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Thread: Soldering Basics

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    Peach (Level 3) Zthun's Avatar
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    Default Soldering Basics

    I'm new at this so bear with me.

    I was trying to desolder an SNES battery from a cart that was pretty much non-working.

    I managed to suck away the majority of the solder, but from what I can tell, the remainder of the solder on the back side of the cart is still intact and won't melt. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about desoldering the batteries because the battery I'm trying to remove won't come off, and the remainder of the solder left won't seem to reach a melting point.

    Does anyone have any advice? Or can point me to a thread or tutorial that works (the one I used didn't work well as you can imagine).

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    Great Puma (Level 12) Bratwurst's Avatar
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    Reapply solder to the area you've cleaned, the idea is to get this to flow back to the remaining solder that's still holding the battery in place.

    Slide a flat head screwdriver underneath the battery and while applying heat to the solder blob, gently pry one side until that tab slides out. You need to be careful that you don't pry it so suddenly that molten metal is going to spatter.

    Repeat for the other tab, then clean the excess solder off.

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    Great Puma (Level 12) jb143's Avatar
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    You might also need a higher power soldering/desoldering iron. The bigger the surface area you're trying to heat up, the more power you need. Most hobby types are really only good for light soldering.

    Also, there's a chance that the battery was welded in place.
    "Game programmers are generally lazy individuals. That's right. It's true. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Since the dawn of computer games, game programmers have looked for shortcuts to coolness." Kurt Arnlund - Game programmer for Activision, Accolade...

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    Strawberry (Level 2)
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    There is a trick to removing batteries. Since you already removed most of the solder, go ahead and add some more back. This is allow for adequate heat transfer. Now go put the soldering iron tip on the joint and while its still touching the joint, pull back on the battery. It should come out fairly easily if the leg wasn't bent. Rinse and repeat for the other leg.

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    Cherry (Level 1) phreakindee's Avatar
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    I also would recommend a 25-30 watt iron. I used a 15-watt desoldering things for my Spectrum and ran into problems with it not getting the heat I needed on the backside.
    PC Game Collector - DOS and beyond

    Lazy Game Reviews

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    Apple (Level 5) tubeway's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by phreakindee View Post
    not getting the heat I needed on the backside.
    teehee

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    Peach (Level 3) Zthun's Avatar
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bratwurst View Post
    Reapply solder to the area you've cleaned, the idea is to get this to flow back to the remaining solder that's still holding the battery in place.

    Slide a flat head screwdriver underneath the battery and while applying heat to the solder blob, gently pry one side until that tab slides out. You need to be careful that you don't pry it so suddenly that molten metal is going to spatter.

    Repeat for the other tab, then clean the excess solder off.
    This worked great. Just what I needed. Thanks!

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