Motherboard recap issue

[SteveNielsen]

Yes, that is the unit. My God you're right! I forgot all about that temp alignment function. I read it in the manual when I first got it but my old brain is not what it used to be. Thanks a bunch Uniballer!

I did know about the blob of solder and no it doesn't seem to hurt my thermocouple at all. Thanks again.

[Uniballer]

I would be interested to know if that station can provide enough heat to recap a motherboard once you have it aligned (please?).

[SteveNielsen]

Yes, it does work now. I'm happy. Thanks again for the help. I've even looked at the manual a few times lately and can't believe I kept missing that part.

[SteveNielsen]

I'm sorry, I forgot to add that the tip supplied with the Pro Line station does NOT get hot enough. A Hakko 900 type 3mm chisel tip does although it is a bit large for the job. I'm still trying different size/shape tips to find the smallest and best shape to do motherboard soldering.

Ok, the Hakko 2mm chisel tip works great with the temp set at maximum, so if you have or get one these Pro Line units get that size tip and do the temp alignment and all is well. I bought a 10 pack of various size/shape tips for $7.88 thru Amazon.

I still haven't found a source for a 70W replacement element though.

[SteveNielsen]

Sharing more of my experience with the Radio Shack Pro Line 70W...

The 2mm chisel tip is pretty good but for a pad that's in a good sized copper plane in the board it is not sufficient. You'll have to use a larger tip. The 30mm chisel tip does better but still a chore on a large enough plane.

I'm working on a particularly stubborn Gateway MB. I've had to use my good ol' Wen 100W gun and a needle to clear some of the holes and even with that it's been a chore. Considering that, I think the RS unit is doing pretty a pretty good job for what it is.

BTW, a safety pin is easier to use than a needle for clearing holes, it's got a built-in handle.

[momaka]

Originally Posted by SteveNielsen

The 30mm chisel tip does better but still a chore on a large enough plane.

I think you meant 3 mm there . 30 mm would be quite a bit too large for recapping. Definitely good to have when working on BGA stuff, though.

I use a 5.2 mm bevel-type tip (LF-52D) with an Aoyue 2900 station. The station itself is nothing fancy - just a cheap digital station, that's all. But the tip holder it came with uses tips similar to the T7/T15 -type Hakko tips (in fact, I think my stations is even compatible with those). While more expensive, these tips have built in heating element, and therefore respond many times faster than those "standard" Hakko (and Hakko clones) ones that use a "shared" heating element. I can actually melt a big 2 cm ball of solder in under 10 seconds. Try that with those cheaper tips - no way you'll do it this fast (if at all!)

[SteveNielsen]

That's good info about the Aoyue. I was looking at a couple of that make too.

Yeah, I definitely meant 3mm. I somehow managed to screw up this job with the 3mm tip and now have a short between copper planes that are a hair-width apart. I've used flux and solder wick and even cut a little at the gap with a razor knife but it's still shorted.

I tried a couple of different sizes of bevel tips on this RS unit but they just didn't have enough mass to hold the heat. I've got a larger bevel tip but it's even fatter than the 3mm chisel is and I'd probably real screw things up with it.

[tmiha71]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveNielsen View Post
The 30mm chisel tip does better but still a chore on a large enough plane.
I think you meant 3 mm there . 30 mm would be quite a bit too large for recapping. Definitely good to have when working on BGA stuff, though.

Or for some real plumbing ...