Tools
"I got my lunchbox and I'm armed real well" - "Lunch Box," Marilyn Manson
Here's a list of commonly used equipment along with some pictures. You should have these tools before you attempt to do any ROM dumping.
1. Soldering station and stand - Try and get one with a variable temperature control if possible. The tips should be interchangeable as you will want to change them to the smallest possible size that you can get. You will probably also want to get a stand with some clamps and a magnifying glass. This will make some of the work (such as attaching the wires to the open holes on top of the socket when wiring an adapter) ALOT easier.
2. Flux paste and tip tinner/cleaner - Flux paste will lower the melting point of the solder. It is good for both soldering AND desoldering. Apply some first before desoldering so that you don't have to apply as much heat since overheating will damage the chips. You should also get some tip tinner/cleaner. It is important to tin and clean you tips (even the new ones) because if you don't, it won't transfer heat to the tip as well.
3. Desoldering suction pump - Heat up the solder first with your soldering iron, then use the suction pump to suck out the solder.
4. Desoldering braid - After using the desoldering suction pump, if there is any solder that you can't clean out that way, you may want to try using desoldering braid to absorb it. Be careful though since you don't want to heat it on the board for too long. You probably won't have to use this too much since you should be able to get most of the solder out using the suction pump after applying flux paste, but it's still good to have around for getting that last annoying bit out.
5. ROM pullers - There are two types: the plain one and the one with the trigger. I HIGHLY advise using the one with the trigger since that ensures that you will always be able to pull up the chip straight. There maybe times when you must use the plain one (ie, if the ROM won't fit the trigger-type puller and you can't buy the correct sized trigger-type puller). If you have to use the plain one, be VERY careful. If at any time using either puller you get stuck and have difficulty pulling out the ROM, STOP and check ALL the legs again. Chances are that you didn't get all the solder cleaned out. So you will need to go back and make sure that you got ALL of it out.
6. Solder - Get as thin wired solder as possible. It will make it easier to work with when you are trying to get solder into really tiny spots (like say into a socket).
7. Socket - You may or may not need this one. This is used if you need to make your own adapter. To make an adapter, attach wires between where the chip you want to dump is and the corresponding legs on the socket. This will be explained in much greater detail in the walkthrough section.
8. Wire and wire wrap tool - The tool is specifically made for working with 30 guage kynar wire wrap wire. It can strip the wire as well as wrap it onto legs. This can sometimes be a quick, easy, and effective alternative to soldering the wire to where you need to attach it.
9. Multimeter - VERY useful whenever you need to wire something up since it will help you figure out where you messed up. The most useful setting is the Ohm setting. If it reads 0 (no resistance), then you know that you have a connection between the two points.
Next Section:
Selecting the proper ROM
Go back to the table of contents
