I got the revised board two nights ago. Although I am still not in the mood, I need to get this done as soon as possible. Instead of programming a new PIC microcontroller, I decided to remove it from the previous board and put it onto the new PKD board.
Another term for being Lazy
The reasoning for this is so that I could save time. The microcontroller chip already has the latest update and there is no point in keeping it on the previous board. The best solution is to transfer the chip. Lugging the programmer out and firing the relevant programs would take some time and I am feeling a little exhausted from the day’s work.
When I removed the chip, there would still be a lot of leftover solder on its legs. Soldering it directly onto the new PCB would leave the chip lying unevenly and might not even electrically connect to the solder pads. One solution would be to have the soldering iron go past the legs a few times to wick off the excess solder but this would also heat up the chip dangerously. The other way, in this case, would be to use the re-flow process. I just solder the chip on the PCB, give it some flux and then heat it up with the re-flow heater. The solder on the chip’s legs will melt and flow nicely onto its solder pads, at the same time aligning the chip too, thanks to the capillary action. Watch this video by chipcodelab which shows how the components align themselves.
Where to get what:
AndersFP (Anders Fogde Pedersen) PKD-2019 Blaster Download File
Duplex Designs Lighting Kit for AndersFP PKD-2019
