soldering tips wanted.

[shimman]

i am trying to install octapus 3d in the slim style console; i tried soldering on v7 board, but i ended up killing the board which was just a spare part.

here are questions.
1. solder did not stick to the wires nor the solder pad even though i heated up; do i need to clean soldering locations with solder flux?

2. how do i solder a wire to the test point holes which is very small? ( it tried to apply solder there, but no matter how long i heat the hole, i could not get the solder stick there.

3. on those chips with many legs, how do i apply solder only to the one leg; when i tried, solder was flowing to everywhere half the time that few legs were shorted.

4. should i apply solder to the wire only, or should i apply to the where it was to be soldered?

5. do i need to apply flux before soldering?

it was fun to try, but i also want to be sucessful, so please help me out

thank you

ps
the iron i am using is radioshack brand 15w with kind of messed up pencil tip; the solder is 60/40 rosin flux type; it is kind of thick, but that's only thing i could find from radio shack.

[JuliusPleaser]

a 15W radioshack iron is fine for an xbox, but it too large for the ps2 mod chips. Either invest in a good iron and good tip (I use a 1/100" tip) or just pay the $25-30 people on here charge and let them do it.

[Chrushev]

a 15W radioshack iron is fine for an xbox, but it too large for the ps2 mod chips. Either invest in a good iron and good tip (I use a 1/100" tip) or just pay the $25-30 people on here charge and let them do it.

Where did u get ur iron/tip? would Fry's have it?

[shimman]

a 15W radioshack iron is fine for an xbox, but it too large for the ps2 mod chips. Either invest in a good iron and good tip (I use a 1/100" tip) or just pay the $25-30 people on here charge and let them do it.

actually, gamecubesuxs installed ghost2 v1 on my fatty ps2 for 20usd; it was like a work of art

not only i am trying to save money, but also i like to do it by myself.

when i tried, the flux did not flow well, and i knew that that was probably because the surface of the tip & the solder pad was not clean enough, but i don't think it is a good idea to use acid based flux that usually meant for the copper piping jobs

i guess with 0.01" tip would make the job much easier, but i could not find locally; i could order it, but i think they are running like 30 to 60usd + s/h; that is just too much.

another thing is that those soldering points on v14/15 boards; they are tiny holes & i could not somehow apply any solder to it. maybe, someone can help me?

thanks for your tip, JuliusPleaser

[cherrypie]

You'll need a decent iron to start with, soldering on the PS2 is fairly demanding and a crappy iron makes it even harder.

Personally I use a Goot CXR-30 13watt iron (They're 12watt on 110volt, we use 240 here, still plenty of power even 10 watt would be fine), the build quality puts Weller to shame and the fine tip makes life easy.

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/1...otcxr302ks.jpg

http://www.goot.co.jp/ENGLISH/catalo...R_CXG/CXR.html

http://www.bomir.com/online/?sub=85


Flux helps, look for non-corrosive flux recommended for electronics use (it'll ussually come in a pen).

You'll need desoldering braid to remove excess solder if/when you make a mistake.

For soldering to integrated circuits (IC's - the chips with many legs) you can ussually stick a razor between the legs on one side and support via blu-tack, use small amounts of solder.

Because of how fine the work is, it's often hard to heat the spot and apply solder, in many cases you'll need to add solder to the iron. It helps to then apply a small amount of solder to the solder point and the wire, then heat them together so they form a join.

Most points you'll be soldering to wil have a fine layer of lacquer over them, you'll need to scrape this off. Some people use very fine sand paper, personally I just gently scrape over the point with a fine blade or scalpel until nice shiny copper is exposed, then apply some flux.

You'll need to have the correct wire for chip installs too. 30awg Kynar insulated solid core wire (often sold as wrapping wire). This is used for all points except power and ground which need a heavier wire around 22-24awg.

Lastly only 2 seconds (count "and one, and two" in your head) for heat application to any point. Applying the iron for longer can lift components and damage IC's.

The cost of sorting out all the equipment to do it properly is generally more than it'll cost to have the chip professionally installed, If you don't have much soldering experience and don't have the gear I'd recommend tracking down an installer and letting them do it.

[shimman]

@cherrypie,

thank you very much; that was a impressive & thoughtful response.

i will try, and if everything seems working, then i think i will try to do it by myself. there were other projects i decided not to do it just because i was afraid of ruining expensive stuffs, but i am rather confident & i don't really care if i destroy my ps2 slim as it is already half broken (no case & sort of messed up rf shield)

btw, is the tip has a special coating on it? if not, i will try to sharpen the tip

[cherrypie]

Most tips on modern irons are electroplated with a combination of iron, nickel and chrome, so you can't grind them down unfortunately.

You may be able to get a replacement tip for your iron which is smaller, otherwise you'll have to track down a better iron. Highly recommend the Goot iron I mentioned above, it makes life very easy. Your 15watt iron will still be handy for power and ground points, the larger wire is a bit easier to solder if you have more power.

A couple other solutions for soldering legs on IC's I've heard mentioned are coating nearby legs with small amounts of petroleum jelly so solder wont stick or covering them with masking tape. No idea how well they work, might be worth experimenting with on an old computer board.

[willpower101]

i have two radio shack irons i bought a year or so ago. They were absolute crap, and then i took a file and shaved them down to ultra fine points, tinned them and now they work very well.