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RAM upgrade woes, best way to remove RAM module without damage?


SoftMachine
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Hey, I've done a RAM upgrade on one of my consoles (1.4) and it's doing the on/off/on/off/on flash orange and red dance. I've reflowed the chips, scoured them with a magnifying glass for bridging and the rest of the board for splashes, and scrubbed the board with IPA hoping that if it was a splash, it'd be knocked loose, but I've had no luck. I'm at the point where I think it might just be some bad memory, so what would be the best way to remove the chips without damaging or moving the surrounding components?

Edited by SoftMachine
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Recently I got a sheet of tinfoil and cut a memory sized hole in it. Then place it on the board and adjust the foil until it sits flat to the board. This will redirect hot air away from any components. Then you can use any source of hot air (I used a heat gun and didn't cause any carnage). Alternatively you can get Kapton tape which is heat-resistant.

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22 minutes ago, Prehistoricman said:

Recently I got a sheet of tinfoil and cut a memory sized hole in it. Then place it on the board and adjust the foil until it sits flat to the board. This will redirect hot air away from any components. Then you can use any source of hot air (I used a heat gun and didn't cause any carnage). Alternatively you can get Kapton tape which is heat-resistant.

Thanks, I'd been thinking it was about time to just get a hot air station so I'll probably go that route.

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1 hour ago, SoftMachine said:

Hey, I've done a RAM upgrade on one of my consoles (1.4) and it's doing the on/off/on/off/on flash orange and red dance. I've reflowed the chips, scoured them with a magnifying glass for bridging and the rest of the board for splashes, and scrubbed the board with IPA hoping that if it was a splash, it'd be knocked loose, but I've had no luck. I'm at the point where I think it might just be some bad memory, so what would be the best way to remove the chips without damaging or moving the surrounding components?

I use my Quick 861DW hot air + Kingbo Flux to remove chips from donor boards.  They come up in 20-30 seconds and after a few hundred 100% success.  They have all worked on 128MB upgrades.

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42 minutes ago, Donnie-Burger said:

The quick I would never change for anything bud.  Plus thats the guy that says reballs are shit lol

LOL only shite if not done correctly. Its the same as so many of the youtube videos that say the phat 360’s are all crap.  Again only if reballed wrongly or xclamped or cooked in yo mammas oven at gas mark 5.

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I didn't wrote you should should switch to the Atten. The quick is fine (I guess) how ever, like most things in life it's a thing of personal taste and ofc money right? And the video isn't to bad imo. And ofc we could discuss about Louis and his opinions but why? Point is the video is well made and it shows pro and cons and compares both stations pretty well. 

And I personaly think for a hobbyist both are more than fine. If the OP just need it once or twice a year I would recommend a cheap WAP/YIHUA thing which will do the job as well and should be ok for this purpose (Worked with one until I bought the Atten some months ago). 

And to say " I would never change for anything" is just a matter of the money you can spend on thing (Like written above). If money dosn't matter go with JBC or PACE or or or but stay away from Hakko or Ersa. And after a lot of research you can also recommend some "cheap" chinese stations over Hakko and Ersa or even JBC. 

But at the end one thing is important, what will I do with it and how often I do it (Anf ofc how deep your pocket is). 

 

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I think the only things to say are, even the expensive rework stuff, and by that I mean 100’s of $€£, even if you can afford them may not be 100% right for you. I have one of the relatively expensive Weller workstation, not the retail ones the ones sold only to the Defence industry and its contractors. Its a beautiful thing. But in all the years of owning it I have used my cheap Atten irons and the cheap one one on my Chinese rework station more. Just down to convenience.  The other thing to say is dont look at a rework station and think, thats just a heatgun like in <insert your countries DIY chain> . Its not, that 5 dollarbucks thing they sell , has no heat regulation no actual adjustability out side just turning down the fan speed, so theres no knowing if its at 300c or 400c, unless you buy an IR temp probe.  If you do that just spend the money on a cheap rework hot gun station instead, saves the hassle and guess work.  
 

Footnote, not all flux is the same, and not everyone is right, as its personal taste when it come to flux. What “ works” for me and my style of working, may not work for you.

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Hakko solder station + Quick here and love the combo.  Reball machine is used way less since quick was added to the family :)

Hakko:  Have had this one since about 2013 and same tips in extremely good condition prolly 5,000 ish repairs mods on this single station.

Quick only have a year with it with almost 1k repairs / mods and it works like new (Been going hard on repairs this year) mostly switches (Replaced an Ayoue with the Quick and man what a difference in quality)

If one breaks I will replace with the same model.  For me its not money its finding a combo with high success rate and this is it for me.

