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Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:08 pm
by 32bitminus
Maximilian wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 1:05 pm What kind of soldering iron/station are you using?

Normally repairs will go pretty smooth with 380C, when using wick i also wick from the top (mostly C64), that cleans most of them up nicely.
Hakko FX888D-23BY with a chisel tip, ~2 mil in width, just guessing.

I thought that would be big enough, but the solder would neither wick on a braid, or with a hand sucker come out well. I am still basic with this stuff so learning as I go.

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:53 pm
by 32bitminus
rubber_jonnie wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:40 am I'd suggest that you might want to look at getting an upgrade to TOS, as 1.02 isn't great. I'd go for 1.04, which you can get here: https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/#0057

If you wanted to go for dual TOS, then there are options a little further down on that page.

As for the floppy drive, IMHO, unless you really must have a floppy drive for authenticity, you need to get a Gotek instead. You can buy them ready flashed with FlashFloppy off eBay these days, but if you want to do it yourself, I did a guide here: https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/forum/viewt ... oing+gotek

Just reading back in the thread, I run my iron at 370C, which is about 700F, and generally don't have any problems with the ST mainboards. The ground planes can be a bugger though.
Thanks, Getting US TOS anytime soon, or am I better off with a UK TOS, does that effect 50/60hz and pal vs ntsc combatibily? Since most games seem to have been written for European markets?

I will most likely get a Gotek, was looking at flashing one as they seem to be like 29 vs 60 dollars when not flashed. Just wanted to get the floppy to work to run some code and see if it is stable, before I invest more $$$, anyone recommend a burn in test?

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:55 pm
by 32bitminus
What is "good" solder braid, what do you recommend? I want to recap the PSU soon too.
Maximilian wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 2:47 pm
rubber_jonnie wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 1:30 pm I'm sure you're aiming this at the orginal poster
Both actually,

Ah, I know that soldering station(or one of its predecessors), we used to use those in our electronics classes.

I'm a fan of the Weller Magnastat style of soldering irons, they are pretty stable with their temperature except for the larger ground plane desoldering jobs.

If a ground or VCC pin really wont budge I always:
1. Try to remove as much solder as I can from the top and the bottom using good solder braid and sometimes try again with fresh solder applied,
2. Add a little solder to the offending pin.
2. I unsnap all the other pins with a dental hook, and then I heat the offending pin while taking the chip out.

The above only gives me any grief if someone else had a go at it, mostly because they solder to long or use a temperature that is to high and the pads come off.
I soldered and desoldered a 68 pin 2mm DIP chip 4 times without any damage to the traces the other day.
(Socket wasn't working or so I thought, but it was the replacement chip that was a dud :cussing: )

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:43 pm
by Maximilian
My favorite soldering station is 50W, so your 70w should be enough.
The main difference is probably that i have a Magnastat soldering station, it tends to reacts quicker to heat drain.
Sometimes the ground plane is just to big and you can use the tip i gave earlyer, wich as much as possible, then add new solder and letting it mix and then wick again fron the top and the bottom, otherwise you can desolder all the remaining pins and heat that one while carefully removing the chip.

My favorite Wick is Chem-Wick .075 (green letters)
If anyone has any other good desoldering wick please let me know as the above is quite expensive :shock:
General tip: make sure the date on the packaging is resent as the flux tends to get less potent after about half a year.

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:24 am
by rubber_jonnie
Maximilian wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:43 pm
My favorite Wick is Chem-Wick .075 (green letters)
Chem-Wick is what i use is 3mm. It's bloody good.

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:25 pm
by Maximilian
The .075 is the 2mm variant, I like it just that little bit more than the 3mm variant, but it gets expensive as i had weeks where i use about 10meters

The trade name is Chem-Wik from Chemtronics in the USA.

Maybe you can get me a discount :-)

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 6:23 pm
by 32bitminus
Thanks all, after a snafu with the key caps, I am back in business.

Anyone had any advise on what size case screws I should pick up? I have all the shorter ones, at the bottom of the keyboard, I need the long ones that hold the top of the case together.

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 3:57 am
by 32bitminus
Maximilian wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:25 pm The .075 is the 2mm variant, I like it just that little bit more than the 3mm variant, but it gets expensive as i had weeks where i use about 10meters

The trade name is Chem-Wik from Chemtronics in the USA.

Maybe you can get me a discount :-)
Let me know what you need and I can find out...

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 8:37 am
by rubber_jonnie
Maximilian wrote: Thu Feb 28, 2019 11:46 pm Always nice to see someone taking the time to clean an old machine up.
I'm a bit of a ST noob but is this a 8 or 16Mhz 68000?
Also where are you located.
(if I may ask)
Unless there is a booster fitted, then all STs are 8 Mhz. The first one to natively run at 16 Mhz is the MSTE.

Re: Which 1040 STF is this?

Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:37 am
by 32bitminus
rubber_jonnie wrote: Sat Mar 02, 2019 11:40 am I'd suggest that you might want to look at getting an upgrade to TOS, as 1.02 isn't great. I'd go for 1.04, which you can get here: https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/#0057

If you wanted to go for dual TOS, then there are options a little further down on that page.

As for the floppy drive, IMHO, unless you really must have a floppy drive for authenticity, you need to get a Gotek instead. You can buy them ready flashed with FlashFloppy off eBay these days, but if you want to do it yourself, I did a guide here: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=593&hilit=going+gotek

Just reading back in the thread, I run my iron at 370C, which is about 700F, and generally don't have any problems with the ST mainboards. The ground planes can be a bugger though.
Revisiting this thread, I just found out a few months ago that there is a reset procedure for my Hakko iron, apparently at some point fidling around I made the set point for the iron said it was 100f when in reality it was 60f so when I had the temp up to 700f it was really way lower :) Live and learn.