I am in the process of trying to replace the dc jack in an ASUS EEE PC netbook and the solder on the contacts is not coming off. I have tried a 25w, and 40w iron and the Shack special 165w/230w soldering gun. The only way the jack would come of was with some careful cutting. I still have the 4 holes to clear out so i can install the new jack. My Dremel wants to tap in on this one to help.
Any suggestions or ideas appreciated.
Basil
Hello, here are some ideas on different guns, but before you do this understand some basic concepts on soldering. Especially on the unit your doing. That board is very sensitive to heat and it has leaf free solder which will begin to become molten at 230 c, so some can be tough to remove and sometimes you may mess up the traces or the holes that the go into. You must make sure your tip is clean at all times, now as you gain experience this becomes easy to do. 2nd is that you use solder and flux properly, on a stubborn joint using a liquid RMA flux can give you better heat transfer into the joint helping to release the olde solder. Anyone who knows how to solder can do this with any soldering gun. I know a personal friend who does this type of work with a Radio shack gun and use to work for NASA.
So with that said it is experience and technique, a good soldering gun just helps you get more done and allows you to d o numerous units or soldering takes a day, as appose the cheap unit wont last as long or heat as consistent. The components on that board all of them that is what we replace everyday down to the smallest "201 package", but we use Metcal and Hakko because we do a lot of units everyday. You will also need a solder vacuum pump whether handheld or semi-automatic(Hakko). We use both and quiet honestly a handheld pump in most cases is what we use. You want to apply enough heat to see or view the solder becoming molten, your tip size will make a difference to big will transfer to much heat and you will damage the board, obviously the flip side not enough and you will never get it off. One last thing is be patient.....Now a Hot air tool or rework gun is faster but can be more harsh when used, on a component, surrounding components or the board itself.
Cutting the pins will obviously put less stress on the PCB, then just use a pair of tweezers and pull the pins while holding the gun in the other hand and heating the joint. Be careful to not overheat or you ruin the pads or holes and they may lift.
The reason is because even if it is digital simply pulling away a half of an inch can dramatically change the temperature by 30 degrees depending on the unit. You need to have a lot of experience or you will ruin parts. If you need this done at finally convinced you cant do it let us know, if you need any more help.
Lower end solder guns: Radio Shack, Generic Hobbyist soldering stations, Weller
High End soldering Guns: Metcal, PACE, HAKKO
Hope this helps out.
