wrote in message
ups.com...
OK, this is pretty much a "must fail" deal, every time I see these
little cables, I knew I am gonna mess it up since it's so small.

So here's the deal, I don't even know how to call this little patch
cable. This kind of cable is widely used in computers, pda, and
cellphones. They are attached to the board by some kind of glue.
Obviously it's not the household super glue...I once tried to glue it
back to the board with a toothpick and super glue, it turned out
horribly of course. Since the distance between each wire on the patch
is less than 1mm, I believe there are some kind of machine or special
glue has to be used. Can anyone shine some light on this? Thanks a lot!

Attached is the patch cable from a PDA:
http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/390...3744574_rs.jpg


That looks like normal printed wiring with solder pads on the end. You have
to solder it quickly but carefully. Pre-tinning and the use of liquid flux
should help.
Glueing (other than a tiny dab at each end *away* from the contacts to hold
the ribbon in place for soldering) is pointless as it won't magically
connect the wiring to the pads.

Dave