On 11-12-13 07:57 AM, Richard Guy Briggs wrote:
On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 04:40:31AM -0500, Robert P. J. Day wrote:
just got my new pandaboard ES:
http://pandaboard.org/content/resources/references
and as you can see, there are a number of expansion options on the
board screaming for connectors to be attached. i don't have that kind
of equipment or skill -- anyone around here capable of doing that?
I'm able to do this with inexpensive soldering equipment, augmenting my
35 year-old skills and practice with extra flux and a good magnifier.
Here is an excellent tutorial that gave me the information and
confidence to start doing it myself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NN7UGWYmBY
FWIW:
I've been doing this stuff for eons as well - but you don't want to make
your first attempts on something you value. Best results happen after
you practice on old stuff for a little while. There is no end of junk
boards out there. I've had my son practice on old junk and saved a
whole lot of good things from destruction. Safety glasses and a
directed muffin fan blowing gasses away from you should be mandatory.
Soldering gasses and the byproducts of heating lead & flux shouldn't
find their way into your lungs.
Surface mount stuff is a lot more complex - in the build process,
solder/flux paste mixture is screened on the board and the
connector/device is placed on top of it. It then goes in an reflow oven
and the device melts "down" into the solder and attaches. This way, all
contacts are attached in one pass with even mechanical and electrical
connection. Doing them one at a time generally results in uneven
contact and make poor electrical connections probable. A small gas hand
torch from Lee Valley can generate better heat than an iron - and a good
iron is waay better than a cheap one.
Biggest problem with hand soldering is cold solder joints - joints that
look good but the electrical contact is compromised by fractures you
can't see - but resistance is measurable between the pin and pad. By
manually heating the single joints one at a time, consistent joints are
hard to get without overtemps and undertemps due to extended or
inadequate heating time.
There is a small ISO soldering shop out in Carleton Place (actually
three of them) that can do this at a reasonable price. Call Dan Angell
at HiQA and see if he can handle a one-off soldering job - he's probably
do it for a few bucks or a free lunch with a beer.
--
Bill Strosberg