Does any one know if it is o.k to run a soldering iron over the connector with the fine black traces on in the photograph attached(or below I am new to pic posting :D)?
I have an office kitted out with Siemens optipoint handsets (410's and 500's for those interested) and they are having the missing lines issues, much like the original Gameboy does with it's LCD, which is apparently common with these handsets.
I would like to try and repair them but don't know if I can apply enough heat to do the job with out blitzing the connector. Anyone experiences with these type of connectors would be appreciated.
Best Answer
This type of connection utilizes a conductive adhesive coating the ribbon which appears to be heat activated (or at least heat activate-able). The active temperature is far below that of soldering.
On cheap, disposable examples, I've been able to remove it with a hair dryer (not a heat gun), and re-attach it by "ironing" with a large bent tip on a variable temperature soldering iron set to the lowest temperature. But I'd be very hesitant to tackle this on something expensive, at least not without a better way to control tool temperature - soldering iron temperature controls really aren't intended to work that low and do not seem to give repeatable results. If you had a way to monitor the temperature, you could try heating it to the desired point and then switching off the power.
I suspect industrially it is done with some sort of clamp that is quickly heated to a set temperature and then cooled.