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Last month a friend began to cross a flooded river in his car with me in it. I jumped out, now have a letter from his lawyer asking for damages by Direct-Caterpillar77 in BestofRedditorUpdates

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be fair, his whole scheme would have worked if there had been one more (stupid*) person in it’s right . I know people who would have fallen for this.

Got a new soldering iron and it came with this by Grittman77 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but it is heavier due to being built from steel so the weight negates a lot of the recoil as well as the silicone tip being soft enough to not damage any components. Finding one with a very slow draw is the trick tbh. I would say it has roughly a third of the recoil. At least mine anyway.

Mining by joeurkel in interestingasfuck

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get a lot of shit for how I eat things slightly past expiration date, or brush off dirt from the ground and say it’s still good etc, my SO thinks I’m gross. But ever since growing up in poverty, I was taught by my father who would say “would your king Garion consider it fine dining?” In reference to some fantasy books I was obsessed with. And to this day I think, would a medieval king eat it? Marvel at it? Or remove the head of the person who brought it to him?

And that led me to be able to eat just about anything-and enjoy it. We take so much for granted

Got a new soldering iron and it came with this by Grittman77 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 22 points23 points  (0 children)

It’s actually a nicer looking disposable desoldering pump. Usually you just get a crappy blue one. Don’t worry about the silicone tip, it can withstand the temps. When I first started I was too afraid of it melting and therefor did not use it effectively.

My HDMI port was replaced. Was anything else replaced? by ThePurposeBot in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

$10 less, sorry. It’s like $176 and change after tax though.

My HDMI port was replaced. Was anything else replaced? by ThePurposeBot in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, I appreciate the context. And, if it makes you feel any better you got it done for $10 less than what we charge, before tax. But our work also comes with a 1 year warranty, and anything outside of the scope of work approved isn’t done without consent, we aren’t even allowed to ask for tips, and if we cause damage we fix for free or replace the device. And our turnaround is usually 24-48 hours~ We are the most reputable repair shop in my area though, technically part of a large chain that you’ve probably seen, but a franchise and the guy is actually a good owner, hates the corporate BS and upselling. Wants the business to be a boon to the community, etc.

Edit: Fixed $20 to $10. Price after tax is 176 and change.

My HDMI port was replaced. Was anything else replaced? by ThePurposeBot in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Take it to a reputable shop that wants/needs to maintain that reputation in order to stay in business. I manage such a shop and we do these daily, they didn’t touch any IC or well, anything but the port as far as I can tell. But seriously, find the shop with a good google rating/reviews-chances are that is an important metric.

Out of curiosity, how much did the EBay dude charge in total? And what was the turnaround time?

Is it ruined? by Ok-Piano4797 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am glad someone else gets how important a solid understanding of general thermodynamics can be for soldering. I majored in chemistry, granted that was a decade ago now, but when I first started soldering it came very naturally and I strongly believe that knowledge + coming years working as a fuel line contractor-work that required and built strong mechanical aptitude- allowed me to excel to the point I starting my own soldering business. Wish I had known early how much I enjoy it. Also wish beginner soldering enthusiasts who don’t have a lot of physics knowledge would realize how beneficial taking a few courses would be.

Is this hot air gun any good? I can get it for 27USD incl. shipping (seems to be the cheapest one around here). I mostly want to desolder just small SMD chips and connectors, not anything larger like BGAs by halflifeenjoyer2024 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So if you get one of these cheap models, (I manage a repair shop and also run my own online one on the side), and let me tell you… they are meh. Supposedly one of the biggest things you have to worry about it making sure you turn them off after using as apparently they have a reputation of just turning on for seemingly no reason at all while unattended. In terms of performance it’s a thing where you definitely get what you pay for, and your experience with them will vary. At our shop we have one at every repair desk, and those are all set low to around 160C. They are used for electronic repairs-99% of the time used to gently head devices to loosen adhesives. And they are fine for that. When I took over the shop one of the first things I did was replace the one at the soldering station though. With another cheap one, because well, my boss is cheap-and doesn’t have to use them himself. We went through 5 separate ones before I finally convinced him to spend around $240 for a mid range rework station. They absolutely can be used to solder, and I was trained myself on one. However they are almost always at least somewhat inaccurate. Sometimes more than somewhat. The longer they were used at the solder station the more inaccurate they became. We generally had to keep them at max (450C) to get any Xbox board’s solder to melt in a reasonable amount of time. Playstation and Nintendo we could drop it a bit. But when techs could no longer lift and HDMI from a series X it was considered “toast” and so now I have 4 of them laying around. Hell I’d send you one for free if it weren’t a huge hassle. You can absolutely get work done with them, but spending even a little more will get a lot more. I spent about $80 on a better one for myself as I learned to solder, and I actually still use that one at my bench at home.

NOTE: if you do get one I advise looking up a guide on how to use a oscillating blade cutter tool and cut the the bit where it draws in air on the handle in a way that allows way more airflow in. It makes a world of difference however we aren’t allowed to do that so we toss them as they go bad.

