psmayHuman Being, Occasional Smart Person, Just Some GuyHomeContactPublic Key NotarySecurityWish ListProjectsBack BurnerCNC machineMicrocontroller breadboard utility headerTrickyEnglishVideo: Clock battery replacement for Pokémon Emerald Version (GBA)2018 April 20Electronics, Fix, VideoMany have shared their experiences replacing the drained real-time clock (RTC) batteries on their GBA Pokémon games. Few have referenced Natalie Imbruglia in the process.I knocked this video out for the sake of knocking a video out; you’ll observe unscriptedness, camera-quality audio, lots of text added in post, jump cuts, vocalized pauses, heavy breathing and an obnoxious nasalness in the voice (the latter two because I’m a little under the weather). Even the tiny theme song is a bit on the disappointing side. But, as they say, you can’t optimize code that doesn’t exist. After some scrutiny of this entry, maybe next time will be better.Preflow and Reflow2018 February 25Build, ElectronicsI’ve designed at least three or four different multi-74HC595+NMOS boards[1] over the past couple of years, but I believe this most recent one is the first one that ever worked on the first try.Before I get to any specifics about that, here is a bit about how it was soldered.PreflowMy technique has advanced since when I first experimented with plain solder reflow so many moons ago. I’ve developed this into a methodology I’m starting to refer to as “preflow” due to its relationship with reflow soldering. It’s nothing new and I even got the idea from multiple other sources, but I’d like to document the specific flourishes I’ve needed to apply to make it work for me.We like reflow soldering because it’s an effective way to get SMT[2] parts attached correctly to a board, enabling us to perform the most delicate and error-prone task of initially positioning parts without heat (important to me because I have shaky hands and need the extra time).Typically, solder paste and a solder paste stencil are used in the reflow process.Solder paste allows the placement of SMT components without the immediate use of heat.Solder paste is somewhat viscous and helps prevent the placed components from accidentally moving or becoming misaligned before the board is reflowed.A stencil precisely applies a metered amount of solder paste, which avoids excess solder that might cause bridging or imbalanced solder that might cause a component not to mount flush with the board.A stencil applies solder for the entire board, or even a whole panel of boards, in a single, very short pass, saving large amounts of time for production at any non-trivial volume.But, as a hobbyist or for R&D purposes, perhaps we don’t care for solder paste or stencils.To use solder paste as recommended, we need to buy either a rather expensive small quantity or a larger quantity at a lower unit price. It does expire, so assuming we’re not producin