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Hi,
>So I'm still thinking that a terminator is a good idea, at least if I would like the system to not hang occasionally. I figure I can try it and if it doesn't help, I can eliminate that nagging doubt. I really have no other idea what could be going on with something so sporadic. I understand, leave no stone unturned. >PS: I have a good soldering iron. For desoldering I use a vacuum bulb desoldering iron. There's usually so little solder left that the pins can be broken free with a bit of effort, but it isn't a quick process. Of course, if you're OK sacrificing the chip, then cutting off the leads and desoldering them one by one is the way to go. I'd like to get a vacuum pump desoldering station, but a good one is pretty expensive. What I've seen on ebay has been either very expensive or in really bad shape. Cool, I've never used one, but if it gets out most of the solder, then you can just wiggle the whole chip, or wiggle individual pins. The Vacuum pump stations are about the same, but probably a little faster. But in this case, speed is not an issue. What does work really well is the solder pot's. Looking at them on ebay, they are pretty cheap. I'm considering to get one. I'm going to ask around for some advice first. But I saw one used on YouTube, and it's really great. I used a solder pot 20 years ago, actually it was a fountain. You stick your board on top, the solder would shoot up and the board was like floating on molten solder. you could pick up the chip with your bare fingers if you were careful not to touch the board. But after 1 or 2 burns, you'll play it safe and use pliars or tweezers. The solder pots I see on ebay are not fountains... but I guess if you fill them to the rim, they will work the same. You have to coat the area with flux, then holding the board on top of the molten solder will refresh all those connections and allow you pull & replace chips like they weren't even soldered. However, if your chip or other part has bent leads... look out, the board will snag and splash molten solder everywhere... big mess. not to mention other parts might jump out of their place on the board. |