Desoldering the battery isn’t a big deal. Start by clipping it
out,
leaving just the legs soldered in. This makes the whole procedure
much safer and easier. You really don’t want to sink heat into a
battery, it’s an explosion risk.
Once the body of the battery is gone, use needle-nose pliers to
grab
the leg on the top side while heating from the solder side of the
board. Pull gently on the pliers once the solder melts, and the
leg
will come right out. Then you clear whatever solder is left in
the
holes, repeat for the other side, and solder in the new battery.
If you have no tools at all, my preferred method is to heat up the
through hole, then smack the board on the workbench. The momentum
will make the solder splash right out. Crude, but effective.
You can also use a soldapullt, this is very easy when the battery
is
removed. Put it on the parts side while heating from the bottom
and
pop it when the solder melts.
I’ve never had any luck with desoldering braid, so I don’t
recommend
it.
A good soldering iron and the right tip make all the difference in
the world. It’s scary how much better it is. I’m using an older
Hakko station, the current model is the FX-888D. They last
forever.
I got mine used, have had it for at least six years, do an
above-average amount of soldering, and haven’t even needed to
replace
the tip. Hard to beat for the money: https://amzn.to/2QCsWh3
Another option is the TS100. This is an open source iron that
runs
off a 12v wall wart. There are a jillion manufacturers, and they
all
sell for around $60: https://amzn.to/2OyQvWP -- Once you factor an
extra tip and power supply into the equation, it’s pretty close to
the
$100 mark, so you might be better off with the Hakko.
Those are the top end of the low end solde station market. Just
about
anything cheaper is junk. Those cheapo Weller and Aoyue stations
are
just awful, don’t waste your money on them.
No matter the iron, I’ve found the screwdriver shaped or "chisel"
tip
to work best for me. It holds the solder great and transfers heat
much better due to the large surface area you can put in contact
with
the part. For the FX-888D, T18-D16 is what you want:
https://amzn.to/2QDYcw0 -- For the TS100, the TS-D24:
https://amzn.to/2QBBFA1
Josh Malone writes:
Need to make sure you have a powerful-enough iron as there's a
fair amount
of heat sink there.
I doubt you would *completely* destroy the machine, but you
could damage
the battery connections. Where are you located? Are you looking
for someone
to do the job or wanting to tackle it yourself?
On Mon, Sep 17, 2018, 01:05 Gregory McGill
<[email protected]> wrote:
It's more the de-soldering that's the tricky part.. soldering
the new one
in is pretty simple..
On Sun, Sep 16, 2018 at 9:40 PM Daryn Hanright
<[email protected]> wrote:
Hey gang
My Tandy 102's NiCad finally looks like its giving up the
ghost, so have
ordered this:
https://www.jameco.com/z/NHB60H3A2H-Evergreen-Battery-Nimh-3-6Volt80Mah-2-Pins-Std-14-16Hrs-8Ma-6Hrs-16Ma_2137473.html
In terms of difficulty replacing the NiCad given I have
negligible
soldering skills...how hard? Is it possible I could completely
destroy the
machine?
cheers
Daryn
