How to Repair a Ripped-Off Solder Pad on a Flight Controller

Isn’t it frustrating when you accidentally rip off a copper solder pad from a flight controller or PCB? Well, don’t worry—it might still be possible to fix it!

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My Personal Mishap with a Flight Controller

Here’s a little backstory: I managed to pull off the RC1 and Radio 5V solder pads from my brand-new Naze32 board while removing the pre-soldered pins. Since I primarily use PPM and the RC1 pin is crucial for that setup (as far as I know), I faced a dilemma. I could either switch to PWM, which I wanted to avoid, or consider the board a loss and replace it—especially since I was already using UART2 on the RC3 and RC4 pins.

For those unfamiliar, the RC pins on the Naze board each have specific functions and aren’t interchangeable at this time:

• RC1 – PPM
• RC3/4 – UART2 (TX/RX)
• RC5 – LED
• RC5/6 – SoftSerial 1
• RC7/8 – SoftSerial 2

Tips to Avoid Pulling Off PCB Solder Pads

To prevent such mishaps, be careful not to apply excessive heat to the solder pads for an extended period. Also, avoid applying any force to them while soldering or desoldering.

How to Fix Ripped-Off Copper Solder Pads

Fortunately, I was able to repair my board! Although I’m not entirely sure about its long-term reliability, it’s functioning well for now.

Here’s how you can attempt a repair:

1. Expose the Trace: Use a knife to gently scrape around the damaged area to expose the trace connected to the missing pad.
2. Prepare for Soldering: Apply solder flux to the exposed trace and carefully tin it. Be sure to clean off any excess flux afterwards.
3. Reconnect the Trace: Solder a tiny piece of tinned wire (I recommend 30 AWG or 28 AWG) to reconnect the trace to a header pin or another suitable connection point. In my case, I positioned the header pin as close to the trace as possible and soldered them directly together without using a wire, as shown with the RC1 pad and the 5V pad.

Through these steps, I was able to save my flight controller from being a total loss. Hopefully, this guide can help you salvage your electronics as well!