We hear a lot from the media that businesses can not find skilled labor for whatever is the latest hot job in the market place. Many of these companies refuse to retrain their current staff and instead outsource the work to contractors or move the work off shore. What Jessa Jones, Louis Rossmann and other independent business people are doing is providing the necessary training. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
As a guy who learned how to solder in the late 50's on tube based devices, these new, tiny devices are really hard. I guess that my 68 year old eyes do not help much. I miss the days of using my 250 watt Weller gun and multi-core flux solder. I do not miss the multi-pound power transformers and the 350 volt B+ lines.
yeah I'm 26, had a lasik done a year ago, so my vision is great, tried unsoldering a 1005 resistor in an iPad today with a soldering iron, put it down after a few minute and just crushed that resistor with a sewing needle Almost impossible to work on modern electronics today without a hot air station, multiple tips and a microscope and stay sane haha
I really enjoyed this video. I've been soldering for 20 years as an amateur. Never micro though. I learned more here than in classes. Great video except for the joker up there talking over the expert and rushing her along. He really made me uncomfortable.
I actually sent her an iphone several years back a customer of mine mangled while trying to pry out the battery of an iphone. She did an awesome job! Good video
Even me after 20 yrs of soldering could learn sth. new here. love the way you explain everything completely clear. a real master at work. like your passion also. great vid, thanks ifixit for producing and sharing these. greetings from Germany
In a way its good that the pad came off as Jessa was able to show how to remedy the situation. I'm sure that those of us that are in the electronics industry have had more than our fair share of this happening. I know that I have. Sometimes its the result of a previous operation such as wave soldering that was maybe a tad too hot which had loosened the adhesive holding the copper down. Maybe not so common nowadays with smd assembly techniques.
I agree. I had no idea what to do and assumed she would just ignore it. When she mentioned making a jumper it reminded me of a Louis Rossman video of making jumpers it clicked.
Jessa is awesome, I see why Louis rossmann is always mentioning her techniques, if Apple really cared they'd let her and Louis do their repairs in peace and maybe even employ them to diagnose their upcoming technology for potential issues!
Absolutely love this series. The level of detail with which Jessa tries to explain stuff in layman's terms is amazing. I'm really looking forward to more tutorials!
it was? i thought he said "Cool to see a woman interested and being a master in doing this stuff." i don't see what's wrong with that statement. at all. the political correctness needs to stop, i prefer the truth.
In professional electronic settings, the overwhelming majority of workers are women. Fine, delicate, precise work. Guys handle the forklift, women handle the soldering iron. I'm rather skilled myself, but not as skilled as most of the "rework fairies" I worked with. Now, among my friends, the ones who solder as a hobby are all male. But again, Jessa is not a hobbyist, she's a pro, this is her work, and in this line of work, women are usually more skilled than men. It's easy to look at your comment and think you're stupid. I don't think so. I think your comment is stupid, and you're misinformed, and that's ok. Nobody can know everything. What's at play here is "implicit bias". We all have implicit biases, and that's ok, but just need to be aware of them.
+omsonic why not file the tip? It does shorten tip life, but from a practical standpoint, being able to deliver heat at the bitter end of a tip is a must for something as small as trace repair. These videos are all about Practical microsoldering for the purpose of extending the useful life of a device, not about microsoldering to conventional production standards. Brace yourself for when you see later that I'm mixing lead-free and leaded solder!!
Yeah, I don't think a 0.5mm chisel tip is going to be much help soldering 7 individual traces that all together are less than 0.5mm. I file a 0.1mm micropencil tip because 0.1mm is really too big for the job. You'll find that at 0.1mm, it is hard for even the best microtips to deliver heat right at the end of the tip.
Kyle, you shouldn't interrupt Jessa so much. Two people can't really talk at the same time and have the viewers completely understand everything. I understand that you are using questions and comments for our benefit, but let her finish talking before interjecting things. Just my opinion.
Yeah, his constant interruptions were very rude and awfully patronizing. Super cringey to watch him, this video would've been much better without his presence.
If she really knew what she was doing, she'd be able to answer (rather than deflecting) his questions and work at the same time. You can tell the difference between people who are into things for money vs passion.
