(18-May-2021, 01:37 AM)sevro Wrote: More to the point or tip, get yourself a bent tip or J style. You can throw it in at all kinds of angles to do touchup or reach around adjacent pins, parts or other wires you've soldered. This one is also chisel which is also a must for a straight tip. The straighter chisels are great because at the wider part you can do heavy work like grounds or battery. But on the narrow side get in tight board level. But with the bent chisel you have more angles of attack to get in there which also helps if you're under a magnifier with little room to work.

I've not seen one of those before, but what a great idea!

I can't even count the amount of times I've wished I could solder around corners on a tight board.

Cleaning in the basement revealed my homework made around 2002, it's definitely not nice soldering, soldered by transformer solder, have mercy 

(23-Apr-2017, 11:43 AM)unseen Wrote: Practice makes perfect and you're doing exactly the right thing by learning to solder well before you start attacking flight controllers and things you can't afford to destroy through inexperience.

When I got my hot air rework station, I bought several surface mount practice kits to play with so that I could get a proper feel for temperature settings and how to use the hot air stream without blowing the components off the board or melting the glue that holds the copper tracks on the board.

the scary part is those 0805 are considered LARGE SMD.. LOL
If I could I would make a law that 0603 is smallest on hobby electronics.

Been watching this guys channel some lately, he's like Louis Rossman with less ranting and more fixing. Check out this neat trick for locating shorted components. You can do this with alcohol too but it's a little more tedious:

Sure you could learn to solder from a youtube host or some rando on the internet. Or from the fine folks at NASA (at least when they were cool):

Finally broke something of some significance. Got a little touchy on the disarm switch and let the quad fall about 20 feet which ended up being camera face down on impact. DJI video froze and then dropped out. Cycled the battery got 3 beeps but not the final two. Took the top plate off and went to check the ESC to FC cable. It looked loose but when pushing on it the whole connector ripped clean off the FC but thankfully all pads in tact, no ripped traces. Oh goodie on first pack of 8, but that's why you bring a backup right?

Connector soldered back on with ease thanks to the Hakko 2032-51 and bent chisel tip and a 5x microscope. But the anchor pads were under the plastic connector so I didn't think it would hold up long term for crashing. Luckily the Diatone mk3 basic had individual pads to solder directly to. 

So my how NOT TO advice, would be don't solder the connector if all that's holding it is the 8 pads (middle picture below).

I have done this on 2 FC where the ESC connector broke off cleanly but since I had access to the Motor pads I just decided to direct solder wires.

On some FC's there are so many components cramped next to the connector that it becomes a PITA doing something without magnification.

Hi Sevro,

I have linked your Post #66 in the [Tutorial]  How to Solder - Principles, Technics, Etc.  

This is a VERY GOOD idea.   

Thanks, iFly. 

SMD chip or fall off!

Becareful how you zip tie or poke/squeeze your receivers and vtx.

My 3 recent adventures.
1) zip tie chipped off tiny 0402 Eachine Nano400mw capacitor.
Had to remove the same cap from 2nd Eachine and find comparable value cap from dead donor FC.

2) I was pressing receiver inside shrink against stack. Now it doesnt work. Chipped/damage a capacitor on the sharp edge of stack screw.

3) Took off F411 dead MCU. Got good MCU on. But accidentally budged/moved super tiny 0201. Oh what a nightmare.

BONUS:
FlySky FS-X14S. I used STRONG double-sided tape. When I removed receiver, the oscillator came off with the tape, and vanished.

(20-May-2022, 03:50 AM)sevro Wrote: Finally broke something of some significance. Got a little touchy on the disarm switch and let the quad fall about 20 feet which ended up being camera face down on impact. DJI video froze and then dropped out. Cycled the battery got 3 beeps but not the final two. Took the top plate off and went to check the ESC to FC cable. It looked loose but when pushing on it the whole connector ripped clean off the FC but thankfully all pads in tact, no ripped traces. Oh goodie on first pack of 8, but that's why you bring a backup right?

Connector soldered back on with ease thanks to the Hakko 2032-51 and bent chisel tip and a 5x microscope. But the anchor pads were under the plastic connector so I didn't think it would hold up long term for crashing. Luckily the Diatone mk3 basic had individual pads to solder directly to. 

So my how NOT TO advice, would be don't solder the connector if all that's holding it is the 8 pads (middle picture below).

I'd probably put a lick of a high strength sealant around that component now to ensure it never comes off again.  In much the same way that LemonyLeprosy and iFly4rotors suggested using glue to ensure the usb port on my whoop FC would stay bonded to the FC.

I live in the UK and used a sealant called Stixall which I applied with a toothpick.  It has done the trick so far.  Be aware that anything you apply this to is unlikely to be removable ever again (I bonded a solar panel to a van roof and to remove it took a chisel and a lump hammer).  Alternates in other countries might include Sikaflex or a generic PU sealant.