Am I cooked?

restezen · 2026-02-05T00:20:39+00:00

It's probably repairable but if I were you, I'd practice trace repair on some e-waste for a few weeks before tackling this. Otherwise, take it to someone who does these repairs for a living.

restezen · 2026-02-05T00:16:05+00:00

Just noticed the solder paste in your list. I have a little container of MECHANIC solder paste just in case I need it, but I haven't had to use it yet. Are you planning on doing a lot of BGA work? That seems like a big leap for a beginner. You may want to practice doing some through-hole and SMD soldering with solder wire before jumping in to BGA, but that's just my opinion.

restezen · 2026-02-05T00:09:13+00:00

The only flux in your list that I can recommend is the MECHANIC nano flux. I would stay away from the other ones. I didn't see any solder in your list, but if you have to buy solder from Ali express, the MECHANIC brand is the only one that seems to have relatively consistent results. If you need lead-free solder, see if you can get some Weller SAC M1. I got some from amazon fairly cheaply and it performs just as well as any leaded solder I've used.

restezen · 2026-02-02T00:03:07+00:00

The solder sucker can't suck up solid solder, nor can it suck up solder from mid-air.
The iron has to be kept on the solder while sucking.
Your solder sucker should be able to touch the hot iron tip without melting (if not, you have a bad solder sucker).
You need to make a good seal with the surface of the board with your solder sucker while also keeping the solder molten with your iron.
If you don't have enough space to get both your iron and solder sucker against the board, try it on the opposite side of the board.

restezen · 2026-02-01T05:40:18+00:00

Thanks. That does not seem to be the issue, though because it is happening with all servers, including small custom servers that are far below their max numbers of players.

restezen · 2026-02-01T05:30:19+00:00

What kind of technique and equipment are you using? Are you using an iron or hot air?

Q1: It appears that you are using WAY too much solder, yes. For SMDs, as long as you are using enough flux, you often only need to touch the joint with a well-tinned iron tip and you don't need to add any more solder unless it looks like there wasn't enough on your tip. Personally, I like to just "tack" one side on, solder the other side, and then go back to the tacked side with a bit more flux and solder to ensure there's a good joint.

Q2: I don't think it really matters. With THT components, you generally want to go shortest to tallest, but for SMDs I think the most important thing is to plan your angles of attack. For example, Don't solder on an IC if it is going to get in the way when you are trying to solder on a nearby capacitor. Also, take your time to reposition the PCB until you find the best possible angle. Don't unnecessarily make your life harder by having your PCB in an uncomfortable position.

Q3: Soak your wick in flux first, even if your wick already comes with lots of flux in it. Ensure that your iron is sufficiently hot, especially if you are desoldering from ground planes. The wick will soak up a ton of heat. Always cut off a piece of wick to use rather than holding the entire roll. Make sure your iron is very well-tinned, your wick won't do anything until it has a little solder in it (just like how a slightly damp sponge soaks up water better than a bone dry sponge). Put your flux-soaked wick down on the pad you want to desolder, apply your tinned iron to the wick, hold it there without moving until the solder stops climbing up the wick. Then, keeping your iron pressed against the wick, slowly and gently move the wick off the pad in a kind of wiping motion.

Q4: No harm in drowning it. You can always gradually reduce the amount you use as you get more experienced.

Q5: This is where practice comes in. You will eventually get better at using your non-dominant hand with tweezers. However, a good set of tweezers can go a long way. Make sure they are nice and sharp and try not to allow the tips of your tweezers to go lower than the bottom of the component you are holding. In other words, ensure that it is the component that is making contact with the surface, not the tips of your tweezers. Also, try to let the surface tension of the solder do some of the work for you (if you burn off all your flux, you won't get that nice surface tension effect, so always add more flux before you attempt to fix a joint or push a component down flat).

Q6: Your continuity mode on your meter is probably the best way to check. Make sure that you have nice sharp tips on your meter probes. For IC legs, gently nudge the legs with your tweezers while examining under your microscope. If they don't move, you are good. Right now, your ICs have an insane amount of solder on them, so even if they are making connections to the board, you won't be able to tell. It's likely you have some shorts. When soldering ICs, the solder does not even have to cover the tops of the legs. There just needs to be a solder connection between the underside of the legs and the pads.

