the hardest part of soldering is holding the damn thing in place. if you have something to clamp it, it becomes a hell of a lot easier.
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ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 1 day ago
I so badly want to learn how to fix old tech like this. I’m fascinated by the tech repair YouTubers that can bring an old gba back to life. Someone I know has an old Pokemon Crystal with a dead battery from childhood and was broken up about losing their childhood save. I don’t think it’s possible to bring the file back but I’d love to get the cart working again at least.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 day ago
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Lol yeah I’ve seen people use fancy microscope looking things and using that orange tape to tape it to a surface depending on where they to solder.
MufinMcFlufin@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Just so you know, the orange tape is called Kapton tape. It’s useful for higher temperature work (such as soldering) since it can continue to stick up to 400°C.
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 22 hours ago
That’s the name! I kept thinking Krafton but no…that’s the company who’s in trouble for doing those shenanigans with Subnautica 2 lol.
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
It’s not hard. My Game Gears were broken and now I fixed 4 of them by replacing all caps.
I got the Pinecil for soldering and it’s so easy to use and versatile. I got a couple of flux pens so the result looks nice and clean.
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Pinecil, haven’t heard of that. I’ll take a look, thanks! Is there anything you used to practice ahead of time? Before jumping right into the actually hardware you were trying to fix?
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 19 hours ago
I went right off the deep end. I followed along with someone else doing it, some YT video.
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Oh damn lol. Brave.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Its ridiculously easy! Get a hakko
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Oh thanks! I’ll take a look.
Is there something I can use for practice? Or how did you learn to actually do it?
MufinMcFlufin@lemmy.world 1 day ago
There are solder practice kits you can get. They’re usually a PCB and a bunch of components to install, then once the whole thing is correctly assembled it should do some simple function. They’re usually pretty cheap so you shouldn’t have to worry about messing it up, and the kit should be trivial to replace in comparison to the part you actually want to work on.
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 22 hours ago
ok cool, I’ll take a loko for those.
bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 23 hours ago
Ye just get a solder kit and practice on some PCBs!
ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs@lemmy.world 22 hours ago
ok Thanks, I’ll take a look around for those.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
For the most part you do not need expensive JBC tools or some super expensive testing tools.
If you plan to dive in, start simple with some USB soldering iron, multimeter and some cheap 20V labratory PSU. I found FNIRSI offers a USB-PD soldering iron with JBC tips for under $100 that is comparable to Weller 80W professional soldering station I got at work.
The other part is just trial and error. Try with simple electronics or guides. Get the general idea on how things work. Most of problems are already solved. It is easy to find repair guide for some old gaming tech or how to chip your consoles.
Have fun!