[dorkbotsea-blabber] Soldering station

Wed Jun 18 19:36:46 EDT 2008

 > Any Weller they sell there will make you a happy man.

actually I'll disagree with that a little.

I got one of the cheap weller stations (maybe $40) a year or two ago. 
Failed after about 12 months of relatively little use.

Christopher Prosser wrote:
> I did exactly what you did in a moment of frustration. Fry's at that.
> 
> I can't believe I denied myself that pleasure since the 4th grade (when 
> I started soldering some 26 years ago).
> 
> Any Weller they sell there will make you a happy man.
> 
> --c
> 
> On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 2:24 PM, <alex at alexcphoto.com 
> <mailto:alex at alexcphoto.com>> wrote:
> 
>     hmm,... that one looks very, very tempting,.. but I am kind of in
>     the "go get it tonight, have the tips available locally" mind set,..
>     if I did more SMT id probably re consider,.. but so far iv been able
>     to avoid SMT for the most part,.. still finding most everything
>     available in TH,.. I am sure that will change over time,.. but
>     probably not the next 5 years,.. I think the temp control on the
>     Weller will be good enough for me,.. and what I was really looking
>     for was a station that would hold up to heavy use and last a few
>     years,.. And I think the Weller will do that, and then some. its a
>     bit more than I wanted to spend,.. but I think I do enough soldering
>     to warrant it,.. but not much more.
> 
>      
> 
>     Regardless its going to be a substantial upgrade to what I have been
>     using successfully (other than life span).
> 
>      
>     Thanks all,.. =)
>      
>     Alex
> 
>     --- wesc at technosis.com <mailto:wesc at technosis.com> wrote:
> 
>     From: Wes Cherry <wesc at technosis.com <mailto:wesc at technosis.com>>
>     To: A discussion list for dorkbot-sea
>     <dorkbotsea-blabber at dorkbot.org <mailto:dorkbotsea-blabber at dorkbot.org>>
> 
>     Subject: Re: [dorkbotsea-blabber] Soldering station
>     Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:09:11 -0700
> 
> 
>     repost -- my original had an image which made the msg too big for
>     the listserv sw
> 
>     I love my Oki SP-800.    It uses a material at the tip that changes
>     it's magnetic permeability at it's curie point.   This means that
>     you get super quick and accurate temperature regulation, like +- 1
>     deg C.   Much better than any sort of temperature feedback mechanism
>     as used in other soldering irons.    So when soldering a bigger part
>     you'll still keep the temperature within a narrow window with solder
>     flowing.   
> 
>      From the OKI catalog:
>     SmartHeat® 
>     When the temperature of the heater (a copper bar coated with a
>     magnetised iron/nickel alloy) 
>     reaches a certain level (its Curie Point), it stops absorbing energy
>     and the temperature becomes 
>     constant. Energy from the power supply feeds a steady current to the
>     coil. This creates an electrical 
>     field from which the heater absorbs energy, turns it into heat and
>     transfers it to the iron/nickel 
>     alloy. When soldering has drawn heat from the heater to the extent
>     that the tip begins to cool, the 
>     alloy reacts by taking on more energy in order to reheat the tip. In
>     this way, SmartHeat®self- 
>     regulates the tip temperature to within ±1.1ºC of a set point
>     regardless of thermal load and 
>     without any need for adjustment. 
> 
> 
>     You can buy different tips with different geometries and curie
>     points for different soldering scenarios.   The hoof tips are
>     excellent for soldering SMT parts.  A simple drag across the pins
>     solders one side of a multipin SMT device.   Tip changes take seconds.
> 
>     http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/5635-0199/
> 
>     Definitely worth the $30 more than the WESD51
> 
>     features like auto-power off are great for saving tips (leaving the
>     iron on for a long time degrades the tips)
> 
> 
>     -Wes
> 
>     On Jun 18, 2008, at 10:44 AM, <alex at alexcphoto.com
>     <mailto:alex at alexcphoto.com>> <alex at alexcphoto.com
>     <mailto:alex at alexcphoto.com>> wrote:
> 
>         Any recommendations on a good soldering station,.. I am thinking
>         variable with digital read out this time,..
> 
>         back story,..
> 
>         Iv gone through 4 soldering irons in the last 6 months,.. (I
>         solder allot) I am tiered of cheep ones that die quickly, or
>         have replacement tips/parts that are hard to find,..
> 
>         At the moment I am considering a drive down to Frys tonight to
>         pick up this bad boy,..
> 
>         Weller WESD51 50W Digital Soldering Station
>         http://shop2.frys.com/product/3598004?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
> 
>         like I said I am tiered of the cheep ones that die after a few
>         months.
> 
>         But is this over kill?
> 
>         What about "Aoyue" iv never heard of them and I am worried ill
>         not find the tips locally,.. but this one looks interesting on a
>         price point side.
> 
>         http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1213555205&sr=8-2
>         <http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-937-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000I30QBW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1213555205&sr=8-2>
> 
>         Any recommendations would be appreciated, this inset exactly an
>         item that's covered by consumer reports =)
> 
>         Alex........................................................................
>         .........dorkbot: people doing strange things with
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