Need help soldering chip holder in

dyrwolf

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Or any other component, for that matter.

I was able to get the old chip out, clear out holes with solder sucker.

However, cannot get the solder to melt when I heat the legs of the chip holder (from the bottom). Solder will melt when touched to the iron, and the iron is hot, but it will not melt and flow.

I was able, with the same iron, to clear out all the holes by putting the point in the hole for a moment, then sucking the solder out.

But when the point is placed against a leg of the holder, for long enough to even discolor the board slightly, solder never melts.

Any tips, or idea what I am doing wrong.

Thanks
 
Post a pic of the area so we can verify no damage was done.

Also, what type of socket are you using, a round machine pin, or a dual swipe?

Did you try touching the solder to the iron tip, while its against the solder pads, thus heating the pad, pin, and solder at once?
 
Post a pic of the area so we can verify no damage was done.

Also, what type of socket are you using, a round machine pin, or a dual swipe?

Did you try touching the solder to the iron tip, while its against the solder pads, thus heating the pad, pin, and solder at once?

I've damaged it. Now practicing for next time.

No idea what the socket question means

What is solder pads?

I placed the tip of the solder iron against the pin out of the back of the board and the board itself. Held it there for like 2 minutes after the iron had been on for 10 minutes. The solder does not melt. It is 40/60 solder.

The same pen would quickly melt the solder inside a pin hole so I could suction it out.

This is very frustrating. It would be working great if the solder would only melt.
 
2 MINUTES!! Should take about 2 seconds....really. Do a google search, there should be a ton of tutorials on soldering out there. Sounds like you need to start from the beginning instead of trial and error on a pcb.
 
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2 MINUTES!! Should take about 2 seconds....really. Do a google search, there should be a ton of tutorials on soldering out there. Sounds like you need to start from the beginning instead of trial and error on a pcb.

I did both google search and tutorial from the beginning. It all fell apart when the solder would not melt.

It took about 2 seconds for the old solder to melt to release the pins from the old chip.

Perhaps it is the solder? I am using 60/40. Should I be using something else. It is tough to get it to melt against the iron at times.
 
I've damaged it. Now practicing for next time.

No idea what the socket question means

What is solder pads?

I placed the tip of the solder iron against the pin out of the back of the board and the board itself. Held it there for like 2 minutes after the iron had been on for 10 minutes. The solder does not melt. It is 40/60 solder.

The same pen would quickly melt the solder inside a pin hole so I could suction it out.

This is very frustrating. It would be working great if the solder would only melt.

The socket question was just to get an idea on what type of socket you have. A machine pin, has nice straight round pins, that fill the hole completely. They can be a little more difficult for the beginner to solder in.

The solder pads, are what you are trying to solder to. The pin goes through the hole, and then the pad takes the solder and solders it in, flowing it down through the hole. The pad is literially as thin as tissue paper and heat is its enemy. Too much heat wil cause it to lift off the board. You are suppose to hit them quickly with iron heat and move on. Also, your soldering iron should be 25-30 watts only, no higher, that is hot enough.

It's really hard to tell without seeing what you are trying to do. My fear is you removed the pads, thus the solder won't flow to or on the socket pins.

I don't feel the solder is your issue, I think damage has been done...

You can also check the tip of your iron. If its all black or not like a pencil tip, replace it. If not, then sand the end of it so you do not have a cold spot on it. The tips do wear out... For socket replacements, you want as fine a tip as possible.
 
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Probably an obvious question, but what type of soldering iron do you have (pics would be very helpful)?

Second obvious question, what type and thickness of solder are you using? You should be using a very thin 60/40 rosin core. If you are using the thick stuff, it is probably solid core or acid core and will not do the job. (Acid core in fact will eventually damage your board and chips).

ken
 
Two cheap irons, 25W and 40W. No temp setting, just plug them in. One has a finer tip than the other. Neither will heat the solder enough to melt it.

Solder is very thin, 1/16 inch? or so. 60/40

I'll try sanding the tip to fix cold spots. It does seem like only certain parts of the iron tip will melt the solder. however, both are nearly brand new, and I melted solder on them before using them, as I read to do. They should be lasting longer than this. Used no more than an hour.

