Great video. question about de-soldering...i've used a solder sucker in the past with decent results. the only issue i've had is in tight spaces or joints that are really close together. i guess using a combination of the two would work well but what are your thoughts on solder suckers?
Honestly I have never liked using a solder sucker or a desoldering iron that has a sucker on it. I have used a dedicated rework station with a built in vacuum pump which was nice.
When using a solder sucker I never like having to heat up the joint then take the iron off and get the sucker on and push the button. It can end up taking several times to get enough solder out of the joint which means your are heating the board and component several different times. This can lead to problems such as lifting pads or damaging the component.
When using an inexpensive desoldering iron they make it impossible to see the joint while you are working with heat applied. Also the iron tip can cool rapidly while you are using the bulb to suck the solder, meaning you need to keep heating up the joint to increase the temperature. Also the iron tip is so large that unless you are working on large pad some part of the tip will be resting on the fiberglass board. Again, this can lead to problems such as lifting pads or damaging the component.
Some of the dedicated rework stations are more user friendly and have different size tips with a vacuum pump and definitely make the job easier. There are also hot air stations but I have never used one so I can't comment on those.
I personally like using the wick because its simple, it works, its cheap and I feel I have better control of the heat.
One last note, I feel that people should spend time desoldering on a practice board before doing any work on a project board. You have to train for problems to be able to handle them.
I dunno, I guess that is my two cents worth.
Rich
