7 May
2011
7 May
'11
1:22 p.m.
I'd be tempted to suggest that you pick up some scrap boards from
somewhere (old TV/computer from the tip) and practise.
I owuld agree. The only way to learn to solder (as with so many things)
is to practice.
Does the fact that modern PCBs are soldered with that lead-free muck make
any difference? I suspect it'as actually harder to desolder such boards
(as the lead-free solder melts at a higher temperature than the leaded
stuff) so if you can manage those you'll have very few problems with the
PDP11 boards
However, most modern PCbs have a lot of SMD parts (surface mounted, no
wires/pins through holes in the PCB) which are rather different to work
with. You want to conentrate on through-hole parts at lest for the moment.
You want to non-destructively remove this component and you've already
lifted a track.
Don't tell me that you've never lifted a track. If you do I will have to
conclude that you've never worked on a PCB :-)
-tony