Just realized how much a proper desoldering gun beats the pump style for console work

I was fixing a PS4 with a bad HDMI port, and after an hour of fighting with my old plunger style pump, I borrowed a Hakko FR-301 from a friend. The difference was night and day. The FR-301 cleared all 19 pins on that port in under five minutes with zero leftover solder or lifted pads. Has anyone else switched tools and had a job go from a fight to a breeze?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.tyler1mo ago

My buddy had the same fight with a PS3 HDMI port. He finally caved and bought a proper desoldering station, said it was like going from a butter knife to a scalpel.

elliotadams1mo ago

Remember when my cousin tried that with a hair dryer and melted half the board?

thomas.tyler17d ago

Yeah I actually read somewhere that the problem with HDMI ports on those older PS3s is the ground plane just sucks up all the heat. So a regular iron just can't get it hot enough without cooking the whole board. That's why those cheap solder suckers never work either, the solder just cools and solidifies again before you can pull it. I remember a repair guide saying you pretty much have to preheat the whole board to like 150c before you even touch the port. Did your buddy end up going with a hot air station or one of those vacuum desoldering guns?

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