Soldering Iron Recommendations?
in [Design]
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From: Spehro Pefhany on 18 Feb 2010 10:36 On Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:13:08 -0000, "ian field" <gangprobing.alien(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: > >"Spehro Pefhany" <speffSNIP(a)interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote in message >news:2aeon55de02mb5jacdhfmc4rl2viukdkje(a)4ax.com... >> On Wed, 17 Feb 2010 22:34:33 +0530, "pimpom" <pimpom(a)invalid.invalid> >> wrote: >> >>>Oppie wrote: >>>> "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <Paul(a)Hovnanian.com> wrote in message >>>> news:4B7B4399.FB3E97AE(a)Hovnanian.com... >>>>> >>>>> I was just trying to solve the Zen puzzle of how one would fix >>>>> a >>>>> soldering station with itself. >>>>> >>>> >>>> Sort of like when your reading glasses break, how can you see >>>> to fix >>>> them... >>>Some people have backup glasses (I do). >> >> Those of us who are myopic just get closer (though there are limits, >> especially when cutting, grinding, soldering etc.) >> >>> Some people have backup >>>soldering irons (I have a $3 non-temperature controlled piece >>>that I'm quite skilled with). >> >> I could even dig up an old, essentially unused, Weller soldering gun >> if I had to. Or a fairly decent butane powered soldering iron. >> >> > >Years ago I bought a cheap soldering gun (god only knows why!), a few weeks >later someone donated a nearly new genuine Weller - I can't recall ever >having used either! > They are not bad for checking EMI immunity. ;-)
From: ian field on 18 Feb 2010 10:34 "Ian" <i.buckner_Not_(a)btinternet.com> wrote in message news:Op6dnfjVaNe8p-HWnZ2dnUVZ8rudnZ2d(a)bt.com... > > "ian field" <gangprobing.alien(a)ntlworld.com> wrote in message > news:7lTen.7291$IC.3130(a)newsfe13.ams2... >> >> "Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon(a)My-Web-Site.com> wrote in >> message news:867mn5dvefiov77c2rti5ka57pppi1igc5(a)4ax.com... >>>I have an absolutely ancient Weller WTCPN soldering station that is >>> disintegrating... it's probably at least 33 years old. >>> >>> I don't have any need for surface mount sophistication. >>> >>> What are people's thoughts on a cheapy replacement such as... >> >> Since Weller became Cooper Tools, the bean counters took over the >> asylum - they cut corners on manufacturing and reliability went down the >> gurgler. >> >> When my last Weller fell to bits I bought an Antex 25W iron as a stop >> gap, and have been using Antex ever since. >> >> I did treat myself to a 50W Antex TC iron but TBH I don't see much >> advantage over the standard X25. >> > Interesting - Antex used to be rubbish many years ago, Wellers were far > better. Yes I remember when Weller irons were worth having (a very long time ago). A company I worked for bought out a competitor and dumped all the stuff they didn't want in a spare loading bay with a sign; "help yourself". - I grabbed a large box of Weller irons that had been taken apart and not put back together. That collection lasted me many years, but as the spares got older and scruffier it got harder to maintain a reliable iron - so I bought a brand new one. By this time Weller had become Cooper Tools and quality had gone down the gurgler. In the new iron, the thermostat went S/C in less than 2 weeks - Cooper Tools sent me a replacement FOC - which lasted almost a month before going S/C and burning out the element. After buying a new element, I decided not to let that happen again, so I modified an old stat with an opto-interrupter to detect the position of the curie-magnet pushrod. With suitable circuitry to control a triac in the base unit I got a few more years out of it before the cheaper plating on the tip caused a tip to burst with copper oxide inside the element tube - making it impossible to remove without destroying the element. The only problems I've had with Antex irons is the very fine element wire can be susceptible if your local supply has bad spikes - but it wasn't just irons suffering damage until I installed spike suppressors. 110V versions would probably be much more robust in this regard. The other problem is they can snap if dropped, but the only time I've had that happen, the lead was coiled up around the handle.
From: Michael A. Terrell on 18 Feb 2010 10:46 ian field wrote: > > Years ago I bought a cheap soldering gun (god only knows why!), a few weeks > later someone donated a nearly new genuine Weller - I can't recall ever > having used either! I used Weller guns for decades, back in the tube days. I bought the first in '66 and still have a couple. I put a 12 foot coiled AC cord on one of them that was kept at the bench. They were used on service calls where you didn't have time to wait for a soldering iron to heat up, then cool down. I also have a Wen soldering gun like this: http://bmwdean.home.att.net/soldergun.htm -- Greed is the root of all eBay.
From: Michael A. Terrell on 18 Feb 2010 10:47 "Paul Hovnanian P.E." wrote: > > Oppie wrote: > > > > "Paul Hovnanian P.E." <Paul(a)Hovnanian.com> wrote in message > > news:4B7B4399.FB3E97AE(a)Hovnanian.com... > > > > > > I was just trying to solve the Zen puzzle of how one would fix a > > > soldering station with itself. > > > > > > > Sort of like when your reading glasses break, how can you see to fix them... > > If the first attempt at making a drawing board had been a failure, > what would they go back to? Jim's stone tablets and chisels, of course! ;-) -- Greed is the root of all eBay.
From: GregS on 18 Feb 2010 11:43
In article <894on5ld5r0mqv4d3lij6tt28b1r9t5601(a)4ax.com>, John Larkin <jjlarkin(a)highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote: >On Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:48:12 -0000, "ian field" ><gangprobing.alien(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: > >> >>"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon(a)My-Web-Site.com> wrote in >>message news:867mn5dvefiov77c2rti5ka57pppi1igc5(a)4ax.com... >>>I have an absolutely ancient Weller WTCPN soldering station that is >>> disintegrating... it's probably at least 33 years old. >>> >>> I don't have any need for surface mount sophistication. >>> >>> What are people's thoughts on a cheapy replacement such as... >> >>Since Weller became Cooper Tools, the bean counters took over the asylum - >>they cut corners on manufacturing and reliability went down the gurgler. >> >>When my last Weller fell to bits I bought an Antex 25W iron as a stop gap, >>and have been using Antex ever since. >> >>I did treat myself to a 50W Antex TC iron but TBH I don't see much advantage >>over the standard X25. >> > >The Metcals are the best irons. The SP200 system is about $290. They >warm up in seconds and have impressive heat control. > For the price it sounds good. Looks like it has a small handle, but my Weller may be smaller, and its 80 WATTS. greg |