Broken laptop power plug / Soldering Iron help

Hi guys, I've got this laptop that I need to fix. I've already figured out what needs to be done but I both need some opinions on the diagnosis, and I need pointers on how to use a Soldering Iron.

First, the laptop. The solder pad on the power jack is broken as far as I can see. If you don't to anything, the laptop won't power on. But if you pull up on the plug, which pushes the far side of the jack onto the board, the laptop gets power. From how I see things, all I need to do is reheat the pad or something, repairing the broken joint.

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/4002/toshibalaptop003.jpg
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4742/toshibalaptop004.jpg

Now it might not be easy to see from the pics, but by itself it looks like the solder pad in front of the power jack is lifted off the board slightly. When I push that pad back onto the board with enough force, a connection is made again and the laptop can turn on.

Now here's the biggest problem with this whole fix; I don't know how to use a soldering iron. I'm obviously going to practice using it on a board that I know is dead, but other than that I don't know much about how to apply solder and stuff like that. I read some articles online before but they didn't make much sense. There's also instructions on the back of the iron I bought but I was hoping to get some professional advice from people who use soldering irons for complicated stuff like consolizations.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6607/toshibalaptop001.jpg
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1641/toshibalaptop002.jpg

Also, I learned a while back that silver-based solder was a bad thing because it takes more heat to work with than lead-based, leading to cold solder joints. So I got a rosin-core solder that contains lead.

Let me know if you need more information, thanks for looking.

Well done on getting the leaded solder.

The main thing to learn with soldering is that the solder and the iron should both touch the joint, but the solder shouldn't directly touch the iron unless necessary.

Also frequently clean and retin your tip. Before you turn the iron off each time coat the tip in solder to prevent corrosion.

Hewitson said:

Well done on getting the leaded solder.

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Thanks.

The main thing to learn with soldering is that the solder and the iron should both touch the joint, but the solder shouldn't directly touch the iron unless necessary.

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. That really helps out a lot.

Also frequently clean and retin your tip. Before you turn the iron off each time coat the tip in solder to prevent corrosion.

Click to expand...

So you just run a thing of solder around the tip, right? Does it matter how far up the tip you tin it? I should have a sponge while doing this, right? Last time I watched a soldering video, the guy had a sponge in a dish with water in the bottom of it.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that The Source (by Circuit City) actually had soldering irons, in case I mentioned here before that I thought they didn't have any, that's where I got mine. I was so relieved that I didn't need to go wasting time and money with online retailers after all.

Koopa64 said:

So you just run a thing of solder around the tip, right? Does it matter how far up the tip you tin it? I should have a sponge while doing this, right? Last time I watched a soldering video, the guy had a sponge in a dish with water in the bottom of it.

Click to expand...

You just coat the tip in solder and turn the iron off, letting it set on there.You'll know how far up to tin it, the tip of the iron looks different to the rest of it.

And yes you definitely want either a damp (not wet) sponge or one of those "dry" tip cleaners.

Hewitson said:

You just coat the tip in solder and turn the iron off, letting it set on there.You'll know how far up to tin it, the tip of the iron looks different to the rest of it.

And yes you definitely want either a damp (not wet) sponge or one of those "dry" tip cleaners.

Click to expand...

Does the tinning have to be thin and clean? In one of those same videos, the guy wiped excess solder off the tip, leaving it all thin and nice looking. Or does having solder on the tip all that matters? Not really fussy?

Also, concerning how you actually apply solder to make joints. Is the soldering iron just there to heat stuff so that the solder and components stick? I read that you have to be fairly speedy when making joints, otherwise you'll end up with a cold joint. I trust this is what the practice will be for, correct? To get a feel for the iron?

Thanks for helping me out, I really appreciate it.

EDIT: Forgot about the "how far to tin the tip" part. I checked the tip on my iron and I can't see any visible markings, except for where the actual tip is and the rest of the shaft of the tip. Do I have to tin the whole thing or just the cone-shaped tip on the very end? Or half-way?

Koopa64 said:

Does the tinning have to be thin and clean? In one of those same videos, the guy wiped excess solder off the tip, leaving it all thin and nice looking. Or does having solder on the tip all that matters? Not really fussy?

Click to expand...

You wipe the solder from the tip if you are going to continue soldering, if you are putting the iron away then you don't.

