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When I started my first job a coworker encouraged me to learn how to solder SMDs and do "microsoldering". Like most people I thought I was going to need high precision and a much steadier hand. Probably like most people that learned I was impressed at how quick I picked it up. I think the hardest thing was learning about part "tombstoning" but that's not that difficult to deal with. I'm not going to say it is easier than soldering through-hole components, but I think for most people the mental barrier is much higher than the actual barrier.

I now highly recommend learning it to anyone doing electronics. It's well worth the (small) time investment and makes things a lot easier, opening lots of doors. Even for a hobbyist you immediately get benefits. Everything becomes more compact, 2 sided boards are much more usable, and, of course, it opens up a lot of repairability (and recycling. Are you really a hobbyist if you aren't desoldering and reclaiming parts?).

by foresto1 hours ago|

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> Are you really a hobbyist if you aren't desoldering and reclaiming parts?

Fun memory from who-knows-how-many years ago:

While installing a Playstation mod chip, I accidentally dislodged a nearby surface mount resistor, pulling off one of its metal contacts in the process. (Is that what happens when you overheat them?) I didn't think that was fixable, and since it was Sunday, the local electronics shop was closed. I ended up disassembling an old junk digital camera that hadn't yet been taken to the e-waste recycling drop, and finding inside it a resistor that seemed close enough to maybe work. The transplant was a success, and the Playstation ran great thereafter. Very satisfying.

by idiotsecant1 hours ago|

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I recently got rid of a lot of components that I have salvaged and hoarded over the years. If I need a doodad for something I'll just buy it. I'm done storing all this junk I will never use

by dlcarrier57 minutes ago|

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How are you burning yourself? I've only ever worked with one person who burned himself soldering when working on a SMT PCBs, and it was while desoldering a through-hole connector, when a desoldering station was long past its cleaning interval and it dripped some solder onto a metal ring he was wearing. This was a guy who would lick a soldering iron to see if it was hot and touch the molten solder in the wave solder machine. The Leidenfrost effect goes a long way.

by Kiboneu44 minutes ago|

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An easy one is heat transferring through an SMD component to your tweezers, while trying to gently remove it from a heavy ground plane.

by the__alchemist1 hours ago|

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> The solder's surface tension does more of the work. It feels a lot more like sticking together things with tiny droplets of glue. Having the correct amount of solder in the right place is critical.

I believe this is why I have an easier time hand-soldering BGA than QF[np]: I can't screw up solder amount/evenness.