[ATM] soldering SMPs

[Chris Rowland]

fundo at bellsouth.net wrote:
> From: Dominic-Luc Webb <dlwebb at canit.se>
> 
>> Anyone here have experience with soldering very small SMP
>> devices? Solder points are 1.5 mm apart.
>  
> Dominic,  My soldering pencil has interchangeable tips, one is a chisel tip that is only about 2 mm in diameter.  I filed it down further when I was repairing some small electronics a few years ago.  Worked just fine.
> 
> Be sure to "tin" the tip after you file it down.  More than anything, you need a steady hand!  Clamp a heat sink on the lead if there is room.

I finished an Artemis CCD camera kit last year, including some very 
small surface mount devices.

A small bit and plenty of magnification helps a lot. Also fine desolder 
braid so when you get too much solder bridging pins you can wick up the 
excess. One technique for soldering ICs is to flood the pins with 
solder, then use the braid to remove the excess, just leaving solder 
under the pins.

Chris