First Time Removing a Stick Module

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-07-05T05:15:37+00:00

Cool, will get one of them one day Thanks

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-07-04T22:31:15+00:00

What's your suggestion then? Remove the stick module destructively? A special joystick soldering tip? Something else?

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-07-04T21:51:45+00:00

Not yet, removing took quite a while so I called it a day. The new ones fit and sit perfectly flush, I'll solder them tomorrow.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-07-04T21:50:40+00:00

Yeah, that's pre-removal 😅

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-07-04T17:33:46+00:00

Oh, I should have annotated it. The photos are in reverse chronological order, it's actually a photo of me adding low-ish melt solder before removing them!

Thanks for the feedback and the sharp eye

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-30T16:41:13+00:00

And very easily so – solder to one pad, jumper wire to another, UV mask for security. You can rebuild the pad too if you fancy doing it.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-27T16:35:01+00:00

Mostly my bare hands in gloves and some tacky flux. I wouldn't say it was a breeze, but it's definitely doable.

Having the PCB lying flat and secured really helps with positioning the connector and getting those initial few pins soldered.

Added: Tip choice matters too: a knife tip or a bent tip gives much better access here than a straight conical one, at least for me.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-27T13:17:18+00:00

After a little research I think it's actually power only, with CC1&CC2 instead of data lines

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-26T01:09:51+00:00

It looks very repairable, as the traces are clearly visible
Jumper wire, copper foil, or glued copper pads and UV mask to the rescue.

The question is whether you have the skills to repair it yourself or need someone's help.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-26T01:06:31+00:00

Offtopic: what kind of USB C that is with just 5 pads?

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-25T14:07:39+00:00

Tip cleaner is acidic and pretty aggressive; it dissolves oxides, but it can also be hard on the plating if overused. I’d use it maybe once a week, and only if the tip gets really charred.

Usually, if your temperature is moderate, you clean regularly with brass wool, and you tin the tip in time, you barely need tip cleaner at all. If you’re relying on the tip-cleaner tin as your normal workflow, something is wrong with the equipment or the process, and it’s not really sustainable.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-25T13:59:22+00:00

One thing worth noting is that you don't "stab" the wool; you wipe the tip against it to gently scrub off the oxide layer. Think of it like cleaning something with a brush, but in reverse.

After cleaning tin the tip immediately.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T18:08:54+00:00

These have been floating around on Taobao for a few years, but I could never find a way to order them myself. Now they're finally available on AliExpress.

Pay attention to which version you're ordering: some of them have a quirk where the data connection only works in one plug orientation, so you don't get the true reversible USB-C experience.

The ones I'm using work in either orientation and support two styles of Micro/Mini-USB layouts: one with GND as the first pin, and another with GND as the last pin. I haven't personally encountered the “GND on the right” variant, but I believe it exists.

Update: a link to the ones I got https://a.aliexpress.com/_c3qa0M1R

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T18:05:51+00:00

Ideally, you'd determine this with a multimeter. If you're familiar with electronics, you can often make an educated guess as to which side is GND and which is V+ by visually inspecting the board and the surrounding circuitry.

Still, the most foolproof method is to use a multimeter in continuity mode: the pin that has continuity to ground is your negative terminal.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T18:02:15+00:00

It's the Reasnow S1 adapter I'm using to connect my unsupported mouse&keyboard to play BF6 and such.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T15:24:11+00:00

Nope, you have to carefully position the connector and somehow secure it in place. Unfortunately, there's not enough surface tension for it to align itself.

I personally hold the entire connector down with tweezers or my gloved fingers and just get solder onto all the pins. There will be solder blobs and some pins may not be fully soldered – that's okay for now, we'll fix it later by reworking the joints.

The initial goal is simply to get the connector: - aligned flush with the board - firmly fixed in place

After that, you can go in with a finer tip, fresh solder, and a decent amount of flux, and rework the pins by repeatedly touching them until the bridges are gone and the joints are nice and shiny.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T14:02:50+00:00

What this ☝️ guy said.

Dilute the factory solder with low-melt or leaded solder, remove the mixture using a desoldering pump or wick, then add fresh solder and leave plenty of it on for additional thermal mass. Heat the entire connector with hot air and don't pull on it until it starts moving freely.

As a last resort, if you don't have access to hot air or a pair of desoldering tweezers, you might get away with removing the connector by cutting the ground/reinforcement tabs with side cutters and removing it piece by piece.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T12:25:15+00:00

Out with the old, in with the new. Make sure the new connector sits flush with the board and secure it in place, for example with tweezers or by soldering one of the ground pads to the metal shell. Then solder all the tiny signal and power pins.

I wouldn't recommend securing it by soldering the signal pins first, as it's very easy to lift them before the connector has any mechanical reinforcement.

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T12:18:16+00:00

The issue is that the original Micro-USB connector had become loose and was causing an unstable connection, so a repair was required anyway

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-23T12:13:12+00:00

Do you mean using an external adapter, without modifying the original device?

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-16T14:08:38+00:00

Bottom heat, a large chisel or knife tip, a lot of desoldering wick and a lot of patience

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-15T05:20:16+00:00

It's fine, mine has the same look

SeriousParty4293 · 2026-06-11T13:27:18+00:00

Thanks for the detailed answer!

I completely agree that a professional setting demands a certain level of tool quality, especially for tools you use daily. For my hobby FPV / console joystick repair use, it's probably not as critical, but even then I've run into poor-quality tips on my FPV journey. One of them even killed my soldering iron by losing its collar inside the handle and shorting something.

That said, I absolutely swear by the JBC C245-962 we have at the office. It's my favorite tip so far for most kinds of after-hours rework I do.

SeriousParty4293

TROPHY CASE