I agree with everything Ron has said here and would like to add: The spring loaded solder remover as well as the Hakko 808 require frequent cleaning. The spring type should be disassembled and all of the solder bits removed. You can clean the excess flux from inside the barrel with a rag and a little WD40. You should also put a light coat of silicone grease on the O-ring on the plunger. Get a few spare tips and on one of them cut a little V with your flush cutters just large enough for your soldering tip. That way you can place solder sucker tip over the iron tip and get a better seal for the vacuum to remove the solder
If the solder sucker is not clean the little balls of solder will re-fill the pad hole and generally get all over the board as well as the loss of suction will require several tries to get the solder removed. I usually clean the solder sucker after about 10-15 cycles. You can also use a wooden toothpick to clean out the pad holes after the part is removed if you heat the pad and stick the toothpick into the hole while the solder is still liquid but the solder sucker works better. Don Brown KD5NDB ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ron D'Eau Claire" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:39 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Desoldering and installing the KX1 3080 option <Snip> A power vacuum desolderer like the Hakko can be a wonderful investment and good addition to the bench. Like any tool, it requires the user understand its limitations and applications. It does greatly eliminate the need for two-handed desoldering. I'm aware that one can use a separate desoldering pump and iron on one side of the board. It works, but it usually takes more heat and more time. Because of that, it's a good way to debond pads. The Hakko 808 makes the job easier, for a price. Just be careful, very careful, what you touch with it. I've used similar tools. I've thought about getting one myself, but since we don't have it on the recommend tools list... Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ 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
