Tips On How To Micro Solder On A Budget Repair Guide

Difficulty

Moderate

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Time Required

                          35 minutes - 1 hour

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Tips on How to micro Solder on a budget
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Introduction

What you need

Step 1

              Remove defective part

Problem was broken power connecter on grandsons Kindle. Removed bad connector and broken trace came up with part. New connector also shown.
I used a soldering iron with a 700 degree tip and de-solder braid to remove defective part. Hot air gun would have been a better option but I didn’t have one.
Note: enlarge image to zoom in to see fine detail. Also how I checked work

Problem was broken power connecter on grandsons Kindle. Removed bad connector and broken trace came up with part. New connector also shown.

I used a soldering iron with a 700 degree tip and de-solder braid to remove defective part. Hot air gun would have been a better option but I didn’t have one.

Note: enlarge image to zoom in to see fine detail. Also how I checked work

1024

Step 2

              Prep for repair

After cleaning up the board and reseating new socket I simply resoldered in place. Now with the new socket installed, I needed to connect the unsoldered lead to the data port on board.
To find where the trace/lead went to I went to the Internet to find where it connected. I found many usable images to determine the path.
To remove the coating on the board where I needed to solder , I scrapped away the coating with an Xacto knife.

After cleaning up the board and reseating new socket I simply resoldered in place. Now with the new socket installed, I needed to connect the unsoldered lead to the data port on board.

To find where the trace/lead went to I went to the Internet to find where it connected. I found many usable images to determine the path.

To remove the coating on the board where I needed to solder , I scrapped away the coating with an Xacto knife.

Step 3

              Prep to solder

Stripping and tinning a piece of 60mm wire I layed it in the path where I needed to attach. I bent the wire to give better leverage.

Stripping and tinning a piece of 60mm wire I layed it in the path where I needed to attach. I bent the wire to give better leverage.

Step 4

              Secure wire for soldering

Putting a piece of electrical tape over a bent wire kept it in place

Putting a piece of electrical tape over a bent wire kept it in place

Step 5

              Trim to fit

Using a fine tip on my iron , I again used a 700 degree tip , dabbed the area with liquid flux and soldered the wire to the lead and exposed trace.
When done I removed tape, cleaned flux off and trimmed wire to length.
Please Note: you must have a steady grip on your iron to attach the wire. By using a long wire, you make it easier to keep it in place as you solder and it’s so thin you can remove the excess wire with little stress to the repair.

Using a fine tip on my iron , I again used a 700 degree tip , dabbed the area with liquid flux and soldered the wire to the lead and exposed trace.

When done I removed tape, cleaned flux off and trimmed wire to length.

Please Note: you must have a steady grip on your iron to attach the wire. By using a long wire, you make it easier to keep it in place as you solder and it’s so thin you can remove the excess wire with little stress to the repair.

Step 6

              Size reference

The repair was the size of the wire next to the finger posted here

The repair was the size of the wire next to the finger posted here

Step 7

              Seeing up close

Not very high tech, but it got me through this without a proper scope. In this image I was verifying I didn’t have any solder bridges on socket.
When everything was cleaned back up I put the Kindle back together and it charges and plays like it should.
When I was done soldering I used my iPad Pro 9.7 to take hi resolution image that I could view and blowup to ensure the repair was intact and clean

Not very high tech, but it got me through this without a proper scope. In this image I was verifying I didn’t have any solder bridges on socket.

When everything was cleaned back up I put the Kindle back together and it charges and plays like it should.

When I was done soldering I used my iPad Pro 9.7 to take hi resolution image that I could view and blowup to ensure the repair was intact and clean

using this technique, you can get yourself out of a pinch by repairing an item half the length of rice ,and half as thick.

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                                                                                      57 other people completed this guide.

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Ken

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dustykeith17 - Feb 8, 2019

I am a tinkerer lol and am getting into building racing drones. could you pls tell me where a good learning guide is for micro sodering?? I’ve been practicing on old boards and whatnot but when I try soldering a wire to the board the solder wants to ball up or not attach the wire. also is cleaning the board important? pls help its so frustrating!! lol and any general tips or tricks for soldering would be GREATLY appreciated friend

Ken - Feb 12, 2019

Cleaning after soldering really depends on the type of flux you use. Some are cleaner than others. Use an inexpensive microscope. Look at these skills tutorials: Soldering Skills. Be patient and enjoy.

matthew storstad - Jan 19, 2020

If the old solder is relatively clean and there’s no excess, would de soldering still be “necessary” to make proper connection? Or could you just melt a little more solder on them til enough of a ball is present to reattach the part and have solid connection? (Part in question is a fan socket for a mid 2012 13” MacBook Pro)

James Walker - Feb 4, 2021

it’s easier for me to attempt micro/soldering rather than pay $100+ for a new board. It’s dead already, right ?

I’d like advise in a few areas. First, equipment. I need some decent helping hands and vise to keep the items steady. A pen style iron and station. Second, when is a desoldering gun appropriate ? Third and most importantly, I need to know how to solder a post that has broken flush with the pcb board.

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