[Coco] DE-0 Nano Successfully Programmed!

[Stephen H. Fischer]

Hi, 

It's perhaps no longer an option but way back in the dark ages of soldering (1970+) I got an de-soldering iron with a rubber bulb that sucked the solder out.

I also got a second soldering tool that had a small tip (For those dark ages) with adapters for dual in line, ¼ round, and a few more other shapes.

The iron second failed so the first one was pressed into service as it had the same heat element. That is still in use for soldering with a light dimmer for temperature control.

Then there is the spring loaded solder sucking tool that uses air to get the solder out while the iron is doing the heating. That worked quite well, a must!

And copper braid that never did the job I wanted.

Two spring loaded claw like devices to clip on ICs and pull them out when heated with the soldering tool.

The perhaps the best iron for the job back then, the one with adapters: Dual in line ~ 5/8" long, ¼ " Round, Single in line ~ 5/8" long, 1/2" Round.

All have had huge amounts of use as my huge supply of ICs shows.

I just gave away a core memory card and had hauled away several more with ICs on.

SHF
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Philipsen" <dave at davebiz.com>
To: "CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts" <coco at maltedmedia.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 07, 2015 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: [Coco] DE-0 Nano Successfully Programmed!


> Wow.  This is going to be a big job.  A lot of this also depends on what 
> drill size was used on the holes for the headers on the circuit board.  
> If you use a small drill size so that the header pins just barely fit 
> (which is actually the preferred method) then it's harder to get all the 
> solder out.  A sloppier fit of the pin in the hole actually aids the 
> de-soldering process.  But here's another idea just to keep up your 
> sleeve that I have had success with.
> 
> I have found it to be VERY difficult to de-solder devices like headers 
> with many pins because you always have a pin or two that is stubborn and 
> remains attached to its hole.  You think everything's good and then you 
> try to pop the header out and it pulls a trace up from the board.  One 
> solution lies in heating all of the pins simultaneously so that the 
> solder on all of the pins is liquified at the same time.  It only works 
> well if the other parts have not yet been soldered to the board or if 
> there are not many parts near the headers.  Put the board in some sort 
> of vice or support.  Gradually heat the solder side of the board with a 
> hot air gun.  Use a channel-lock plier opened up to a wide bite to grip 
> the header on the component side and when you think the solder is 
> liquified gently rock the header out of its holes.  The thing you have 
> to be careful with is that you don't overheat the FR4....just enough 
> heat on the solder side to get the solder to melt and then quickly get 
> the header out.  This DOES work but you should practice on something 
> first.  Heat up some old junk circuit boards with the heat gun just to 
> get a feel for when you've gone too far with the heat and it starts to 
> char the FP4.  I know this sounds like a brute force method but once you 
> get the hang of it it can be very effective.
> 
> Just an idea if you find that the de-soldering vacuum isn't cutting it.
> 
> 
> Dave Philipsen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/7/2015 8:11 AM, Steven Hirsch wrote:
>> On Sat, 6 Jun 2015, William Mikrut wrote:
>>
>>> Have you considered copper braid desolder wick?
>>
>>> Was introduced to it at ITT ... It works waay better than vacuum
>>> desoldering.   Cleans the connection too if you're careful.
>>
>> Yes, provided you can get to both sides of the board.  Unless I've 
>> misunderstood something, Kip soldered male headers into the piggyback 
>> board, so the plastic carrier would have to be crushed or smashed to 
>> get it out of the way on the bottom.  That's theoretically possible, 
>> but sometimes the force involved causes damage of its own.
>>
>> There's a time and place for both methods, but I think the vacuum 
>> desoldering rig is most appropriate for the first pass on a large 
>> number of pins and has the highest liklihood of clearing out solder on 
>> the far side.  Then, use some flux and fine solder-wick to clear any 
>> stubborn remnants.