+Everett Jefferson Seems pretty clear she knows what she's doing. She gave plenty of explanation, and I can't think of any question she deflected. If her phones were failing after repair, you can bet they'd let her go rather than put her on their channel. What makes you think she doesn't know what she's doing?
ya wtf . i know a good number of people who are dedicated and some even prominent in their field, from machine learning to classics and linguistics, and those same people have nowhere near her patience, especially when working, and having read about many of my science heroes, very few of them appear to have had her patience. maybe fermi, in terms of questions, but i know this guy's lab etique would have thrown off fermi before a question was ever asked, plugging his files when she's explaining something hella interesting. and take about passion....fermi literally missed out on accidentally discovering beta decay 12 years before anyone else because, even repeating his gold leaf/radiation experiment hundreds or maybe even thousands of times consecutively, he never skipped any steps, no lapse in strict rigor. he also mentored somethin like a dozen nobel leaureates (next closest teacher in history was 2 nobel pupils i believe) and im sure they werent trying to sum up everything he said at a low level, at least not outloud. point being, your implication that shes unknowledgable in her field and in it for the money because of all of his reiterations and regurgitations of her output, or that she's not up to your standards because she isn't a perfect oracle of microsoldering that can perfectly solder and answers his nonquestions (which, by the way, she does do both of those things, the entire video) leads me to believe your assessment is based on something other than what you say, maybe deep-seeded misogyny ? idk, cus idk you, but the fuc u talkin bout b
I'm so glad iFixit did this. I found iPad rehab a while back and I was extremely curious about the process. Knowing it was as intensive as this, it's great to see a nice in-depth coverage!
I'm glad that repair is making a resurgence. About 10 years ago I had some sort of electronic piece (I can't remember what it was), and no one was willing to fix it. It wasn't economics, it's just that it was during a period where absolutely no one repaired electronics unless they were a dealer for a manufacture. For instance, a few years before that I had a Pioneer AVR repaired by an actual authorized dealer. I had to drive almost an hour.
Kyle is not needed in this video. The lady is a confident and talented speaker ( with great skills ). She could ( and probably does ) give training classes on her own. Just sayin'
goede tweeschoen on the other hand, having him doing the "interviewer/student" role gives the whole thing a very natural flow, and prompts her to say and teach things she might not have thought to be interesting. So, this format is pretty good. Anyway, the 2 of them are pretty knowledgable.
And yes, it does matter the temperature of the desolder iron. 1. The hotter the temperature for the average joe that is inexperienced will lift pads like crazy. 2. You only need a temperature that is close to the melting point of the solder itself. If you get it too hot you can damage the pads, the component, or the nearby components via ambient heat. Much care is needed on this level of soldering.
+C Crites Tip temperature is really the least important variable. Heat transfer is more affected by tip size, thermal mass of the particular joint, and the angle of the iron and placement of solder which will create more or less direct contact for heat transfer. Inexperienced people tend to use too little heat, which results in pulled pads. The most common mistake is a failure to recognize the differences in thermal mass on different pads in the same connector, so that the beginner will pull the connector too early when just a few of the pin/pad joints are liquid. Beginners would do well to crank up the heat and sacrifice the longevity of their tips!
Never File a soldering iron tip it erodes the chromium and Iron plating that stops the tip oxidating and the the flux eating it away at high temperature, this can happen at an alarming rate as we have seen in industry when Lead free was first introduced, the chemicals would eat the protective coatings and tips were reduced in lifespan by a lot. Now we use flux enmbeded wire to clean the tips instead of water to reduce the oxidization and wear process.
You can plate your tips with plating solution, I think chrome and nickel are popular. Way better than exposing core copper because that will just ruin your tips real quick.
