Tried and failed..again...

I swear, I have the worst luck with Game Gears. 

So, I attempted to transplant a Game Gear ASIC to the replacement board that I was able to get. However, I had the hardest time getting it to solder in.

To start off, I did manage to desolder the cartridge connector and external port connector from the dead Game Gear.

Next, I attempted to remove the ASIC from the dead board. It's that square IC near that gold circle.

Since the board was dead, I broke off the part of the PCB that had the ASIC on it. The PCB sat a lot better on the little heating plate that I got a while back.

I used a Chromebook charger to power up the heat plate. I tried to get it to go up to 250°C, but it topped out at 148°C. I used a hot air rework wand to help coax it out. After a few minutes, it came off clean.

I started prepping the new board for the ASIC. The first attempt was...bad. I did try to line up the pins and solder them in place, but it would move just enough to get misaligned. This ended up getting pins crossing over and touching the adjoining pins. I tried several times to fix it, but it got worse. I used the hot air again and removed the ASIC to try again. Before I went for a second attempt, I bought a digital microscope.

It took a few days for the microscope to arrive. As soon as it did, I got back to work. I reattempted to solder that ASIC in. With the microscope, it made it much easier to solder the ASIC to the new board. All was going well until I got to the final side that I needed to solder in. For some reason, it kept bridging pins. 

 I'm just not good at fine pitch soldering. I still need practice. Even with this microscope, I just couldn't get it to sit properly. I changed soldering tips to a blade tip and tried again, using the blade to separate the pins a little better. All was going well until...

I applied too much heat and I ended up ripping up some traces from the board. 

Oh, don't worry, I'm already upset with myself. 

I thought I'd try finishing up the installation by installing the old LCD board I tried to install and failed 2 different Game Gears. Unfortunately, all I got was a white screen. 

Again, still upset with myself. 

I removed the ASIC again with hot air, and took a few days away from this project. I may attempt to fix those traces and re-reattempt to solder that ASIC in. Until then, but because I just want a decently modded Game Gear up and running, I ordered a pre-populated board.

Maybe I might try fixing my Atari Lynx II next? I don't know. I don't think I have the mental capacity to do any mod or repair work during the holidays. It's just getting busier and busier at work, and I just don't have the energy when I get home to work on these. I'll more than likely post about getting that new Game Gear board installed before the end of the year. Maybe after the new year, I'll look at fixing, at least, the Lynx.