Was amtech guy but after reballing 10 years kingbo was best in the end and stuck with that.  I use that for all my mods, repairs, reballs, and consoles.

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Flux is like thermal paste - A relgion. ;) Now day's it's like some repair guy on YT say's I use this and ppl start saying this is the one and only. So I totaly agree with your "  works for me and my style of working, may not work for you".  And it's the same when it comes to leaded solder vs lead free and which brand or at which temp you solder or which tip is the best for the job. 

How ever, for beginners or hobbyists it's pretty hard to find recommendations because of that. At the end a lot comes down to your skills and your will to learn (And if you plan to do those things more often or just one or two times a year). Will say, someone who has build up experience over years can solder with pretty much anything (even when he still thinks "that iron sucks" right?). A beginner with 10k equiment would still suck at simple jobs. 

I remember my very first ram upgrade. It took me 1 1/2 days and a lot of " I can do that, I can do that". Now I do that stuff in round about 30 min incl. testing & coffee break (. :D;) Pretty funny when I think back. And I'm still using the same "cheap" YIHUA 862d+ station for soldering which, I plan to replace in the near future (Probably with a station from JBC).

34 minutes ago, Donnie-Burger said:

"prolly 5,000 ish repairs mods"

Is it possble that it smells a bit in here? Some please turn on the fume extractor. :D;) 

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9 minutes ago, sweetdarkdestiny said:

Flux is like thermal paste - A relgion. ;) Now day's it's like some repair guy on YT say's I use this and ppl start saying this is the one and only. So I totaly agree with your "  works for me and my style of working, may not work for you".  And it's the same when it comes to leaded solder vs lead free and which brand or at which temp you solder or which tip is the best for the job. 

How ever, for beginners or hobbyists it's pretty hard to find recommendations because of that. At the end a lot comes down to your skills and your will to learn (And if you plan to do those things more often or just one or two times a year). Will say, someone who has build up experience over years can solder with pretty much anything (even when he still thinks "that iron sucks" right?). A beginner with 10k equiment would still suck at simple jobs. 

I remember my very first ram upgrade. It took me 1 1/2 days and a lot of " I can do that, I can do that". Now I do that stuff in round about 30 min incl. testing & coffee break (. :D;) Pretty funny when I think back. And I'm still using the same "cheap" YIHUA 862d+ station for soldering which, I plan to replace in the near future (Probably with a station from JBC).

Is it possble that it smells a bit in here? Some please turn on the fume extractor. :D;) 

Fume extractor always on and its a hakko :) 30 years doing this and most wouldn't believe how many consoles come through.  I stay humble yet honest and get blessed.  I agree with what you say 100%.

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I did my apprenticeship 30+ years ago. I could already solder when I started as my grandfather taught me in his repair shop. But during my M.O.D apprenticeship performing the same soldering exercises week after week Karate Kid style it eventually becomes second nature.  You just did it with out really thinking beyond don't burn your fingers or the job.

Loon lacing and building was my zen thing, still love doing that. Gotta love an A4 sheet with a wiring schedule printed on it
 

Now I don't work in a job that needs me soldering at all so I am starting to feel like my skills are getting rusty, it doesn't take long to set in. I currently don't do enough privately due to a busy life but ……
Once my workshop is built I am planning to get back on that horse with a whole list of board builds and car, pc and Xbox mods. That should tighten my skills back up :) 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/9/2022 at 4:20 AM, sweetdarkdestiny said:

Flux is like thermal paste - A relgion. ;) Now day's it's like some repair guy on YT say's I use this and ppl start saying this is the one and only. So I totaly agree with your "  works for me and my style of working, may not work for you".  And it's the same when it comes to leaded solder vs lead free and which brand or at which temp you solder or which tip is the best for the job. 

How ever, for beginners or hobbyists it's pretty hard to find recommendations because of that. At the end a lot comes down to your skills and your will to learn (And if you plan to do those things more often or just one or two times a year). Will say, someone who has build up experience over years can solder with pretty much anything (even when he still thinks "that iron sucks" right?). A beginner with 10k equiment would still suck at simple jobs. 

I remember my very first ram upgrade. It took me 1 1/2 days and a lot of " I can do that, I can do that". Now I do that stuff in round about 30 min incl. testing & coffee break (. :D;) Pretty funny when I think back. And I'm still using the same "cheap" YIHUA 862d+ station for soldering which, I plan to replace in the near future (Probably with a station from JBC).

Is it possble that it smells a bit in here? Some please turn on the fume extractor. :D;) 

my nose is my fume extractor, the smell of solder fumes going up your nose will put some hair on your chest

 Beauty And The Beast Disney GIF

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