Great video and series! I’ll add my two cents and say I disagree with a few of the commenters who criticized either Kyle of Jessa. I actually they were perfect together and very complementary to each other, adding up to a well-rounded and clear video. Jessa has a world of details and, explanations, anecdotes, and all that her experience has given and taught her. She could write books on all those, I’m sure, and if she were teaching a class over a school semester, you’d get a lot more of those stories, which far from being pointless digressions, are the humanizing thread that connects these odd ends of data, techniques and tips, and actually make them memorable. Kyle, on the other hand, is hosting the video for us. It *is* his job to kindly yet actively participate, pace the overall progression of the action taking place, and also - as someone learning as we are - doing these periodical mini summaries, as well as “translating”, with her help, into a language of someone who isn’t familiar with the process. Experts often lose that, since they’ve been long familiar with it, and speak among others who know the “lingo”, or simply to whom the basics are already implied and known. He does that proficiently and respectfully. Both do well what they’re there to do. There are plenty of experts who, unlike them, are the best in their field, yet not the best at teaching or showing. Anyone who’s been excited at taking a course with, say, this great renowned writer, who’s - lucky you - briefly a guest professor at your school - a unique opportunity since this person never does this... only to realize they’re not great at *teaching*... (this sounds specific because it is, lol it happened to me!) And well I’ll tell you, I still admire and respect the writer, and still took what I could from the opportunity to ask questions and the priviledge of the opportunity... And it also made me appreciate those who *know*, and *do*, and that so happen to also have the skills to pass that on to those learning. I think both Kyle AND Jessa can teach, show and explain. Without him, however, we might have a less concise and well paced video. Without her, well, him and us we’d have to read a textbook and look at pictures. And for those who felt uncomfortable or were embarrassed for either of them... don’t! You may be projecting. They seem perfectly comfortable in their interaction, and confident enough to speak for themselves were they to feel cut off or condescended to. I didn't see any of that, if anything they could be great friends (she knows his wife is a chef, so there’s at least *some* amount of friendly personal exchange going on there... Ok, I’ve done it again, and written a small dissertation on something that I’m sure I could’ve said in a few lines. End of wordy string of consciousness from me, everyone!
Thank you! That's what really bothered me, him constantly talking over her while she's explaining things. He definitely comes off as super obnoxious and patronizing to a woman who is a master in her field and an excellent educator for the rest of us.
She really knows her stuff -- excellent video! If I may make one suggestion, using solder paste when dealing with tiny soldering tasks can be really, really awesome.
Thank you Jessa, amazing, and engaging. The importance of repairing is to push-back against a 'throw-away' mentality. Your skill and sharing it with us is appreciated. I wish to see more of the techniques and the skill demonstrated. Thank you from Liam in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
Hello everyone can anyone plz give me some advice on practicing microsoldering, your help will be really appreciated guys. By the way I live at Cardiff United Kingdom if anyone wants to know.
I have encountered a problem with second-hand iPhone 5s which dose not start-up,. it shows the iTunes. signal. When updates a message pops up stating, an unknown error occurred (9). Could you explain?. Tony
Exellent video on how to do soldering , i'm new on soldering but i already did galaxy s2 ac connector and samsung tablets also without microscope , not easy but i'm doing my best ! Thank you for this aweson video!!
also lead free solder joints have a shorter life time than joints made with classic 60/40 leaded solder (because the lead free ones are more brittle) and the lead free joints tend to grow microscopic oxide crystals (google tin pest)
Excellent series so far through episode 2. Looking forward to watching her do actual repairs. I certainly can't afford the camera and scope, but my OptiVisor setup takes me a long way. Biggest issue is my tremor, something Jessa obviously has yet to deal with but is a very real impediment for some of us, especially those of us over 60. So darned frustrating on regular soldering jobs; working microscopically would be impossible. I do agree, however, that my Hakko station and flux pen, copper braid, better solder, along with video presentations like this (mostly Ben Heck's) that changed my technique and understanding, have vastly improved my abilities, despite difficulties holding iron and solder on point. Kudos to all for saving me time, aggravation, and cash.
hafcanadian A We've had some people with tremor problems come through the Practical Board Repair course, and Louis Rossmann struggles with this as well despite his young age, but manages to make a living at microsoldering. When I am coaching folks with tremor problems, I advise them to grab the hot tip with a pair of regular tweezers near the tip of the iron. Using both hands will give you that precision control that you need. If you brace both forearms on the edge of the table, you'll see an amazing difference. You'll have to give up feeding the solder into the joint, which will offend all the purists, but you can make a fine practical joint by touching the tip to the solder and then transferring it to your joint if you're quick about it before the flux in the solder has a chance to burn off. Best of luck.
hafcanadian A Age has nothing to do with it. Just curse your way through it, I do every day, and find ways to deal with it. Once everyone is back from vacation I might do a video on how to solder when your hands don't listen to your brain, I have come up with a number of ways to get away with it. If I tried to do my job in a traditional way I would most certainly be working bagging vegetables at walgreens.
