# Spin FV-1 soldering technique help



## SandyD (May 21, 2021)

Hello,

I'm about to tackle the Spin chip soldering on the Spatialist reverb.

Can anyone confirm the orientation I have it sitting here in the photo is correct? that is the little circle notch is on the top left & the slightly angled edge of the chip is on the same side as the fine double-line on pcb.

Also does anyone have some good advice in the best way to go about soldering it? or a good photo of their work? I found this vid on youtube which makes it look fairly simple 




cheers


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## Feral Feline (May 21, 2021)

On the silkscreen of the PCB should be a small "U" at the top or bottom of the silhouette for the chip, match the dot on the IC that's near its pin1 with whatever end the silkscreen indicates.

In this case, it looks like the "U" is at the top.









It's based on PPCB's Arachnid platform, so just search for threads that have that for a gutshot (I couldn't find any gutshots of the Spatialist, it's too new and the few built didn't include a gutshot).


This pic...




...from this thread:





						Double Arachnid mega pedal
					

"I'll just build you a double Arachnid pedal", he said. "It will be easy", he said.   Last year I built an older Arachnid pedal with a custom EEPROM for my wife/band mate to use with her Nord Electro keyboard. She has really enjoyed it, but two things always stuck out to me:    The non-rotary...




					forum.pedalpcb.com
				






YES! It looks like yours is right way up, but not yet aligned.


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## Nostradoomus (May 21, 2021)

I tack the corner pins like in the video, but then I flux the rest of them and drag solder with a hoof or knife end tip.


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## SandyD (May 21, 2021)

Thanks for that, the small "U" isn't actually on this silkscreen but can see that's where it should be from the diagram above

righto time to give it a crack then!

cheers


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## phi1 (May 21, 2021)

The other way to tell is the chamfered edge (on left) is shown by a vertical line on the silk screen. As already confirmed, yours was setup right in the pic


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## RobertJay (Nov 30, 2022)

Hey, I came here to verify the orientation of the chip. I don't mean to jinx myself by saying so, but I was really surprised at how easy it was to solder this chip. I heated and tinned each strip on the pcb, laid the chip in place, held in place and touched legs to tip and boom! Soldered chip. Good luck all!


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## Elijah-Baley (Dec 1, 2022)

Musikding doesn't sell a sharp tip of the MLS-48 soldering station. I don't know why. I had to buy a new one, but it's round, indeed. Not so good to solder smd transistors. (if you know where I can find a replacement sharper tip of the MLS-48...)

I'm thinking about a new cheap iron solder to use just for smd parts: jfet transistors and when I will buy a spin FV-1 project.


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## Alan W (Dec 1, 2022)

Elijah-Baley said:


> Musikding doesn't sell a sharp tip of the MLS-48 soldering station. I don't know why. I had to buy a new one, but it's round, indeed. Not so good to solder smd transistors. (if you know where I can find a replacement sharper tip of the MLS-48...)
> 
> I'm thinking about a new cheap iron solder to use just for smd parts: jfet transistors and when I will buy a spin FV-1 project.


You really don’t want a sharp tip to solder that. You do want a good flux applicator, and either a small chisel (.03 to .04~ inch) or (even better, if you plan on much SMT work, a slightly concave “hoof” tip). You want to be able to load the tip of your iron with a small amount of solder, so that you can wipe it past the legs, which are already wetted (along with the pads) with flux. The solder will magically flow onto the legs, create beautiful little fillets everywhere, and, with a bit of practice, no bridges.

That hoof tip (a name I was unfamiliar with until @Nostradoomus used it) is E in the photo. Note that I had bought D before I actually tried any SMT work. A and F also work well, but that little concavity in E holds the right amount for 30 or so legs. These are all Pace tips.


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## Elijah-Baley (Dec 2, 2022)

My soldering station is a cheap one, I think I have no much tips to choice, and I guess there's no way to find those strange tips. I should  to buy a better one, but honestly, I don't want to spend it now. This one work since years, and the only problem has been to replace the tip with another one that was the same. If I find it: problem solved.
My newer tip is not like your E tip, that is the one I used and I like it, but is bigger. I didn't try it, but can't see how I could solder smd jfet transistor: the tip touch the transistor, the legs are very short. Maybe a FV-1 or other chips are easier.
The solder I use have the flux inside it, maybe it's not exactly the same, but my soldering is never be a problem.

Sorry, the picture is a bit out of focus.
The upper tip is the new one (rounder); the downer tip is the old one (sharper). Unfortunately, the older one has a hole close the tip, it's not visible there, it's behind it.


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## Alan W (Dec 2, 2022)

Elijah-Baley said:


> My soldering station is a cheap one, I think I have no much tips to choice, and I guess there's no way to find those strange tips. I should  to buy a better one, but honestly, I don't want to spend it now. This one work since years, and the only problem has been to replace the tip with another one that was the same. If I find it: problem solved.
> My newer tip is not like your E tip, that is the one I used and I like it, but is bigger. I didn't try it, but can't see how I could solder smd jfet transistor: the tip touch the transistor, the legs are very short. Maybe a FV-1 or other chips are easier.
> The solder I use have the flux inside it, maybe it's not exactly the same, but my soldering is never be a problem.
> 
> ...


Even though your solder has flux in it, for me, at least, the “secret“ to good SMT soldering has been getting all the metal surfaces (pads on the board and legs on the device) pre-wetted with flux. When my iron tip gets near the leg, the solder almost jumps off of it onto the joint. And it only goes where the metal is! The main skill is learning how little solder you need on the tip, as too much will possibly lead to a bridge. (You’ll get good at leaning to use solder braid to correct those while you’re getting better at this!)

Another advantage to soldering this way, is that you don’t need your other hand to hold the solder. That frees it up to hold the part in place. For transistors, or even worse, small resistors and caps, I started with a toothpick as a hold down, and still use this most of the time.


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## jimilee (Dec 2, 2022)

I like to pay Robert to do mine. I’ve done it a couple of times, so my curiosity is satisfied.


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