Choosing the Right BGA Soldering Station for Precise Phone Motherboard Repairs

Hi. I am just standing before buying a new soldering station. At the beginning I would like to point out that I am quite green on this topic ...

I want to use the device for precise repair of phone motherboards - desolder hot-air, solder a new chip. It is specifically about the infamous U2, Touch IC, or U15 and U12 (their size is roughly half the smallest nail). Occasionally, it will also be used for simpler works (soldering wires, desoldering pins).

So I wonder what soldering iron I need. Is the tip + hot air flask enough, or is it enough to invest in a device that also has a motherboard heater? Or maybe buy one that has an IR lamp? Is it worth paying that much extra?

I also found some devices that have a USB port and are controlled by a computer program. Is it also worth paying extra?

And now, the most important thing ... Budget. This one is not precisely defined - I am not sure if it is worth paying extra. I guess the range is around 700 to around 2500-3000 max, but I would definitely close my purchase around 1000-1500. I definitely aim for "sufficient" quality (maybe a bit more), the best price / quality ratio.

I spent several hours looking for something reasonable and after the initial screening, I was left with the following options:

- http://allegro.pl/stacja-lutownicza-1270-w-stamos-s-ls-10-basic-6125-i6425589072.html (new)

- http://allegro.pl/stacja-lutownicza-na-podczerwien-jetronix-eco-i6872415516.html (used)

- http://allegro.pl/stacja-lutownicza-1415-w-stamos-s-ls-15-basic-6131-i6425689193.html (new)

- http://allegro.pl/stacja-lutownicza-na-podczerwien-scotle-ir-pro-sc-i6809770386.html (used)

- http://allegro.pl/stacja-lutownicza-bga-hr6000-2800w-hotair-ir-usb-i6745997479.html (used)

As I have noticed, some of these soldering irons are much smaller than others (small: 1, 3, large others). So, is it possible to repair small motherboards from computers on the larger ones, and on the smaller ones, let's say to sell the graphics chip from the Xbox 360?

Will I need anything else to carry out such work?

Could you also give us a link to a guide / instruction on how to solder it?

Many thanks for your help and quick replies!

blit07 wrote:

I want to use the device for precise repair of phone motherboards - desolder hot-air, solder a new chip. It is specifically about the infamous U2, Touch IC, or U15 and U12 (their size is roughly half the smallest nail).

For this, an efficient Hot-Air (Quick / JBC) and, if necessary, a heater are used. The bigger problem is the sensible PCB mounting.
BGA station is pointless for servicing phones, it is too much equipment for such small boards.

Best Turbo IR From Jovy Systems for GSM phone repair
The principle of operation quite innovative from the top is the infrared heater and air. There are no replacement heaters, but all in one. The glowing infrared has it that not all elements will heat up and that is why we can add a small blast of air in it. As small as it is, it is impossible to obtain in hot air stations.
Besides, it makes soldering with glued systems much easier.

You can work in manual mode and control everything or automatically and specify only the final temperature and the equipment will adjust the power itself, etc., and finally it will turn off
The GSM service is a revelation. For many years I have dealt with telephones so I only wish that something like this happened before.

The cost of over 6,000 I will not give a link to myself, you can tap on google

maz9 wrote:

Best Turbo IR From Jovy Systems for GSM phone repair

The biggest surreptitious ad I have recently read, and totally pointless money spent on a huge chip machine, e.g. a 3x3mm Tristar 1610A1 / A2 / A3.
Curious about the recipe for replacing glued systems with IR?

It is best to contact: https://reball.pl/kontakt.html

They have a large selection, they can conduct a presentation - test on the spot.

You won't find anything better than seeing it with your own eyes.

I switched from JOVY to GMxxx myself (after the presentation on site) and I don't regret it.

Of course that was some time ago.
The chase in new technologies and equipment to handle it, unfortunately, has no end.

As I wrote in another topic today and the colleague above who offers you QUICK or JBC, JBC is a different class and price range, but Qiuck will do your job.

If you want to spend a little money, QUICK 861DW offers you, read the opinions about this station and you will immediately understand what this machine is, no other Chinese can match it and do not even compare with other Chinese, I used most Chinese stations and only this one meets good conditions , I have JBC myself and my friend QUICK stations and believe me this station is doing great for the second year every day after a few hours of operation it is really solid and durable 3 memory modes and temperature calibration. I can confidently recommend it, if I did not have JBC earlier, this one would be in my workshop.

If you want to play with repairing motherboards in phones, none of these stations are suitable, there you use HotAir for most repairs and a good soldering station, the stations you replaced are more for laptop PCs, etc. But with phone boards they will not meet task, think about what you will be repairing.

