[dorkbotsea-blabber] Soldering station

[Mike Payson]

On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 2:24 PM,  <alex at alexcphoto.com> wrote:
> if I did more
> SMT id probably re consider,.. but so far iv been able to avoid SMT for the
> most part,.. still finding most everything available in TH,.. I am sure that
> will change over time,.. but probably not the next 5 years,..

Soldering SMT is easier than you think. I just did my first SMT board
recently, and for most parts it was quite easy. Soldering a 44 pin
TQFP was a bit tougher than soldering a comparable DIP, but it took
less time overall. I'm pretty sure that if I did it more often, I
would find SMT both easier and faster. Soldering an 0603 resistor is a
bit tricky, but I guarantee that you can do it if I can. It's not just
part selection that is the benefit, but it also lets you build smaller
boards. Some parts are cheaper, too.

Here's a youtube video that covers the basics of soldering SMT. It's
the one that I learned from.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3NN7UGWYmBY

One caveat... If you're using Eagle or a similar program to design a
PCB & you build your own parts for anything, be sure to make the pads
the recommended size or even a bit larger. The only part that I had
significant trouble with was an SMT inductor that I had made the part
for & I made the pads to small. It was nearly impossible to solder,
though I did get it in the end.

Mike