Aoyue Soldering Iron 2901So, I decided after ruining a few boards that I’d research soldering SMD parts to see how I could possibly be messing up these boards so badly. After all, it never crossed my mind that it would be this difficult to solder SMD chips…Once again (I know, I know, I praise these guys too much), I ran upon a series of tutorials on SMD soldering from those fantastic guys over at SparkFun.com. They provided invaluable information on exactly what I was doing wrong as well as how I could make my designs and my life much simpler my learning the fine art of SMD soldering. I bit the bullet and picked up a nice analog soldering iron, my radio shack special was not gonna cut it any longer. They sell a nice Aoyue 2901 for ~$79, more than other online sellers but I’m fine with giving them a few dollars more for supporting the communality as they do! I picked it up with some other essentials, like de-solder braid and tweezers…I should have the order Thursday and I can’t wait to see how easily SMD soldering can be with the right knowledge and tools! I’m also adding the Aoyue 968 SMD rework system to my wish-list! At any rate, I’ll be added those seemingly out of reach SMD discrete components to my designs going forward!