VoidStar Security Wiki
- Clips / Jumpers / Probes
- Conclusion
- Fault Injection
- Flash Readers
- VSS: Beginners Guide to Building a Hardware Hacking Lab
- JTAG / Debug Adapters
- Logic Analyzers
- Microscopes/Magnification
- Multimeters
- Oscilloscopes
- Extending Ghidra Part 1: Setting up a Development Environment
- Introduction to Embedded Reverse Engineering
- Intro to Embedded RE: UART Discovery and Firmware Extraction via UBoot
- Replicant: Reproducing a Fault Injection Attack on the Trezor One
- On the Road: Our first onsite training of the year
Soldering
Whether you are tearing down a new router or looking for a new target to perform fault injection, you will need to solder at some point during your hardware hacking journey. Soldering is the process of joining metal surfaces with “solder”; creating a conductive connection between the two soldered points. Soldering is useful when populating unused debug pin headers or connecting wires to points on your target circuit board that you wish to interact with.
Soldering Irons
When looking for a new iron, it is essential to keep your goals in mind:
- Are you mainly focusing on smaller surface mount device (SMD) rework projects?
- Will you be working with larger/older components that may need a lot of heat to remove?
Ideally, you want an iron with adjustable temperature and removable tips. These can be purchased relatively cheaply from Amazon and other online vendors. I recommend one with an emergency timeout in case you forget to turn off your iron after some late-night soldering.
Low Cost
Below is a very solid starter kit from Amazon, which makes for a good beginner iron. Before buying a more expensive iron, use this iron to learn proper care and maintenance.
Two other solid options for a beginner iron (at a slightly higher price point) are the Hakko FX888D and Weller WE1010NA. The WE1010NA is the successor to the venerable Weller WES51, which has since been discontinued.
For a portable option, the TS-100 or TS-101 is an excellent choice. These are great for travel, have interchangeable tips and are relatively low cost.
High Cost
For high-end soldering or jobs that require you to solder to smaller components, such as 0402 components, a JBC CDS station with intelligent heat management and sleep/hibernation modes can’t be beaten. This is the station that I have used for quite a while now, and it has been highly reliable and easy to maintain. With this station, you can also get tweezer tips for SMD components, making these jobs much more manageable. It also can be connected to other JBC accessories, such as a fume extractor and other JBC handles.
If you have the funds to spare, the JBC DDPE 2-Tool station is great because it lets you have multiple tools active simultaneously. This station comes with micro tweezers and a T210 precision handle, which is compatible with a wide variety of cartridges.
Hot Air Stations / Hot Plates
Hot air stations and hot plates can both be used when doing SMD rework. Hot plates work as you might expect, they require surface to surface contact in order to heat the target device, allowing for either solder paste or a traditional iron to be used to bond the solder to the contact pads. These of course have some disadvantages, if you are working with a system that has plastic connectors, housings or is a two sided PCB with components on each side you will not be able to effectively use a hotplate without risking damaging the target. Hot plates can be used in conjunction with a hot air gun in order to “preheat” your target, making component removal easier.
Low Cost
Introductory hot plates are relatively low cost, the Soiiw Microcomputer Soldering Preheating station is a great place to start as it has built-in temperature control and display (helpful for letting others in the lab know that the plate is on!).
If you are going for a lower-cost hot air rework station, there are plenty on Amazon. I have used the YIHUA 959D and have had no issues with it. Others have recommended the QUICK 957D Rework Station, which also has excellent reviews!
High Cost
You will need a hot air station for BGA rework or other package removal. Like a standard soldering station, these can vary in price/quality. A higher-end hot air rework station will allow for precise temperature and airflow control; they will also have a wider variety of hose attachments, allowing for the removal/replacement of smaller components. When working with standard embedded systems, the JBC TESE is an excellent rework station that has multiple suction tips and hose sizes included:
Of course, if you are looking to do a lot of SMD rework and reflow on PCBs, you may want to consider the SRS System SMD Rework station.
This kit includes an arm, allowing for hands-free operation, as well as a preheater. A preheater is a device used to (as you might have guessed) pre-heat the PCB from below, allowing things to be soldered more easily.
The full table of all of the recommended kits can be seen below:
| Item | Price | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| TS-100 | $54.99 | Link | Low cost, portable soldering iron |
| Soiiw Microcomputer Soldering Preheating station | $67.99 | Link | Low cost pre-heating set up for BGA rework |
| KSGER T12 Soldering Station | $69.99 | Link | Introductory soldering iron with interchangeable tips |
| Sparkfun 8508D Hot-Air Rework Station | $99.95 | Link | Low-cost hot air rework station |
| QUICK 957D Rework Station | $125.00 | Link | Low-cost hot air rework station |
| JBC CDS Soldering Station | $595 | Link | Mid range JBC soldering station |
| JBC DDPE 2-Tool Station | $1700 | Link | JBC station that allows for multiple tools active and includes micro-tweezers and a T210 precision handle |
| JBC TESE | $2,690 | Link | High end hot air rework station with multiple suction adapters |
| SRS System SMD Rework Station | $5,750 | Link | Full SMD rework station, including an manueverable arm and preheater |
Soldering: Practice Kits
These kits are a great way to get comfortable soldering smaller devices and components. One thing I like to recommend is to solder, desolder, and then solder again. This will give you practice with removing parts and adding them!
| Item | Price | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Soldering Practice Kit | $9 | Link |
| Soldering Practice Kit 2 | $9 | Link |
Soldering Accessories
| Item | Price | Link | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOTTO Fume Extractor | $39.99 | Link | Used to extract solder fumes, relatively portable for travel soldering |
| Desoldering Braid | $9.99 | Link | Used to remove solder from a target, helpful when cleaning up QFP packages |
| Tip Tinner | $8.00 | Link | Used to re-tin oxidized soldering iron tips, crucial for maintaining a working tip |
| Magnet Wire | $7.99 | Link | Tiny wire, used for connecting to cut traces or small vias on PCBs |
| 30 AWG Wire Wrap Wire | $11.99 | Link | Small AWG wires, convenient for soldering to small pads, etc. |
| Kapton Tape | $11.98 | Link | Heat resistant tape, helpful for protecting other components when doing hot air rework |
| ChipQuik SMD 291 Flux | $15.95 | Link | Flux removes oxides and enhances solder flow, increasing the reliability of solder joints |
| Engineer Solder Suction Device | $18.97 | Link | Used to remove solder |
Bonus: Learning to Solder
Below are some YouTube videos to help you learn how to solder if you’ve never attempted it.
- Soldering Crash Course: Basic Techniques
- SMD Soldering Tutorial
- BGA Reflowing for Absolute Beginners
Hackaday has a great article here about SMD rework and reballing.