First time I used a hot air rework station on a Gameboy Advance

Picked up a used Hakko 858D last month for 65 bucks. Tried removing a messed up power switch from a GBA that would only turn on if you held it at an angle. Got the board too hot on the first attempt and lifted a pad. Learned the hard way that preheating the whole board at 150C for a few minutes makes a huge difference. Second attempt worked perfectly with some low-temp solder added first. Has anyone else wrecked a board learning rework and found a better way to practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

mark_thomas19d ago

Wait, you lifted a pad on a GBA board? Those things are built like tanks compared to modern stuff. That must have stung pretty bad.

william_carter19d ago

Actually those old GBA boards can be surprisingly fragile near the power switch area. The board gets a little thinner there from the cutout for the switch, so the pads don't have as much to grip onto. Preheating is definitely the way to go though, low temp solder and some flux makes everything way more forgiving.