this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2024
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Mechanical Keyboards
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I haven't done it myself, but I've seen videos - you'll need to de-solder the existing port (or whatever is left of it) and solder on a new one.
To add, it's often worth investing in a mini heatgun for desoldering/resoldering, typically it's near impossible to resolder the pins by hand as they are so fine.
Same with many other surface mount components
You just need a steady hand and a lot of practice. Than even 0201 is possible with a normal soldering iron.
You aren't wrong, but as someone who managed to screw up and damaged the copper traces when trying to resolder an old mini-usb back onto my old keyboard; you do really need to have a good understanding and a lot of practice with SMDs and temperature control.
I went from a less than 50% success ratio when resoldering SMD LEDs to about 95% success after I bought a £20 mini-heatgun with a narrow (5mm) nozzle
A digital solder gun with a properly sized tip and a magnifying glass with helping hands (flexible clips) helps immensely. I had to hand solder a surface mount resistor that looked about the size of the tip of a pencil. It wasn't pretty but I got it done.