The board looks to have tiny rings of metal in the board where the pin goes through. Unfortunately, I pulled one of these out, so that leads me to believe the board is trash now. I was not familiar with these little metal pieces in the board, and did not expect them.
 
Your 25watt iron is fine to use. If both are new, less then an hours use, it is still possible the tip has issues. I just bought a new tip for my cheapo iron and it too has cold spots. If you sand, sand it lightly. You did the right thing in touching solder to the tips too and the soler you are using is thin enough...

Keep in mind, the board is not trashed, it can be fixed! It may not look pretty when fixed, but it can be. We all learn from fixing things, these baords can be delicate thoguh and its best to practise on a trashed parts board first, if you have one. Not trying to make you feel bad, but remember, the board you have can be fixed!

Those rings, carry the heated solder to the other side of the board. Like a tunnel if you wish because once the socket is flat on the board, there is no way you could solder the opposite side.
 
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You can also check the tip of your iron. If its all black or not like a pencil tip, replace it. If not, then sand the end of it so you do not have a cold spot on it. The tips do wear out... For socket replacements, you want as fine a tip as possible.

I was just fixing to recommend cleaning the tip as well.
It doesn't take much after a few uses to develop a coating (cold spots) that will not transfer the heat properly.
And re "tin" the tip after cleaning with a dab of new solder.

When you can touch the solder directly to the iron and it melts quickly... then it is generally hot enough and ready to use.
Contact the iron tip to the pad and chip/socket pin simultaneously, then touch the solder wire right between both the iron and part being soldered.
The whole process should only take a couple seconds.
You can always re-touch the solder joint if need be, but don't keep the heat on it for one long duration of time.

Also be sure your tip stays screwed in tightly. They do tend to work loose and will not get hot properly if they do.

I use cheap irons for everything. (25-40 watt) So don't let that deter ya.
It's all about the practice.

Some basic maintenance videos -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krxTfZCFptk&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBiUjfUxXjU
 
Keep in mind, the board is not trashed, it can be fixed! It may not look pretty when fixed, but it can be. We all learn from fixing things, these baords can be delicate thoguh and its best to practise on a trashed parts board first, if you have one. Not trying to make you feel bad, but remember, the board you have can be fixed!

Those rings, carry the heated solder to the other side of the board. Like a tunnel if you wish because once the socket is flat on the board, there is no way you could solder the opposite side.

Suggestion on how to fix board when the ring has been pulled out?

Looks like pulling out the ring may have broken a contact lead as well.

Thanks for info
 
Time for you to go to Radio Shack and pick up a spool of wire wrap wire... a.k.a. 30ga Kynar wire.

:)
 
Suggestion on how to fix board when the ring has been pulled out?

Looks like pulling out the ring may have broken a contact lead as well.

Thanks for info

You are welcome!

Channelmanic dropped the fix hint...

To fix these issues, you run small piece of wire to the spots that would have had solder, to the legs of a chip or socket, or the trace lead. Whatever was removed, the wire will then bridge the gap.
You scrap away some of the light green trace lead that did not have solder or it from the beginning, most are light green, to expose something good to solder to, so it will stick. Solder one end of the wire there and then the other end to whatever needs it.

It wont look pretty but the components do not care, just that there is a connection. So in the rings case, you would solder the wire right to the end of the socket pin or leg that's poking through the board, then run it over to the trace the led up to the pad and ring.

And remember, use your 25watt iron, not more then that, more is too much heat.

Make sense?

If you cannot fix it, you can send it to someone that can, its not lost!
 
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You can also find epoxy adhesive backed copper traces and rings that can be used to rebuild traces. It just depends on how much you want to spend and how pretty you want the repair to be.

The traces are OK... but the solder pads are actually very helpful as they help the component stay put on the board.
 
The traces are OK... but the solder pads are actually very helpful as they help the component stay put on the board.

That is why when I repair a burned off pad I take the wire and coil it before pushing it on the component leg rather than just running an end to the comonent. The small coil of wire gives the component leg some support from being pulled through the hole.

ken
 
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