Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-14, 15:51:

Finally!2535F371-50AD-4393-AC06-F12B211EC6F8.jpeg

Woo!

All prebuy are now labelled and scheduled for pick-up tomorrow.

I have now added 23 more boards to the store : http://www.micronick.com/argus

Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-15, 04:11:

All prebuy are now labelled and scheduled for pick-up tomorrow.

I have now added 23 more boards to the store : http://www.micronick.com/argus

Yayy I'm number #1 on round 2.

Stevogamer wrote on 2022-06-15, 04:19:

Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-15, 04:11:

All prebuy are now labelled and scheduled for pick-up tomorrow.

I have now added 23 more boards to the store : http://www.micronick.com/argus

Yayy I'm number #1 on round 2.

Lucky bastard : SHIPPED 😀

Boxes!

Glorious boxes~

Time to get those soldering tools from my friend...

Just bought mine 😁

Got a pleasant surprise in the mail today. 😁

I have a question from people with some SMD rework experience.

I am thinking of using leaded solder paste for all 0805 SMD parts.
I have access to a IR hotplate / preheater.

The question is if I ramp up temperature to lead melting point and then cool down, will it affect the soldering of main chip already soldered to the board What if I use ramp up to lower temperature let's say 150 and then use hot air; how long can I keep the board at 150C to do my hot air work? should I set heater to 100C to be safe instead?

This is probably one of those 'to everyone their own'-things.

Personally, for all those 0805, I wouldn't even bother with any preheating and would just use hot air. I also wouldn't put the Interwave (and its soldering) under any extra stress over a hot plate at full soldering temperatur again. I really don't think that 100 or 150 degrees would do it much harm, but in my eyes, it's also not needed for all the passives. For the SOPs (ROM, 373, etc.) it could help a little (and it's definitely possible to solder them via heating plate), but I've personally gone from hot air (in the beginning) to drag soldering those lately. Just use plenty of flux and in my experience, it turns out better than most other solutions with solder paste.

If you were to solder the Interwave also (and the whole card at once), it also does work using a heating plate alone, too (and for the fun of it, I've tried that on some cards also). But still, the most reliable way for me has been the drag soldering, since I often had to rework the Interwave after e.g. soldering oven, heating plates or simple hot air soldering.

But again, to everyone their own and ymmv.

I am surprises only 4 people ordered on the nee batch. I still have 16 to go.

I'll put them on ebay if I can't find anyone interested here.

Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-18, 11:54:

I am surprises only 4 people ordered on the nee batch. I still have 16 to go.

I'll put them on ebay if I can't find anyone interested here.

I can order another one if that's okay. I have enough parts to build two complete cards.

I just wasn't sure if you wanted to sell more than one to a customer. And I didn't want to hog them in case others missed out.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-06-18, 14:02:

Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-18, 11:54:

I am surprises only 4 people ordered on the nee batch. I still have 16 to go.

I'll put them on ebay if I can't find anyone interested here.

I can order another one if that's okay. I have enough parts to build two complete cards.

I just wasn't sure if you wanted to sell more than one to a customer. And I didn't want to hog them in case others missed out.

Some ordered more than 2!

Synoptic wrote on 2022-06-18, 14:32:

Some ordered more than 2!

Well then, I shall order another. 😁

MJay99 wrote on 2022-06-17, 14:48:

This is probably one of those 'to everyone their own'-things. […]
Show full quote

This is probably one of those 'to everyone their own'-things.

Personally, for all those 0805, I wouldn't even bother with any preheating and would just use hot air. I also wouldn't put the Interwave (and its soldering) under any extra stress over a hot plate at full soldering temperatur again. I really don't think that 100 or 150 degrees would do it much harm, but in my eyes, it's also not needed for all the passives. For the SOPs (ROM, 373, etc.) it could help a little (and it's definitely possible to solder them via heating plate), but I've personally gone from hot air (in the beginning) to drag soldering those lately. Just use plenty of flux and in my experience, it turns out better than most other solutions with solder paste.

If you were to solder the Interwave also (and the whole card at once), it also does work using a heating plate alone, too (and for the fun of it, I've tried that on some cards also). But still, the most reliable way for me has been the drag soldering, since I often had to rework the Interwave after e.g. soldering oven, heating plates or simple hot air soldering.

But again, to everyone their own and ymmv.

Thanks MJay99 for sharing your experience.

I have received the board and the solder pads are all pre-tinned. This makes things a bit more complicated.
I guess using solder paste it doesn't make sense anymore as pad already have some solder.
But the question is if the pre-tinned solder is enough for 0805 parts?
Another question is that whether using hot air is safer and easier than soldering iron? Without using solder paste every single 0805 must be soldered separately with tweezers holding it down; that requires long exposure to hot air; wouldn't that put extra stress on PCB?

What's wrong with pre-tinning? This keeps the copper from oxidizing before it gets to you.

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-06-20, 18:17:

What's wrong with pre-tinning? This keeps the copper from oxidizing before it gets to you.

I get the idea but the layer is a bit too thick worried me, if I add solder paste and heat, I am not sure if the 0805 will sink and be flush with the board.

Maybe I should use less solder paste, maybe I am just paranoid because I never soldered on this much pre-tinned board before.
I am also worried the tinned layer will affect soldering with hot air, maybe part won't adhere as it might disturb surface tension of solder paste.

If it bothers you, add some flux and slurp it up with some wick. It should suck up almost instantly like a sponge, if you have a quality wick.

I really like 1.0mm wick for this purpose.

terryfi wrote on 2022-06-20, 18:21:

I get the idea but the layer is a bit too thick worried me, if I add solder paste and heat, I am not sure if the 0805 will sink […]
Show full quote

Kahenraz wrote on 2022-06-20, 18:17:

What's wrong with pre-tinning? This keeps the copper from oxidizing before it gets to you.

I get the idea but the layer is a bit too thick worried me, if I add solder paste and heat, I am not sure if the 0805 will sink and be flush with the board.

Maybe I should use less solder paste, maybe I am just paranoid because I never soldered on this much pre-tinned board before.
I am also worried the tinned layer will affect soldering with hot air, maybe part won't adhere as it might disturb surface tension of solder paste.

Just add paste flux and heat up !

Yes, sticky flux if the best flux!