[Coco] A question for all you hardware hackers out there...

[Zippster]

> On Oct 31, 2014, at 8:09 AM, Mark McDougall <msmcdoug at iinet.net.au> wrote:
> 
> On 31/10/2014 3:42 AM, tim at franklinlabs.com wrote:
> 
>> I actually haven't chosen the actual FPGA yet because I'm not sure how much LE
>> space I need. I was considering a small Cyclone III or equivalent. The one I was
>> looking at I thought was 264 pins but it actually was 408.
> 
> Wow, do you *need* that much I/O for your project? Or is it a case of the smallest package for that many LE's?
> 
> I've done TQFP soldering by hand, but I think that was 144-pin, and quite a few years ago before my sight started failing me. It's not as hard as you'd think as the solder tends to stick to the pin/pad.

Yep.  And don’t forget flux is your friend….  Solder paste and a hot-air rework station are an option too.

- Ed