Thread: Soldering?

I have a handful of computers with some bulging capacitors on them. I would like to learn to replace these. Anyone know of a dvd, vhs tape, good book, website etc. that would help me teach myself to solder in general or solder capacitors on motherboards specifically?

"Just replace the motherboard" "Its not worth the time"...

I have time on my hands and would like to learn how to do this just for the sake of learning. If I screw up these boards any worse it won't matter.

Last time I soldered something difficult (a combination of metals that rejected normal solder) I went to youtube for tips. There were quite a few good tutorials.

Use as little heat as possible. You may not have success as some boards are "multi" layered.
Be careful when working caps. They hold a big charge for a long time!! I have a freind that accidentally discharged one, (not a small one) but none the less, a big ball of blue flame knock him across the room.

a big ball of blue flame knock him across the room.

Cool!

I mean, is he alright?

LOL little burnt hair, but I remember him telling me that it really rattled his brain!!! LOL.

As I work in the computer field... Just replace the boards... but the Ham Radio Operator in me says, fix it...

I suggest a good soldering iron... Personally I use a Weller soldering station, temperature is variable, many different tips... Even a cheap 25W (dont get thoes junk dollar store units!) iron should be more than acceptable for the task. Stay far away form the dreaded solder gun... they are too big and too hot for what you need to do.

Get a solder sucker or even better some soldering braid.

Make sure to replace the caps with the same voltage rating and same value... the voltage rating could be higher with out problems, but dont change the actual value of the cap... if it is a 100uF cap, dont put a 110uf or a 90uf cap in there.. replace it with the same.

The voltages across the caps shouldn't be too bad... 5 to 12 Volts.. but I would still suggest discharging them through a 100 ohm 1W resistor, just for safety sakes.

Find out if the board is RHOS... because you may need to get lead free solder... but personally, I would use good old 60/40 or 63/37 Lead / Tin solder....

Use Google, and you will discover many soldering tutorials... check out some desoldering tutorials as well... you are going to need to remove the old caps.

Go take a visit to your local electronics shop... they may be able to help you get some of the tools you may need to start your project....

I hope this gets you off to a good start.

Let us know how this turns out!

All good information. Thank you.

I'm trying to put a shopping list together.

Would a weller 40w iron from home depot be a decent place to start?

I have seen stick type suckers and bulb type suckers. Any preference? Do you need a sucker and braid or one or the other?

Where would you recommend getting capacitors? Can they be found in chain stores or just the net?

How do I pick out the right solder to solder on the new one. What size, etc?

Here is a good deal on a very good soldering iron:
FRYS.com | Hakko

If you are in the Phoenix area I understand that they may have an in store special right now that may make them even less expensive. I have had one of these for several years and it serves me very well. It is much better than the cheak knock-offs that look similar but are unreliable and difficult to use. I am not familiar with the Weller unit mentioned earlier but I suspect that it would be similar to the Hakko unit in the link above. Hakko makes commercial soldering stations as well. I would consider this one to be an excellent unit for an avid hobbyist but not quite up to commercial production use standards. The price is not in that range either.