Brooke, The best way is to use solder paste and a heat source. Some people use a toaster oven (can't use it for food anymore) as a heat source and solder a whole board at once. I just use my wife's (don't tell her) embossing heat gun (avialable at craft stores for around $25) and do one part at a time. Depending on the part, I can solder 32 pin QFP's in about 45 seconds by applying heat from the bottom of the board - apparently the fiberglass transmits sufficient heat to the top. This also works wonders for voltage regulators that have ground pads under the body (similar to your case). Heating the board from the top has a tendency to blow the the part out of alignment (air velocity is too high). The down side is that solder paste has a very short shelf life and must be kept cold when not in use (not in your fridge with food!). Ken ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brooke Clarke" To: Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 9:03 PM Subject: :[OT] How to solder hidden QPF Ground Pad? > Hi: > > I would like to use a PIC12F629 to drive the LTC3205. But the LTC3205 > only comes in a 24 lead QFP with a ground pad hidden under the package. > with a note saying it must besoldered to the PCB. Is there a way for me > to solder this part at home? > > Thanks, > > Brooke Clarke, N6GCE > http://www.PRC68.com > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body > -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body