I bought a cheap batch of iphone 5s, the screens are mainly broken and all are separated from their original circuits. To make the TouchID work with replacement screens, I have to match the screens/buttons with their original circuit boards. Is there a better way of achieving this than trial and error? I note the TouchID buttons each have a distinct 4-digit number (eg 1350) as well as the constant part number (821.2092) written on the ribbon and also that they have 2 QR codes on them (a concealed square black-on-white-paper one on the back of the circuit board and a rectangular white-on-metal one on the top of the plug). I had hoped that these would have some connection with the IMEI number or the serial-number code on the black label on the circuit board, but after decoding the QR codes, I don't see that yet. I haven't yet found anything on Google to help with this, does anyone know how to match up TouchID buttons with their circuit boards other than trial and error?
Maybe you can ask Jessa directly on her channel iPad Rehab or maybe she'll direct you somewhere you can ask. But i wouldn't keep my hopes up. If i was a device manufacturer, i'd simply take unflashed prelabeled parts from their respective bins, with these numbers on the buttons being merely to track where they came from in case there are issues, and if i cared, i would potentially store the matching keys in my internal database that Apple isn't going to expose to repairmen at the time of flashing the unit. But most likely, i wouldn't even store because i as a manufacturer have the means to reprogram these things. Relabeling things to signify that they match during manufacture is just such an unnecessary expense, as it introduces an extra work step.
Overall a great video. I'm curious for the connector mount, why not use solder paste instead of tinning the pads? It seems like it would be easier to get the connector to set in place using paste that it would with the slightly rounded tinned pads. Of course, if you're mounting parts on a new bare board (vs. repair/re-work) paste is the clear winner.
Different methodologies I guess... I'm a big solder paste fan too, it's like cheat mode when soldering. However, I love seeing how this is done with regular solder as well... six to one half dozen to the other :)
There is almost 7000$ on that table. So no this is not for everybody plus add in the cost of running a place plus buying up dead boards to transfer parts from, buying schematics and service manuals you are looking at minimum 15,000$ before you make your first 200$ lol. The reason for the "Flux" is correct to keep out air but Jessa did not explain it properly. The white no clean flux allows you to solder underneath it so that the solder only sticks to the metal metarials. This way you can run a solder line across a connector pad with multiple lines without the solder bridging the lines together. This is why flux is used so that the solder only tins the metals and does not bridge over to the next metal.
NEVER file a soldering iron tip , it is coated with a special metal that is not coper. The solder and flux wear coper pretty fast , it DOES NOT happen with the special coat. The good way to go is to take very special care of your tip and they will last very long.
why would you file it if you can get another type of the tip to do different type of work you're doing? i was filing it....untill i learned how is tip constructed....there is no "more control" in comparison... offcourse that doesn't mean experimenting with tips is forbidden...for samller jobs i planned to use fridge capillary (copper) tube...didn't get to test it though...
ALWAYS learn you trade. That includes knowing when to defy the rules and the norms. This lady knows what she's talking about. OP reads from a textbook.
Matthew Filip exactly.. it’s a tin and sometimes nickel coating over a COPPER core.... she’s 100% correct and it is also true that the life will be shortened and will be slowly eaten away causing need for replacement... if you don’t have interchangeable tips or you’re a “do it by the book sir you forgot to give us homework” kinda guy, then don’t do it....
hi jesa maybe you can help me .I was actually inspiried by you when it comes to phone repairs .with that said I bought the zxw dongle recently whenever I use the zxw tool it works fine but when I try to view the schematics using blackfish 1.5 this is what happens. the software starts by asking if I want to run in admin mode which I click ok then it goes to loading menu that shows a whole bunch of phone brands, then when I click on anyone of them a little box with Chinese appear in the viewing pane and then disappears and the schematic does not showup please help if you can .note I contacted my seller and they sent me another link to download the software but it says it has virus and can only be opened by owner someone please helpme thank you
I really enjoyed this, keep up the good work! I look forward to more. I started doing "basic repairs" on my stuff as well, I look forward to digging deeper thanks to you.
Cheap boards can be a bitch, I've had similar problems often enough in the past, and as she mentioned a jumper is sometimes needed when things go south. At least it didn't break off completely.
Great video. But does this talented professional call herself a microsoldering mom or simply a microsoldering technician? I'm just curious. I never heard of a phone repair dad for example. . Is it just a choice of words to market the ideas to women? If so, no need to use mommies as examples of women in successful professional life. Since about 1950 when women were admitted into university courses.
