i am in the process of changing my leds but I am having a hard time getting these little bastards off to any one who has done this HELP

 

Heat one end of the led AND the pad it is sitting on. Pull upward on that end with a pair of tweezers or gently lift it with the tip of the iron. You just want to pull it loose, dont lift it too far. Then heat the other end and pull the led off with the tweezers.

If you use wick for the LCD, you place the wick on the area where the pin and the pad meet, then press the iron on top of the wick. Solder will flow to the hottest point.

Also see my soldering info sticky that is poste here on SL.

 

THANKS

 

what tip are you using, maek sure its not to fat. radio shack sells the iron for like 7 bucks and it works wonders. its a small pointy tip if that help. lol.

here is the link just copy and past it.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

 

I picked up the 15 watt one from there. I just got it off now I am trying to get to old soder off and the new led on

 

radio shack sucks.. i wouldn't touch them with a 50 foot pole.

 

yeah.. if I run out of solder or wick and need it in a bind I will run there just because they are down the road.. but that is about it.

Now granted, most will not use it much again, but if you plan on doing much pcb work.. buy yourself a weller iron. They will last 10 times longer and are usually better protected against ESD, which can damage cmos devices like those on the board.

For doing this work at home on a more regular basis, I highly recommend a temperature (rather than power) controlled iron. It will make your work a million times easier. At the least, spend a few more bucks and order a good iron from somewhere like digikey.com That is where I order all of my resistors, solder, tape, microprocessors, etc for the projects I do.

 

I got it done I yesterday thank you all for all your information

 

For anyone doing there own soldering I would highley reccomend investing in a high quality iron. I use a Weller temp adjusting iron. They are pricey around 110+ but well worth it! Just my 2 cents.

 

I used the 15watt from Radion Shack it worked well it even came with a nice pointy tip

 

^^^ Well that's good but for longevity and reliability if you are going to do more soldering work down the road you may want to consider.

 

where did you pick up your iron

 

I actually got mine from a place I buy my parts for the rc cars I race. It's called Racers Haven in Bakersfield, CA. I think mine was about 114.

 

I ordered my newest one from HMC electronics for about $120, it is a weller temp controlled iron with digital display. There are good reasons for getting a good iron if you plan on doing other soldering. Check my soldering info post. I have updated it with more info on the irons. I had originally left that out because it seems most that do the mod just want to buy a cheapo radio shack iron because they will only use it once. But I do recommend a more expensive, high quality iron for doing this type of work

 

Weller irons are the best... used those a lot when I was taking electronics courses in highschool.

I've been using the Radioshack 25w recently cause it's cheap and gets the job done. Plus I have the manual dexterity to do a good job with one. On top of that, the Shack is the only place local to me that actually carries supplies like solder and wick.

Jman, if you need more help just send me a PM, I've been helping a lot of people in the PDX area with questions and solder work.

 

Weller is great for the price. Now, if I had my way, I would be using the PACE systems I used to use in a lab I worked in. Those things rock..... but a couple of grand for a small station is a bit steep for the home setup

 

I'm a cheap-o, so I go radioshack all the way. Maybe it's a little more frustrating, but it still works.