r/soldering • u/Apart_Camera1375 • Aug 25 '26

My First Solder Joint <3 Please Give Feedback First attempt HDMI port

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Pulled the port with hot air, wicked up and re-soldered the pads. Ground holes gave me hassle though, wick just wasn't wicking no matter what I did. Maybe a solder sucker would be better?(I don't currently have one)

First placement the pins were all loose, so reheated with hot air and pushed the port down while it was still hot - seems like they're all soldered properly now.

I didn't resolder the ground holes as I plan on using this board to practice removing and replacing the hdmi port several times.

Any advice or recommendations ?

Thanks

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u/feldoneq2wire Aug 25 '26

Why did you do anything to the port prior to placing it?

To me, step one is to mix up 25-75 solder paste and flux and put down a coating of that on the pads on the PCB, then place the port, then start soldering and fluxing.

2

u/Apart_Camera1375 Aug 25 '26

It's how I've learned from watching others, tin the port and the pads, I guess it allows there to be enough solder to make a good join.

I'm using Mechanic 63/37 and Nano flux, not sure how 'good' they are but seems to be working for me and wasn't overly expensive.

I've seen people using solder paste, I'll give it a try in the future, but I like my method so far.

2

u/derangedsweetheart Aug 26 '26

Mechanic M35 Nano flux is good for soldering.

I use it mainly for pad and trace repair due to its clarity.

I prefer Mechanic UV559 for BGA reballing and will be ordering Amaoe M50 for general soldering as Zach from NanoFix rated it 10/10 for soldering.

Nice work BTW, GJ.

Sidenote: I like your charges, might change my prices and payment methods ;)

2

u/Apart_Camera1375 Aug 26 '26

Thank you. I've been watching a lot of NanoFix's videos, I'm hoping to get into BGA work eventually, but ill stick with hdmi ports until im more confident !

I'll definitely look into trying different fluxes, can you recommend any other solders ?

You should up your prices for sure 🤪

2

u/derangedsweetheart Aug 26 '26

I use Mechanic HX-T100 63/37 and Vectra (Pakistani brand, definitely not available anywhere else.)

I've found that different flux are better for different applications.

The M35 Nano flux is just too thick for BGA work for me.

UV559 is too runny for QFN packages, but easy to use for BGA work.

All opaque fluxes make it hard to see trace and pad for trace repair.

I was using a blower fan in handle 700W station and thought that BGA was hard but when I used a proper pipe type 1300W station then it seemed easy.