On Thu, 9 Aug 2018 12:34:54 -0700 (PDT), John-Del <
ohg...@gmail.com>
wrote:
>I have an HP34C that I bought new back around 1980 or so to replace
>my stolen TI SR-51A. It had always been a little flakey but a quick
>thump brought it back around. A few years later I decided to have
>a look inside when it required more physical persuasion to behave.
>I took a picture of the front keys in case they decided to jump out
>and get mixed up (they did), but I was surprised to find the half
>dozen ICs *not* soldered down to the flexible circuit board.
Yep. It relies on the pressure provided by a foam pad to make the
connection. Bad bad bad idea:
<
http://www.hpmuseum.org/hp34.htm>
>They maintain connection by the foam cushion beneath the flex
>circuit that maintains pressure between the flex circuit and
>the ICs. I removed each IC, cleaned all the pins and the flex
>circuit lands, put a tiny bit of dielectric grease on each IC
>pin, and reassembled. It behaved itself for quite some time.
>Right now it's been in storage for many years but every once
>in a while I wonder if the correct solution would be to tack
>solder them down. I'm sure the foam pad looses a bit of rebound
>over the years.
>
>What do you do when you run across flakey IC contacts in an HP?
If the foam pad was in good shape (springy), I would add a 2nd foam
pad to give it more pressure. This added pad is rather thin. I
should repalce both, but can't find a suitable sheet of foam. I now
have access to a laser cutter, so I might be able to cut some foam
that will work.
I think ordinary soldering is a bad idea and have never tried it.
However, if you do decide to try it, I suggest you use low temperature
180C bismuth solder paste, liquid flux, and a temperature controlled
toaster oven.
<
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=low+temperature+bismuth+solder+paste>
Something like this:
<
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cClPqIJwhLs>
On the toaster oven, this is how I do BGA reflow on HP JetDirect
cards, which use the same bismuth solder paste:
<
http://www.learnbydestroying.com/jeffl/pics/repair/BGA%20reflow/index.html>