There has been much talk here and on other lists about the safe/correct way to remove ICs from circuit boards. Conventional ICs (as opposed to the surface mount jobs, which are another whole animal) can be removed cleanly and easily with a vacuum desoldering machine. Handheld vacuum poppers are not a good substitute for a motorized desoldering machine. For one thing, the popper's recoil will pull it off the work as it discharges. If you've ever used or seen one of these desoldering machines in action, they are nothing short of amazing. You put the tip over a pin, and it sucks the hole clean and dry in a fraction of a second. Do this fourteen times, and the IC can be easily removed intact with two fingers. The holes left behind are so clean that a new IC will drop right in as if they were virgin.
So, if you're building your dream K2, and you make an IC mistake, you want to find a local ham who has one of these machines. They're too expensive (upwards of $200 used) to buy for a one-shot deal, but they are the kind of tool you'd want around a serious workbench--kind of like a good oscilloscope. And they require maintenance. My suggestion is to get on the local repeater and ask who has one, rather than trying to wrestle the pins out of a hot circuit board. If you're local to me (Long Island) just ask. I have a working desoldering machine. Yes, you can clean out an IC using a combination of solder wick and vacuum poppers; but you will almost certainly do some damage to the traces/holes in the process, particularly on boards with plated through holes. Better to find someone to give you a couple of minutes of time with a desoldering machine. 72, Preston Douglas WJ2V _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
