Tim

Excellent job there bud!

oh few more tips - try NOT to cross your wires on a lpc rebuild.. i've seen it cause glitches - when bending wires, it's Always better to use a slight curve instead of a 90degree hook (just sometimes a cable breaks inside of its shielding under a hook.. not very common, but still, i tend to use curves) - not 1.6 related but still a good tip... i love using flux.. if you first start using it, it's almost magic guiding your solder to only stick on places it should... however when you want to TSOP flash (connecting two points close to eachother).. the flux will often cause the two points not to touch.. so for tsopping I highly recommend not to use flux just thought I'd throw in that tip too

hiya.. as much as I appreciate a post for "average joe" with no prior soldering skills, I would like to add a few things: If you are new to soldering and attempt this get yourself a few things: - A cheap multimeter that beeps when the setting is set to continuity (these cost no more then 3$) it is dead easy to use (and will come in handy in a milion little repairs around the house) This function of a multimeter is used to measure if point A and B are connected on a board. (A)------------(B) = beep (A)---- -----(B) = no beep (and a break in your line) You will notice lines on a board running from where you solder to somewhere else.. these lines are called traces... for rookie soldering guys it isn't uncommon to solder too deep in a board and somehow breaking (or ripping) a trace line... so the beep check is good to check if you eyeball your work and think.. hmm.. lets check Another thing the beep check is extremely (!) handy for it to see if your solder job didn't accidentally solder onto something else... especially if it's small.. just hold the two leads on both the points and no beep.. great, you didn't connect your solder... get a beep? then use some braid to remover the solder and go for it again. - Secondly I highly highly recommend you get a cheap 15w soldering (pen style) iron with a pointed tip.. please don't use your dad's old soldering iron with a thick tip (guess how i started back then).. it usually will run far too hot (as it's meant for soldering larger objects) making you burn through a board and potentially wreck it.. a cheap pen style can be picked up for 5-10$.. if you're thinking of doing a lot more, have a looksee for temperature controller soldering irons.. the china models are absolutely low in price, since soldering irons aren't rocket science, so might be worth it depending on how often you'll use. - When rebuilding the LPC.. you might absolutely want to stick down the wires so that can not move around.. solder points can detach over time.. hot glue is one option, but I've never been a fan of that myself.. if you do glue I highly recommend you don't glue on the solder point, but a bit off from that.. should you ever need to resolder then you don't have to worry about the glue. when I started I used heatresistant foam tape, but these days there is a whole range of heatresistant tape available and even compleet sheets in sizes.. I wouldn't recommend generic electric tape because their 'stickyness' wears out very fast when stuck to a mainboard. - And lost, but MOST important.. keep in mind you're messing with electricity.. I've modded thousands of devices and know what I'm doing.. and even so, I have told every single customer I ever had to use an extension cord with a on/off switch.. and turn it off on the extension switch when you are done playing. If you've ever seen a housefire.. the 2 seconds to flip it off/on is worth it happy modding! Tim