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My uncle said my solder joints looked like pigeon poop and it changed how I fix my Game Boy
I was recapping a Game Boy Color I picked up at a flea market in Austin for 15 bucks, and my uncle walked by my workbench and just stared at the board for a second. He's been fixing old radios since the 70s, and he said, "Those joints look like pigeon poop, kid. You're cooking the pads." I had been holding my iron at 750 degrees because I thought hotter meant faster, and I was basically dragging solder across everything instead of letting it flow. He showed me how to tin the tip first, use a little flux, and touch each pad for maybe two seconds max. The difference was nuts, the joints came out shiny and smooth instead of gray and blobby, and the thing actually booted up on the first try after that. Now I keep my iron at 650 and I clean the tip after every single joint, which sounds annoying but takes like half a second. Has anyone else had an old timer call out their technique like that, and what did they tell you to change?
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faithj101mo ago
Those joints look like pigeon poop" is the funniest and most accurate way to describe cold solder I've ever heard. I had a buddy who rebuilt arcade boards tell me the same thing basically, except he said mine looked like oatmeal, which honestly stung more. The tinning the tip thing is huge and nobody tells beginners that, they just hand you an iron and wish you luck. Two seconds per pad is the real secret too, once you get the feel for it you can tell when the solder goes shiny and pulls in, and you just stop right there. I keep a little brass wool sponge thing next to my iron now and hit the tip between every joint, sounds extra but it makes a night and day difference.
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