DIESPAMMERSDIE.us (Scott Alfter)]

In article <efb4ht$9ps$1@unlnews.unl.edu>,
Ed Eastman  <eeastman@gmail.com> wrote:
>Technique to remove a surface mount chip:
>Stick a dental pick under one leg, heat the pad and pull the pick across 
>the pad, lifting the leg up just enough to free it.  Repeat 63 more 
>times. Once component is removed, use a desolder braid to clean the pads.

Chip Quik works fairly well for removing SMDs:

http://www.chipquik.com/

It's some sort of low-melting-point alloy (136�F) that mixes with solder and
keeps it liquid long enough that you can get it on all of the pins and then
pull the chip.

>I would encourage you to get a desoldering iron, even for just one 
>project, it can make a huge difference.  My radio shack desoldering iron 
>was $10 and buy some spare tips too, I destroyed the intitial tip 
>practicing.

Radio Shack sells two different tips.  The standard tip gets eaten up fairly
quickly, but the iron-clad (?) tip costs only a dollar or so more and is
nearly indestructible IME.

The original heating element on mine burned out, but you can replace it with
any soldering iron of appropriate wattage...loosen the screws holding in the
tip and bulb, pull it out, and insert it where the soldering tip would go in
the new iron.

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