I just installed my 2nd USB kit from BadFlash.com. Everything went smoothly and now I have a working 2nd USB port! Jack asked me to do a write-up to help others with the kit.
First of all the kit refers you to a web page for directions. This web page seems to have some broken links so it is no longer useful. For alternative instructions on adding a 2nd USB port, go to http://www.lvcm.com/lna/#usb Unfortunately the instructions on this page don't match directly to the kit. But by looking at the diagrams on the page and using the component numbers (CT45, CB86, etc.) in the kit instructions, you should be able to figure out where all the components go.
Secondly although I had lots of experience soldering 10 years ago, I had no previous soldering experience with surface mount components before attempting this kit. In addition I don't own any fancy soldering equipment. I used a $30 20/40 watt soldering iron from Radio Shack with the finest tip that the store had in stock (it's really not much finer than the tip that comes with the soldering iron).
To install the kit, I used the soldering technique from this page: http://www.circuittechctr.com/guides/7-3-1.htm However I can add a few tips of my own.
- It is critical that the tip of the iron be clean. Tin the iron by touching a bit of solder to the tip and then spreading it around by wiping the iron tip on a damp sponge. The tip of the iron should be shiny. If it's not shiny or the iron tip won't accept solder than you must clean the tip and try again. You won't be able to work with surface mount components until you have a clean, shiny iron tip.
- Since so little solder is required for the surface mount components, I never applied solder directly to the components. I always melted a tiny - and I mean *tiny* - amount of solder on the tip of the iron and then touched the tip of the iron to the area that needed solder. Sometimes I had to rotate the iron a bit to get the solder to flow onto the component.
- You should *never* have to leave the soldering iron tip in contact with the soldering area for more than 1 second. That is more than enough time for the solder to flow onto the contact area. Most of the time I could get a good contact in less than 1/2 a second. As you might expect, these components are delicate and heating them too much with the iron will damage them. Keep the contact time to a minimum.
- Be super careful and patient with the soldering. It took me nearly 3 hours to install the 10 components in the kit. The last thing you need to do is pull off a pad or damage another component on the board. If you're a beginner like me, it's worth going slow.
Anyone with more experience, please feel free to add to this advice.
Good luck and happy USB-ing