Also, concerning how you actually apply solder to make joints. Is the soldering iron just there to heat stuff so that the solder and components stick? I read that you have to be fairly speedy when making joints, otherwise you'll end up with a cold joint. I trust this is what the practice will be for, correct? To get a feel for the iron?

Click to expand...

Yes, the iron is there to heat the solder, the component and the components destination. This practice takes longer than if you directly melted the solder with the iron, but it does a more professional job.

Thanks for helping me out, I really appreciate it.

EDIT: Forgot about the "how far to tin the tip" part. I checked the tip on my iron and I can't see any visible markings, except for where the actual tip is and the rest of the shaft of the tip. Do I have to tin the whole thing or just the cone-shaped tip on the very end? Or half-way?

Click to expand...

Just the cone-shaped tip. That is the "tip".

Sweet! Thanks for all the help so far, I'll be back here if I need any more help.

Oh, I forgot something.

I haven't used the iron yet, but do I have to tin it to prevent corrosion anyways?

So I finally got around to sorting out this broken power jack problem, and...

The stupid pad doesn't wanna melt! The only thing that melts is the solder that I put on it. As of now I'm not sure what else to do, maybe put a wedge underneath the one side of the jack?

But concerning the soldering iron thing, it's actually not all that bad. I haven't tried soldering a wire to a board but I tried making solder joints on that dead Game Genie I have, the one joint almost perfectly extended this one IC leg.

I'm hoping that after a bit more practice (or maybe a lot, just to be safe), I'd get some wire, phono jacks and standardize my Model 1 Genesis, so that not only would I no longer have to bother with that dumb proprietary cable, but maybe I could get my 32X to work on it without needing the standard cables needed for the two to work.

Your soldering iron isnt powerful enough for what you are trying to do. Those cheap, non-termperature-controlled $10 irons really are useless pieces of shit to be honest.

To get something worth using you really want to spend around $100 and get a professional station. I use (and very highly recommend) the Hakko 936ESD.

Hewitson said:

To get something worth using you really want to spend around $100 and get a professional station. I use (and very highly recommend) the Hakko 936ESD.

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I got a Hakko 936 as well - I love that soldering iron/station. The ceramic element heats up so fast, and the temp control is very accurate. I used to use a cheaper weller and thought nothing of it. Now that I got my Hakko, I really see how much better a quality iron can get the job done

I have a Weller, it was about $70.

Well, the thing is I don't plan on doing much with my iron, only a few different things, so I'm probably not going to invest lots of money into an iron that would be too much for what I use one for. =/

I had that attitude when I first started too.

It won't be long before you realise even soldering a wire to an LED is a real challenge with a cheap one and you want something decent.

Hewitson said:

I had that attitude when I first started too.

It won't be long before you realise even soldering a wire to an LED is a real challenge with a cheap one and you want something decent.

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But what if I only needed to solder a wire to one LED? Is that worth $100+? This is what I'm getting at, I'm probably not going to do much of anything with this whole soldering thing anyways. Just some mods here and there, that's all.

Any mod you do with one of those cheap soldering irons will be crap mate.

OK, here's some tips is you're currently stuck with that iron. Make sure you let it get really hot before you use it. Tin the tab on the power jack and also tin the pad on the board. Then add a little blob of solder directly to the tip of the iron and, putting the two previously tinned parts in contact with eachother, heat the joint and melt the solder. The tab shouldn't melt, just the solder, because the solder is going to make the bond.

Also, you don't need a $100 iron to do good mods. I have a decent 33W Weller iron without heat control and it seems to work just fine for most work. But then it is a Weller, and it's just a better brand. I am looking at a lower end temp controlled model to upgrade to at some point, and I think it'll be about $50 or so. Another option is to find someone who has a nice one and borrow his for a bit. Also and interesting tip, I have been able to find nice soldering irons at garage sales. Seriously. Especially if you go to parts of town where the community is aging, and some old guy is selling his tools. You can find some seriously nice stuff there.

EDIT: Hakko 936 on sale, $80! Here:
http://www.emsco-usa.com/hakko/936.htm

EDIT2: Hakko 936 on Ebay. Used tools are always a nice bargain, and all you'd probably have to do is replace the tip or get a heating element, which is another $15-$30.