Hi! My first time and I am already a subscriber ! A beautiful lady with an incredible professional background and a great personality with amazing knowledge and humble attitude. I have fo follow your Channel. !! Thank you for sharing !
What's your opinion on tip availability for Hexacon ThermOTrac Standard and Magnum gear I've scrounged over the years - I don't think these platforms have the ultimate small tips available (I think 1/64" is the smallest.) I do like the Magnum for caps on ground planes. What brand solder wicks? Some are terrible.
I agree!! There is absolutely no need to interrupt or “try to explain” the instructions and comments of a genius. A genius is somebody who can explain or say anything in the most basic and understandable fashion as she is so beautifully doing.
Is this really the way to put a connector on the board. Even after reflowing the tinning, the bumps may not necessarily be even and soldering the pins individually from here will mean the connector wont eventually sit flat on the board? I would have thought that wicking after tinning would ensure the connector sits flush before soldering.
Hello everybody ,,Would you guys tell me what is the best heat gun that I can buy ? which once I should avoid ? and same questions goes to which heat sink I should buy ,Iam starting small biz for repairs ... thank you all.
And nevre tip pads on a PCB that have already been designed to have a finish that will solder we used to use a hassel tin finish but the gold pads here are even better as its gold no oxidization. The big problem soldering that connector is that you have already tinned the pads making it difficult to fit the connector flat if you just use flux to stick it to the board and solder the two opposite legs to make sure it is square and flat. We use IPC 610 as a guide and that has tolerances to how far you can be off a pad the method shown would not work in industry to 610 standard. Kinda poor you alos took a pad off. Id get called a butcher if i did that at work.
He reaches for the iron and she grabs it really quick and moves it away. She says, My favorite tool is this micro tweezer...He says, they’re like a tweezer. She says-um right yes they are. But they clicked on the welding comparison and de-soldering braid.
Hi, I'm about to buy a microscope for microsoldering. This AmScope exists with different magnification ranges. Is 3,5x-45x enough or should I go with the 3,5x-90x? Thanks in advance :)
So I am torn between Hakko, JBC, and Weller.. I havent seen much on the Weller’s top of the line WX models. Does anyone have experience with the Weller WX series and if so what did you think?
I rilly enjoy this kind of staff and im very good in micro soldering but my problem is i dont have groups where we can share phone faults and how to solve them, can anyone invite me to any group
Jessa you alredy soldering that conector fpc with hot air gun? Works perfect for me... unfortunately i'm far, because I liked to have more formation and change ideas to evolve more.
27:35 Could a way to avoid the empirical path be: understand how to read the "whatever way the hot air company chose to calibrate de heat" works, choose a temperature, point it at a type of cheap thermostat and match the distance from the tip of the nozzle to the mercury (for this example) of the thermostat with the temperature needed to melt the solder? Sorry for the really long question :S
I tried doing that with my iPod touch... I lifted up the pad :( I lost all hope until I saw this! But I'm not sure what microscope to purchase in the UK? I hope they're not expensive but I doubt it
I see there are no other components on that board, but, on a component filled board, how do you avoid UN-soldering the components that need to remain soldered and adjacent to the work? Seems like the hot flux and heat gun would cause adjacent components to loosen and possibly be bumped out of the way.
that helped with fixing my old mac (Mac IIsi) that i got as Not Working off of ebay. just replaced all the capacitors on it. finally got it to start up.
I like the part where you talk about sanding the tip to meet the perfect shape and perfect flow. On one of my cheaper irons I like to go get some heavy gauge solid copper wire and use my dremmel to shape my own perfect soldering iron tip. I make hooked shaped thick, thin, needle, conical and chisel tips for f any size or bend or shape that my heart desires!! Awesome and cheap in a pinch or for a budget iron!
Hmm... that looks like a smart meter on the wall behind Jessa. Is she going to repair it or maybe do some micro soldering hacks to make it run backwards???
Instead of using a copper file, could you use a copper brush to transfer copper particles to the tip? (So long as full-copper brush, not copper-coated brush.)
Why isn't there a volume control for these videos that's 4 videos I didn't watch today because the volume was so poor hey RU-vid get rid of all those useless icons and put a volume control back on these videos
