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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">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. </SPAN></P></SPAN></DIV>
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</P><P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Regardless its going to be a substantial upgrade to what I have been using successfully (other than life span).</SPAN></P>
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<DIV>Thanks all,.. =)</DIV>
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<DIV>Alex<BR><BR>--- wesc@technosis.com wrote:<BR><BR>From: Wes Cherry <wesc@technosis.com><BR>To: A discussion list for dorkbot-sea <dorkbotsea-blabber@dorkbot.org><BR>Subject: Re: [dorkbotsea-blabber] Soldering station<BR>Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:09:11 -0700<BR><BR>repost -- my original had an image which made the msg too big for the listserv sw</DIV>
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<DIV>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.
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<DIV>From the OKI catalog:</DIV>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 7px Helvetica"><FONT size="3">SmartHeat®</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">When the temperature of the heater (a copper bar coated with a magnetised iron/nickel alloy)</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">reaches a certain level (its Curie Point), it stops absorbing energy and the temperature becomes</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">constant. Energy from the power supply feeds a steady current to the coil. This creates an electrical</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">field from which the heater absorbs energy, turns it into heat and transfers it to the iron/nickel</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">alloy. When soldering has drawn heat from the heater to the extent that the tip begins to cool, the</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">alloy reacts by taking on more energy in order to reheat the tip. In this way, SmartHeat</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 7px Times"><FONT size="3">®</FONT></SPAN><FONT size="3">self-</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">regulates the tip temperature to within ±1.1ºC of a set point regardless of thermal load and</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT size="3">without any need for adjustment.</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV>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.<BR>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica"><A href="http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/5635-0199/">http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/5635-0199/</A></DIV>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica">Definitely worth the $30 more than the WESD51</DIV>
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<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica">features like auto-power off are great for saving tips (leaving the iron on for a long time degrades the tips)</DIV>
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<DIV>-Wes</DIV>
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<DIV>On Jun 18, 2008, at 10:44 AM, <<A href="mailto:alex@alexcphoto.com">alex@alexcphoto.com</A>> <<A href="mailto:alex@alexcphoto.com">alex@alexcphoto.com</A>> wrote:</DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>Any recommendations on a good soldering station,.. I am thinking variable with digital read out this time,.. <BR><BR>back story,.. <BR><BR>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,.. <BR><BR>At the moment I am considering a drive down to Frys tonight to pick up this bad boy,.. <BR><BR>Weller WESD51 50W Digital Soldering Station<BR><A href="http://shop2.frys.com/product/3598004?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG">http://shop2.frys.com/product/3598004?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG</A><BR><BR>like I said I am tiered of the cheep ones that die after a few months. <BR><BR>But is this over kill?<BR><BR>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.<BR><BR>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<BR><BR>Any recommendations would be appreciated, this inset exactly an item that’s covered by consumer reports =)<BR><BR>Alex........................................................................<BR>.........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity..........<BR>..........................http://dorkbot.org............................<BR>........................................................................</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV>........................................................................ .........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity.......... ..........................http://dorkbot.org............................ ........................................................................