soldering onto VIAs

[chelfyn]

I'm mid-way through a MARS2 chip installation, and all's been going well until I had to try and solder directly onto the VIAs on the back of the board.... I've tried shadowknytes tips and tricks, but I can't get the VIA's to take any solder.

I'm on the verge of admitting defeat! Can anyone help with info on how to make these connections....

[spedmetal]

Lightly scrap the via with an Exacto blade until it is the color of shinny copper. Remember very lightly, if you scrape to hard you and cut away the via making your mobo defective. After you have done that apply solder paste to the via. Now put a small amount of solder on your iron and touch it to the via that you just put the paste on. The solder, if done correctly, should take to the via filling the hole and make the via some what of a pad now. Now that this is done, stripe your wire and tine it leaving a small amount of solder on the wire. Now dab that in the paste so there is a small amount of paste left on the tinned wire. Now put the tinned wire with the paste on it over the via you prepped earlier and touch the iron to them both. This is just a quick little touch and shouldn’t take much. In fact you don’t want to linger to long on the via as damage to it could result. When all is done be sure to clean all the paste off the joints with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol as solder paste can be corrosive. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[chelfyn]

thanks for the help! as it happens I rang around and found a local experienced modchip installer that's willing to prep the pads for me for a mere $20NZ. I reckon that's worth it, given the potential risk. I normally hate to bail out on a mission and admit defeat, but the wife would kill me if I killed our brand new ps2, so I'm erring on the side of safety this time round It's the scraping that scares me most....

[TylerDurden]

Or just get a fiberglass pen and do it yourself. If you got a fiberglass pen theres no worries in it.



Tyler!

[seaneyb2003]

Originally posted by TylerDurden
Or just get a fiberglass pen and do it yourself. If you got a fiberglass pen theres no worries in it.



Tyler!

just going to say that tyler you beet me too it

[TylerDurden]

Im not racing anyone here.



Tyler!

[chelfyn]

I've never even heard of a fiberglass pen until I read the FAQ from the site of the modchip guy that's going to sort out my mobo for me. Then two of you mention it on this thread! gah! I'm still going to see the modchip guy though, as he lives just down the road and I'm just a bag of nerves about the whole thing now. The most annoying thing about this is that the soldering I did on the rest of the install is some of the best and neatest work I've ever done, but then again most of my soldering experience is in making ****loads of audio leads for my studio, not delicate surface mount work. I make a mean audio cable though

None of the install FAQ's I came across prior to encountering the problem mentioned the difficulties of soldering onto the VIAs, so maybe this info should be in a few more FAQs...

Once again, thanks for your help. If I have to do another I'll be more confident (esp. once I see them prepped this afternoon)

[TylerDurden]

Ive never had a problem soldering to via's. Ive either just used a fiberglass pen or the end of my exacto knife. With the exacto knife you will want to just lightly scratch it. You really cant go wrong with a fiberglass pen.



Tyler!

[mollar]

Ive read about this fiberglass pen but i havent read what it actually does or what exactly you do with it???


Can someone clue me in.


Ive been trying to install my chip for the last 2 weeks. Im going to commit suicide.

I got half the wires soldered on but cant get the rest. I dont know why some contacts stick like a rock and the rest dont stick at all. I scrapped them all.

Im getting a headache........

[spedmetal]

The fiberglass pen could be compared to using sand paper on the vias to get the enamel off of them and exposing clean solderable copper. The fiberglass pen is much more gentile then sand paper and by all means DONT USE SAND PAPER!!! This was just a comparison to make you understand.

[TylerDurden]

Remember those eraser pens from school? The ones that you would just click the top like a mechanical pencil and the eraser would drop on the bottom, so you could erase.


Well a fiberglass pen is like an eraser pen. All except for that it drops out a little bristle of fiberglass that you use to polish off the varnish on a motherboard.



Tyler!

[mollar]

So whats the trick to get these wires to stick on the pads??

Getting the enamel off is not a problem. Ive read different install intructions but cant get these pads ready.

I bought this paste but doesnt really work. makes a mess. I dont even know if its thr right paste to begin with so i stopped using that.


I wish i could see someone do one properly......


Thats what someone needs to do. Someone should make a mpeg movie of preping and soldering a contact pad. That would help so many people.


Im sure theres a method to this maddness. I just want to know the method........

[spedmetal]

Originally posted by mollar
Im sure theres a method to this maddness. I just want to know the method........

The method is pratice, pratice, pratice...... no mpeg can replace this! Just get an old cd player, modem, phone, whatever ...and find some via's on it and practice until your blue in the face ....then start over with more praticeing until your green in the face. When your face looks like a rainbow your ready for the PS2. Good luck!

[seaneyb2003]

Dude sped do a lil movie clip how to solder to the mobo it would really help.

[ihaveanosebleed]

I don’t prepare them at all, I’ve had no problems with them. The precut wires that come with the 50K’s fit perfectly in the tiny little holes. Then I bend the wire down and touch it with a spec of thin rosin core ( also supplied with my chip ) on my iron tip. Works great. I thought I might need to stick the wire in flux to draw the solder down into the hole but so far it’s been bonding great. If you frig around with fiberglass pens you'll just fill the holes with junk and end up with less surface for solder to bond to.