Sooo.... I killed it, right?

There's no way that's salvageable, right? I pulled at least two of the rings, maybe more. Solder isn't sticking to anything anymore.

So to confirm, I killed it, right?

Yes, I'd say so.

Next time, use a (temperature controlled) soldering iron instead of a blowtorch.

If you are real careful, you can solder some fine wire to wherever the tracks lead to. Mind you, if the tracks only go to the chip, that will be difficult.

I think it probably looks worse than it really is. Worst case scenario is you've damaged a couple of tracks. If you've given up on it, send it my way :slight_smile:

Heh, the shipping would cost more than the board itself. I actually used a 30w soldering iron, but I tried to desolder some pins and, well, pulled too hard.

Ah well. New one's already on the way.

Well for next time, if you do a bit of careful prying, you can actually remove the plastic first, leaving just the pins behind on the board. Then removing the pins, one at a time, even with a conventional 30w iron, is quite a simple task.

Assuming you were removing a previously soldered-on header, next time remove the plastic shell or spacer [cut it off if you have to, as it's worth only pennies], and then remove the pins one at a time.

Make sure the solder is really melted before pulling each pin. What I do is first push the pin back through the hole from the bottom using the soldering iron "tip" or a knife blade, then once it's partially unseated, go back and reheat and pull it out with the pliers.
[yeah, like KenF said while I was writing].

IPA and a scrub with a stiff brush before you throw it.

Try to inspect/repair it after cleaning, will at least be some solder practice!

oric_dan:
Assuming you were removing a previously soldered-on header, next time remove the plastic shell or spacer [cut it off if you have to, as it's worth only pennies], and then remove the pins one at a time.

Great minds! :slight_smile:

I tried repairing it a few times, including exposing traces. At a certain point I just decided to put it out of its misery and slice it in half. If I hadn't, my obsessive nature would have made me keep trying to repair it for days, without sleep or bathroom breaks!

Anyway, thanks for the tip about cutting up the header!

How about this.
Keep it, if one day, you get a hot air station, you can take the processor from the device :slight_smile:

Removing header pins are really easy even with a blowtorch..

Simply press the soldering tip against the underside of the pin you wish to remove, keep the tip pressed firmly against the pad and pin and with pliers pull the pin (from the other pcb side) gently just wiggle and it will slide out... repeat.

Just remember to clean the soldering iron tip first and apply flux to pads you're the header pins from.

Your board could be rescued, clean your contacts with soap and water and a brush, dry and take some photos, you might be able to tap directly off the pcb tracks using a bit of wire, messy.

With patience, careful cutting, and careful soldering skills, I don't see anything unsalvageable in the image. It does look like two of the pins trace directly to pins on the IC. That's tricky, but not impossible at all. Many of them, you can solder wires between the feed throughs and your new header.

I work at a short run assembly plant, and sometimes our customers "save money" by buying pcbs from lower quality board houses. In other words, we see pulled pads from time to time. 9 times out of 10, it can be fixed. Of course, we have a hard and fast rule... if you pull a pad while unsoldering a part, STOP. Don't pull the other 7 pins!

Tkrain:
With patience, careful cutting, and careful soldering skills, I don't see anything unsalvageable in the image.

My thoughts exactly BUT

At a certain point I just decided to put it out of its misery and slice it in half

I think he's killed it for sure now.

It looks like you tried to heat up all the pins at the same time and pull the header off in tact.
FYI, the proper procedure is cut the plastic header between pins 1 & 2 , remove the plastic by
inserting a small screwdriver under it and pulling up or grab it with needle nose pliers and
slide it off the header pin. Now that the pin is isolated from the rest of the header, hold the iron
on the pin until you see the solder start to soften up . Hold a piece of solder against the iron to
get the solder to flow onto the pin then pull gently on the other end of the pin. If you are
holding the soldering iron in your right hand you have to remove the soldering iron long enough
to drop the roll of solder and pick up the needle nose pliers to grab the other end of the pin
before you start pulling. This means you will have to touch the pin with the soldering iron to
heat the solder up again for a couple of seconds. If you leave the iron on the pin while you change
tools with your left hand , you may overheat the pin by the time you get the needle nose pliers
on the other end of the pin. At no time should hold a 30 W iron on one of the those pins more than 2 seconds.

That's brutal. RIP

Something similar happened to me once, but it was just an cheap protoboard.