RafalB wrote:

maz9 wrote:

Best Turbo IR From Jovy Systems for GSM phone repair

The biggest surreptitious advertising I have recently read, and there is absolutely no point in spending money on a huge machine for systems, e.g. 3x3mm, type Tristar 1610A1 / A2 / A3.
I am curious about the recipe for replacing glued systems with IR?

Look for your competition in Częstochowa that specializes in Appl. They were soldering there, no comments. .

And I invite you to soldering and then you will judge whether something is worth it or not so that you can express yourself honestly and not biased

And sorry this is not surreptitious advertising. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptoreklama

It says who I am, what I do and what I sell, so everything is clear from this side. It's not hidden by me so you can't call it that.

And this one, I think you mistook someone for Tristar?

maz9 wrote:

...
And I invite you to soldering and then you will judge whether something is worth it or not so that you can express yourself honestly and not biased ...

@RafalB - Now, I think you will pick up the thrown gauntlet, come to the tests and share your impressions on the forum?

Tomiok, you are overdoing it with the glove thrown away, I just invited nothing else to solder.

maz9 wrote:

And I invite you to soldering and then you will judge whether something is worth it or not so that you can express yourself honestly and not biased

There is nothing to argue about, the industry goes on air, the rest is reality conjuring.
Unfortunately, I have too little time, so a trip to Zawiercie, the furthest I will go to Łódź for a test of soldering equipment and to Wawa for microscope tests.

In my opinion, enchanting reality means working outdoors in devices up to PLN 30,000. And swear that air circulation is carried out as in machines for 300 thousand. And by making a foreword, you can afford such equipment for PLN 300,000 and this is probably about GSM phones

I can't imagine working with air on telephones nowadays. Everyone has had contact with small filters and pushing them through the air, soldering something next to it, or even melting plastic elements. There are no such infrared problems.

With infrared, the balls will not fall out of the system during soldering or heating.
In situations where, with infrared light, something may not heat up, you can add a minimum of air unattainable in air devices. One heater has infrared and air in it.

As for repairing larger boards, like in laptops, I advise you to test the RE 8500 and compare it with others

maz9 wrote:

I can't imagine working with air on telephones nowadays. Everyone has had contact with small filters and pushing them through the air, soldering something next to it, or even melting plastic elements. There are no such infrared problems.

I see that the story of dyrdymales starts, the discussion goes nowhere :(

Let me paste a link to YouTube, a plastic FPC socket with an iphone 5c exchanging with the use of air from the hand ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jngDX_M6tU

You bent me. And the only thing I have to defend myself is that not every plastic element has high resistance.

Friends on websites in the UK, IE and US work with air, especially in the US, and socket replacement in Iphone or Ipad is standard, as in this video above, it is possible and natural. Hardly anyone uses infrared to repair phones.

maz9 wrote:

And the only thing I have to defend myself is that not every plastic element has high resistance.

Each element soldered in the furnace has the appropriate thermal resistance, that's the "secret".

RafalB wrote:

Let me paste a link to YouTube, a plastic FPC socket with an iphone 5c exchanging with the use of air from the hand ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jngDX_M6tU

Raspberry honey replacement on the film, it is a pity that there is always no data on the used flux and the set temperature.
Could you write which one to use so that it does not evaporate immediately, but was present until the end of soldering, and what air temperature should be set so as not to melt but desolder? You do it, you know what, write, share your experience.

krakarak wrote:

RafalB wrote:

Let me paste a link to YouTube, a plastic FPC socket with an iphone 5c exchanging with the use of air from the hand ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jngDX_M6tU

Raspberry honey replacement on the film, it is a pity that there is always no data on the used flux and the set temperature.
Could you write which one to use so that it does not evaporate immediately, but was present until the end of soldering, and what air temperature should be set so as not to melt but desolder? You do it, you know what, write, share your experience.

Check out some videos at https://www.youtube.com/user/rossmanngroup/videos
Gostek crashes the system.

krakarak wrote:

it is a pity that there is always no data on the used flux and the set temperature.

Because it is an individual matter, I personally use 2 fluxes, Kester TSF6502 and Alpha OM, the temperature at the outlet is approx. 345 ° C and at the inlet a little lower, approx. 330 ° C.
Whether or not you melt depends mostly on time in the long run.

Hello
This is how I read this topic and I conclude that there is no clear answer here.
The author asked what equipment to choose to repair phones - the question of whether it should be a hotair or ir heater does not matter, it does not matter whether the top heater itself (hotair or ir) is enough for pcb from mobile phones or it is necessary to heat them with some preheater from bottom? e.g. when hatching / entering small bga systems.
best regards