T i m wrote:
On Sat, 10 Apr 2021 17:01:32 +0100, R D S wrote:

On 10/04/2021 15:08, T i m wrote:
On Sat, 10 Apr 2021 13:58:15 +0100, R D S wrote:

snip
I've had the back off the TV, there's an IC on the power board with a
crater in it.
The problem from my 'I don't generally like to mess with SMPSU's' POV,
you can't guarantee that it's or it's_just the obvious that's dead.
Indeed, and i'm pitiful at soldering.

Ah, that might not help.

When I was a teen, I used to practice soldering on
surplus PCBs with chips on 'em. If you have materials
to practice on, you can discover the limitations of
home equipment.

Even with proper gear (vacuum de-soldering station),
some jobs are just about impossible. On power boards,
getting out electrolytics that are interference fit
(holes only 0.005" bigger than the leads), those
suck big time. You can blob solder on those,
use the vacuum station to draw up the solder,
and the fillet will still not be dry. Then, the leg
won't move. And if you pull on it ? The fillet comes
right out of the board and it is ruined. Solder
wick does no better on those. Even angel hair wick.
ChipQuik would not help, because it's not going to
void the hole any better than anything else. ChipQuik
is good for TSOP SMT maybe (dental floss and gentle heat).
That's if you need to recycle an IC and use it again,
after you discover it wasn't the broken bit. The dental
floss can slide under the foot of the lead, to
release it. And it's all because the addition of
ChipQuik (Bismuth) reduces the melting point.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusible_alloy

My previous employer did not use interference fit
mounting for electrolytics. Their stuff was easy
to repair. Even a "non-soldering person" could do those.
Wouldn't even need a vacuum desoldering station.
The interference fit ones are brutal. You can chew
the top off the component with large side cutters,
but you almost need as much mechanical advantage
as Vice Grips to cut cleanly through an
electrolytic, then pick the remaining bits off.
Then you heat up the fillet with an 80W iron
and carefully pull the leg out. But that's not exactly
good technique. The Soldering Police will be by,
to laugh at you.

Paul