AVR-Chat

> I wonder if solder paste is easier for soldering
> atmega128 on a board. I tried solder wire and
> the result is not too good and bridges formed
> frequently. It could be that I am using wire
> that is too thick. And my inexperience on soldering
> SMT parts definitely did not help at all. :)
> 
> If solder paste will do wonders, any recommended
> brand. I can use just regular iron with it, right?
> No hot air blower required?

Solder paste is always easier for small components, as it
contains quite a lot of flux, is gooey and will therefore help 
hold the components into place. This removes the need
of an extra hand when soldering. 
The problem is the normally rather low "open time" of the 
paste (< 1 week), and the price.

I always use solder paste, I've found that Kester is the 
best for manual work, Multicore the worst. Kester paste
will (in a syringe) hold for several months, no need to keep
it in the fridge.

For resistors and other passives in 0603, 0805 sizes, a VERY
small dot of paste on the pad is enough. For integrated circuits,
I simply put a thin string of paste over all the pads. 
This works perfectly, I've assembled hundreds of  PCB's this 
way, without any problems.
I normally use hot air, but this will work as well with a fine
tipped soldering iron.
Don't worry about any solder bridges, simply remove these
afterwards with Soder Wick.

But, as with ANY other method, it takes some training.

I've tried ALL the methods, different pastes, solder wires, 
solder in the corner, in the middle, not at all. After all these
boards, I've found the way that _I_ believe is the best.

/Jesper