While the pop-up flash on my Canon XT camera works fine, the hot shoe doesn't work. So I took it apart, and found a discrete transistor near the hot shoe, with one lead going to the hot shoe center-pin connector, one going to ground, and the third going off into the circuit bowels.
So I'm hoping this transistor is bad, and that's what's causing the problem. The number on it is K2715P, which I assume is
2SK2715, a 500V N-channel MOSFET. That would make perfect sense in this application.
But the problem is that the transistor is soldered onto that amber flexible plastic stuff that passes for a PC board these days. I've never attempted to desolder or resolder anything to that stuff. I have a 30-watt iron. Can anyone give me advice on that?
An alternative would be to wire in the replacement in in parallel with the existing part, probably just soldering to the old part leads and trying to stay away from the plastic PC board as much as possible. If I have room to do it that way.
And finally, this transistor appears to be pretty obscure, and while Mouser carries it, it would be nice if I could use something I'm more likely to find locally - an NTE part perhaps. It wouldn't really have to have a 500V DS rating. As a practical matter, I think 50V would be plenty - modern flashes don't go over 12V. So if anybody knows of a common N-channel MOSFET that might work, please let me know. But it has to be small. The body of the old one is
6.5mm wide.
Thanks for any help.