Some months ago, I was able to successfully hand-solder SOIC's and similar-sized parts. Since then I do this regularly, as it lets me squeeze more into my usually-limited-space applications. I've also soldered some SOT-23 transistors, which though functional, don't always visually line-up perfectly. Today, I tried to solder a couple SSOP's and had success .... mostly. On the first chip, I was trying to tack one corner pin down for so long, that the pad lifted off the board. It wasn't really so long, but longer than I would have the iron on the pin of a DIP package. Also, I did have to use some braid/wick to clean up the bridges (lots of them) all over. When doing this though, the chips get very hot (I couldn't keep my finger on them for more than a second or 2). Is it easy to damage chips this way nowadays? I expect these things are designed to be in ovens hot enough to melt solder and all pins simultaneously, so would I fry these things easily by heating all pins on one side simultaneously with some wick? BTW, are there any tips to keeping SOT-23 transistors in place when soldering them? Best technique I've come up with so far is to wet one pad with some solder, but clean it off (with wick/braid) to keep it low profile, slide the transistor in position (I use the tip of a mechanical pencil for this), then I point the same pencil over the top of the body, and press straight down to keep it in place. I carefully swap hands holding the pencil, and then tack-down the pin. If necessary, I can twist it a bit to improve the alignment. Finally I solder the remaining pins. But still, my alignment is not the best. I'm sure I've seen somewhere the use of glue to hold the part, but I would guess lining it up to glue it would be the same hassle, and the glue would probably add problems if it got on the pads. Any better way to do this? Cheers, -Neil. -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist