Ghetto wireless adapter fix

[Legodude522]

Hello peeps. I have an Edimax wireless adapter with a Ralink chipset. What seems to be a common problem with this adapter is that over time the solder connection on the chipset become loose. Normally this would be fixed by reheating the chip and resoldering it. I don't have the time or energy to do that. So I came up with a simple solution that works.

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= Yay! Working adapter. It also doubles as a heatsink.

 

[foothead]

Just put it in the oven. Worked for mine.

I think I did 395 degrees for about 10 minutes.

 

[Legodude522]

Just put it in the oven. Worked for mine.

I think I did 395 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Might try it on the toaster oven. Should I do it with the clamp on it?

 

[foothead]

I did it without a clamp.

A regular oven is a better idea though, the toaster oven will provide very uneven heating.

 

[Legodude522]

I did it without a clamp.

A regular oven is a better idea though, the toaster oven will provide very uneven heating.

Ok, lol. Reminds me of when my mom found my hard drive buried in the freezer after it's been in there for a week. It was my attempt to rescue some data since it stopped working.

 

[foothead]

Ok, lol. Reminds me of when my mom found my hard drive buried in the freezer after it's been in there for a week. It was my attempt to rescue some data since it stopped working.

LOL did that actually work? I heard it makes things worse.

 

[Legodude522]

LOL did that actually work? I heard it makes things worse.

Nah, it still didn't spin up. It was a last resort option. 60gb HDD loaded with my old anime collection.

 

[foothead]

Nah, it still didn't spin up. It was a last resort option. 60gb HDD loaded with my old anime collection.

Swap the platters into n identical drive. I heard that this works well.

 

[Legodude522]

Swap the platters into n identical drive. I heard that this works well.

Fortunately I had "backups" online I didn't lose anything that I couldn't get again.

 

[lhuser]

Now THAT is what you call redneck

You could use a heat blower too...not for the hair, but the stuff that heats really hot. It's good enough to soften solderings up and fix them.