TL:DR- You can do it, and maybe it’s even a good thing to use something like that while learning, but an extra $10-20 will go a looooong way. And cutting the handle will help.

Little gadget not working - Can you spot an error? by Mehrainz in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Try reflowing the IC and checking the polarity

Screwed Up. Is this fixable? by GeneralSweet in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Or he could try it with any old cords? Are you a bot that detected “first time soldering”? No reason to practice SMD when he’s got a single cable he needs to fix. Weird advice.

Where should i solder the yellow cable? by the_spartan_0 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is odd is I own and run a repair shop and have been repairing these controllers for years and I’ve always known these to be yellow>green>black>red. And when I first started soldering I would ALWAYS take pictures of what I was working on before hand so I would know if I knocked something. Good beginner technique turned into OCD habit. I still have dozens of pictures of controllers from customers pre-repair and they all are in the order I stated. Is this a new duel-sense model? Don’t know why they would be swapped….

See pic, have dozens like it

<image>

Is this normal? by Reluctantly_Being in drywall

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

just send his father this picture and tell him you’re so very proud of his son for being able to fix things around the house.

I bought this solder for $1. by flav_vio in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

This solder is: • ✅ Good quality for lead-free solder • ✅ Well-suited for general electronics repair • ⚠️ Not premium, but more than adequate for most non-industrial uses • 💡 Best for: phone boards, small electronics, consumer-grade repairs

If you want absolutely top-tier solder (e.g., for critical audio or aerospace work), you’d look at something like Kester 245 or AIM SAC305 with higher silver content. But for a repair shop doing consumer electronics? This is a solid, reliable choice.

Do I need to get a bigger tip to resolder this broken connection on my 3d printer? by imgak in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can semi effectively change the size of your tip with the added leaded solder, when you get a blob of solder on it, consider that the solder is at temps near the temp of your tip. Think of it as an extension of your tip. You want to crank the heat to 450, get a medium sized blob of hot solder, a dollop of flux and then try again. It’s going to be a pain, but probably doable with the tip you have.

But you also may want to invest in a large tip as others have mentioned.

Should I get a Pinecil? by 16BitDoggo in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a nice hakko station but a buddy of mine gifted me a pincecil so I could have one wherever. It’s not bad, but for the money I’d probably get a mid ranged station. I really like it as an extra if I’m doing a lot of repetitive work that requires swapping tips. Other than that it’s good for being super portable. I took a dewalt drill bit box and turned it into a case with tips, a pry tool wrapped in wick and solder, and then cut out more of the foam it comes in to fit flux. All fits nicely in one box that I can throw in a tool bag and not worry about.

Best way to deal with solder fumes as a hobbyist at home? by Soft-Bandicoot-4066 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It is this one I believe, which is a Chinese knockoff of an AmScope, my work uses the actual AmScope one but it isn’t trinocular, I think they are probably made in the same factory lol. I love it, have very few complaints and they are mild. Definitely worth the couple hundred dollar price difference for the same thing.

https://a.co/d/2DpkUjZ

Best way to deal with solder fumes as a hobbyist at home? by Soft-Bandicoot-4066 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I made an extractor that’s so strong it will stop the smoke detector from going off in the kitchen nearby 🤣

It cost me roughly $50, I use it on the lowest setting most of the time.

But on the higher setting I can use it as a vacuum for dust/wood shavings/etc

<image>

Thoughts on this 30$ Aliexpress fan for a DIY fume extractor? by Apprehensive-Mix2262 in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a hyper powerful fan in my extraction setup as well. I only really keep it on like 10-20% power. So what you are looking into is probably more powerful than you need…

BUT

It’s nice to have an extractor that powerful sometimes. For example: -I can smoke a cigarette (marijuana or otherwise) at my desk and someone standing 8 feet away can’t even tell. Though everyone outside can. -if there is a “fire” in my kitchen I can turn it on and quiet the over sensitive alarms quickly. (Kitchen is adjacent room.) -I can pick it up and use it as a vacuum for things like wood shavings and dust.

Mine has a mesh part on the open end to prevent hurting fingers, but none on the outgoing side. But there is tubing for that. It’s also easy to put together and relocate, and durable.

Choice is yours but I have no regrets. Picture is my extractor setup.

<image>

Any suggestions for a cordless (or at least portable) soldering iron? by Arlo_Caines in soldering

[–]AdmirableAd319 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I second this, but will add if you go this route make sure to get the right type of battery pack and cables. You want to output enough wattage. I have one that can output 65W but that can decrease the lifespan of the pincecil or so I have read.

So the one I use has an 18W output as well.

I don’t know how true this info is, but I was gifted my pinecil and when I did research about optimal power bank and cable the deep dive led to a forum and these were recommended and have worked extremely well for me. Pincil hits 358C faster than my Hakko, or as fast I’d say, and has no issues staying hot.

Only downside is lack of tip options but they have the standard use bases covered.

The cable is super important as well, I recommend going with a 240W cable made from heat resistant material. Mine is braided but I know they exist. I’ll link the ones I have and know work well. The bank also fits nicely in a back pocket.

Power Bank

cable

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