[Elecraft] How to tell if the PCB pad is bad

[Phil Wheeler]

Jason Hissong wrote:

> Hi gang,
>
> While taking out a chip, I used a solder braid. On one of the pads 
> there is a small dent now where the hole is.  The pad is still there 
> and there is continuity from the bottom of the board to the top.  My 
> question is, does this ruin the board? 


Probably you are OK.  You can likely check with an ohmmeter for 
continuity from that pad to other parts of the circuit it connects to, 
based on the circuit diagram.

I've had that happen myself.  One of the hazards in using braid is 
applying too much pressure from a small tipped iron onto the pad via the 
braid..  So far I've not found any problems with dents.  My worst 
experience was when I managed to lift a pad and part of a trace on the 
underside of my K2 RF board.  I was able to fix that by running a small 
gauge point-to-point wire; not elegant but it worked .. and still does 
after four years.

Such experiences led me to purchase a Hakko 808.  Makes mods (e.g., 
replacing 14 xtals last week) much less stressful.  I never had much 
success with the spring-loaded solder removers (seems like the solder 
always re-set before I could suck it out); likely my technique was not 
the best!

73, Phil