Soldering Question

[hotlips69]

I know my way around a motherboard, but have never used a soldering iron (nor do I currently possess one).

I need to (re-)solder something to a motherboard and was hoping for some advice on what type/power/type of tip of soldering iron I should purchase for the job?

Also, do I need a specific type of solder to work with motherboards?

I've been looking on ebay and there are soldering irons ranging from about 20w to 100w and some come with de-soldering pumps and some don't etc.....

Help!

[rkawakami]

It sorta depends upon what you are trying to re-solder but some general guidelines:

- use the lowest wattage/temperature iron as to minimize the possibility of damaging the motherboard (lifting traces); 25 watts is about right, if you can use a temperature controlled iron, so much the better
- use the sharpest tip possible; if you are trying to remove/install a multi-legged component, then you may need a special tip or it might require a hot-air reflow system
- if you can find some, use lead solder as it melts at a lower temperature than lead-free solder
- use the thinnest (smallest diameter) solder possible; something in the order of 0.5mm (assuming you don't have access to solder paste and/or a surface mount rework station)

[sb102]

It sorta depends upon what you are trying to re-solder but some general guidelines:

- use the lowest wattage/temperature iron as to minimize the possibility of damaging the motherboard (lifting traces); 25 watts is about right, if you can use a temperature controlled iron, so much the better
- use the sharpest tip possible; if you are trying to remove/install a multi-legged component, then you may need a special tip or it might require a hot-air reflow system
- if you can find some, use lead solder as it melts at a lower temperature than lead-free solder
- use the thinnest (smallest diameter) solder possible; something in the order of 0.5mm (assuming you don't have access to solder paste and/or a surface mount rework station)

From myself I would also add to rkawakami's list, that if you never did any soldering, that you train first on some dead motherboard (because motherboards are harder to repair than standard PCB - they have loads of tiny SMD components and those are harder to solder/desolder) - you have have agility and presision in your hands to do everything okay and not to damage the mainboard.