I could also do with some advice on desoldering. I've faffed about with a solder suck in the past, but to no great avail. Maybe I didn't melt the solder enough. Is braid better? What about that ...

[Lee] has a Hakko FR301 desoldering gun and a Duratool knockoff. He freely admits that the Hakko is probably better, but he wonders if it’s good enough to justify being four times as expensive. He ...