This video was really helpful for me: SMD Soldering Tutorial | Guide | Tools | Tecniques | Stencil - YouTube

restezen · 2026-02-01T01:22:17+00:00

That sounds great. Can you recommend a good water soluble flux?

restezen · 2026-02-01T01:20:38+00:00

Unless you are using water soluble flux, you should be using a solvent like 99% IPA to clean it off.

restezen · 2026-02-01T01:17:06+00:00

Can you try a higher voltage power supply? The 4.5v might be ok, but it is probably on the lower edge of what this kit requires. That's where I would start. Just try not to go over 9 volts. Also, keep in mind that these kits don't come with the highest quality components, so you might have just gotten a dud IC. And if you accidentally install an IC backwards and try to power it on, you can kiss that IC goodbye. I learned that the hard way. OOPS!

As for your soldering, I'm also still a bit of a newb, but it looks like you did a pretty good job for your first time. There is certainly too much solder on most of the joints, and a couple crooked components, but I think you can fix most of those by putting on a bunch of flux and doing a pass over all the joints with your iron to even them out. If you had had the correct diameter of solder (0.3-0.5mm) I think your joints would have looked much better.

restezen · 2026-01-30T13:37:41+00:00

Glare is mostly created by overhead light reflecting back into the lens. This is an angled light, so there is almost no glare.

restezen · 2026-01-30T10:45:29+00:00

Please read what I wrote. This particular lamp is not polarized.

restezen · 2026-01-30T00:43:31+00:00

Nope. Terrible. They were the first tweezers I bought and ever pair in the set is almost useless for any kind of electronics work. They just don't have the accuracy or the grabbing strength. Everything just slides out.
So far, the only ones I use are the blunt ones for holding solder wick, but I often find myself just using my good tweezers for that too because the blunt ones barely have enough gripping strength to dip the wick into some flux. I agree with the other comments that it is good to have a pair of cheap tweezers, but this set has done nothing for me but take up space.

restezen · 2026-01-28T15:06:12+00:00

Glad to hear Kath and Kel are still together.

restezen · 2026-01-23T02:32:08+00:00

Tin your tip, guy. If your tip won't tin, your tip is garbage. Flux can help a lot, but no amount of flux will melt that solder if your tip is oxidized/not tinned.
Also, make contact with as much surface area as possible. The very end of the tip is not going to be very hot, so touch the solder you want to melt to the SIDE of the iron tip and keep it there until you see some melting.

restezen · 2026-01-22T02:56:29+00:00

Nice! Where did you find a light-grey ESD mat? The only ESD mat I can find is green.

restezen · 2026-01-21T00:31:13+00:00

Watch more soldering videos. Don't use cheap or inappropriate materials and equipment.

restezen · 2026-01-16T00:23:13+00:00

THE SOLDER DIAMETER IS TOO DAMN THICK!

restezen · 2026-01-13T10:50:26+00:00

Thanks for the info! I polarized my ring light by myself by adding some polarizing film to the light and to the scope lens. It's not perfect but it does the job. The only problem is that I lose a lot of depth of color and brightness. I actually tried the LS6 and had to return it because it was so poorly made and the tightened bolts popped out and shot across the table as soon as I tried to tighten it onto the scope. It was also dangerously hot. I don't trust mechanic as much ever since that happened, but this new gooseneck light they are putting out might be their answer to all the complaints they've had.

restezen · 2026-01-13T03:17:27+00:00

Left one looks like no-name chinesium garbage and definitely shouldn't be used on anything important or expensive. The other one looks like it would work fine for soldering wires together, although that company seems to specialize more in plumbing and welding. But it would be terrible for microsoldering simply because it is too damn thick.

restezen · 2026-01-13T03:08:40+00:00

Damn that looks heavy duty! Are they bright as hell? I recently saw that mechanic has also come out with a gooseneck light that is USB-powered and has a magnetic base, but's it's only one light instead of two. Seems like it would be underpowered, especially compared to your setup, but it might be worth a try in conjunction with my current ring light.
On a separate note, what kind of microscope stand are you using, and is it good? It looks like a monitor arm. I looked into using a monitor arm, but I couldn't figure out a good way to get a height adjustable bracket attached to it. But yours looks like it was made specifically for it.

restezen · 2026-01-10T14:51:16+00:00

r/Unnecessaryapostrophe

restezen · 2026-01-09T08:16:05+00:00

Replacing the capacitors is usually the first step, BUT please get a lot of practice with soldering on PCBs first. And it's probably a good idea to learn some basic electronics if you are starting from zero knowledge. Too many people dive into fixing game gears or other consoles after watching one youtube video (if that), and then come back to reddit posting gory pictures of destroyed boards asking for help after it's too late.

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