Question on soldering...does this picture look right???

Question

I am about to solder up a new chip accessory to my board but in the picture it shows him placing a glob to solder over all of the lines (touching one another) and then he goes back with some desolder braid and it's all cleaned up....does braid actually clean it up that good when you touch it...here is the pic...thanks for any help....

http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/5751/myphotoce1.jpg

Answer 1

I would tend to use a smaller tip. I wouldn't heat numerous joints then desolder them. Another thing too, no one seems to do it these days however, get some isopropol alcohol and clean the flux fom the solder terminations, the flux is corrosive and you cannot inspect the joints.

Answer 2

Yes, braid does work very well,  in fact almost a little too well for this type of soldering - you have to be careful and make sure that enough solder is left behind for good joints, so once you think you're done and you've cleaned up all the residue, do a careful visual inspection of each joint - get a pair of 3.00 -3.50 reading glasses for a really close look.

You also risk overheating the PCB when you do this and lifting traces.  But if you're careful and a bit experienced with soldering, you can make acceptable joints this way, tho not exactly MILSPEC.

The preferred way for this type of work would be to use a nice ultra-fine pitch thermostatically-controlled soldering iron, one component leg at a time.  And perhaps a nice B&L bino microscope.

Answer 3

Your task has one of two answers. Either get a small enough tip to do the soldering or use braiding. For these small jobs the best way is to get that small tip. The component you are soldering is very sensitive. When you use braiding apply liquid flux first then place the iron over the braiding over that joint. Hold for 2-3 seconds, then release. The copper in the braiding with the flux will take up the excess solder leaving the joint(s) with the proper amount.