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<DIV><SPAN class=026305319-18062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Ah,
those are actually Metcal irons. I'd never seen the OKI brand applied to
them before.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=026305319-18062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=026305319-18062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Yes,
those are good. The Weller will still do a better job on heavy ground
planes, though, because at the end of the day it still has more heat
capacity. (At least that's true of my 80-watt Weller, which I still use as
a backup to my Metcal.)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=026305319-18062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=026305319-18062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>--
john</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
dorkbotsea-blabber-bounces@dorkbot.org
[mailto:dorkbotsea-blabber-bounces@dorkbot.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Wes
Cherry<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:50 PM<BR><B>To:</B> A
discussion list for dorkbot-sea<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [dorkbotsea-blabber]
Soldering station<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>Another advantage of the OKI irons is
you don't have to set the temperature higher than necessary to get reserve
thermal capacity -- the temp is set by curie point of the tip (550, 600,
650, 700 IIRC). This means that less flux gets burnt off and you
get a better joint.
<DIV><BR>
<DIV>-W<BR>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Jun 18, 2008, at 12:09 PM, Wes Cherry wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV
style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space">repost
-- my original had an image which made the msg too big for the listserv sw
<DIV><BR class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV>
<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.
<DIV><BR class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>From the OKI catalog:</DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 7px Helvetica"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
size=3>SmartHeat®</FONT><SPAN
style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
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
class=Apple-style-span size=3>®</FONT></SPAN><FONT class=Apple-style-span
size=3>self-</FONT><SPAN style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 9px Times"><FONT class=Apple-style-span
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 class=Apple-style-span
size=3>without any need for adjustment.</FONT><SPAN
style="FONT: 12px Helvetica"> </SPAN></DIV>
<DIV></DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<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>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<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>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica"><BR
class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica">Definitely worth the $30 more
than the WESD51</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica"><BR
class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV>
<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>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica"><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 12px Helvetica">
<DIV><BR class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV>
<DIV>-Wes</DIV>
<DIV><BR class=webkit-block-placeholder></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<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 class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">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><A
href="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</A><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></DIV>.........................................................................<BR>.........dorkbot:
people doing strange things with
electricity..........<BR>..........................<A
href="http://dorkbot.org">http://dorkbot.org</A>.............................<BR>.........................................................................</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>