I've bricked a device, and it does not have an rs232 port, so want to try adding one. I do not have any electronic equipment, or for that matter experience using them, and am looking at buying some. After doing some research the following sounds suitable for pcb modifications that do not involve removal of existing bits and pieces from the pcb.
- 25W soldering iron.
- solder wick
- flux
- usb ttl uart doodad of some sort.
So, is this sufficient for tools? Is there a good place to get them? If it's not sufficient, then why not and what do I need? Is there a good cheap beginners kit which anyone would recommend?
The device is my LG BP125 dvd/bluray player. The bricking won't be the last time, as I am trying to get the firmware format right.
I've narrowed down the uart pins. On the top of the PCB, there are TP701 and TP702. These go nowhere and pretty much go in directly to the MediaTek 8551 chip pins of T3/FEGIO10 and U1/FEGIO11, whose primary purpose according to the service manual for another model with the same chip is PC RS232 RX/TX respectively.
My understanding is that it should suffice to solder these two pins to the usb ttl uart doodad, as well as a ground pin, and the power pin of the doodad can be ignored. Then it's a matter of getting the terminal configuration correct on my computer with the doodad connected. This sound like I'm on the right track?
Any advice is appreciated. Cheers.
Here's the top of the pcb:

Bottom of PCB:
