I did exactly what you did in a moment of frustration. Fry's at that.<div><br></div><div>I can't believe I denied myself that pleasure since the 4th grade (when I started soldering some 26 years ago).</div><div><br>
</div><div>Any Weller they sell there will make you a happy man.</div><div><br></div><div>--c<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 2:24 PM, <<a href="mailto:alex@alexcphoto.com">alex@alexcphoto.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">
<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>
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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>
<div> </div>
<div>Alex<br><br>--- <a href="mailto:wesc@technosis.com" target="_blank">wesc@technosis.com</a> wrote:<br><br>From: Wes Cherry <<a href="mailto:wesc@technosis.com" target="_blank">wesc@technosis.com</a>><br>To: A discussion list for dorkbot-sea <<a href="mailto:dorkbotsea-blabber@dorkbot.org" target="_blank">dorkbotsea-blabber@dorkbot.org</a>><div class="Ih2E3d">
<br>Subject: Re: [dorkbotsea-blabber] Soldering station<br></div>Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 12:09:11 -0700<div><div></div><div class="Wj3C7c"><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 ±1.1șC 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>
<div style="margin:0px;font:12px Helvetica"><a href="http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/5635-0199/" target="_blank">http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/5635-0199/</a></div>
<div style="margin:0px;font:12px Helvetica"><br></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></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>
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<div style="margin:0px;font:12px Helvetica">
<div><br></div>
<div>-Wes</div>
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<div>On Jun 18, 2008, at 10:44 AM, <<a href="mailto:alex@alexcphoto.com" target="_blank">alex@alexcphoto.com</a>> <<a href="mailto:alex@alexcphoto.com" target="_blank">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" target="_blank">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" target="_blank">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>
..........................<a href="http://dorkbot.org." target="_blank">http://dorkbot.org.</a>...........................<br>........................................................................</blockquote></div><br>
</div>........................................................................ .........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity.......... ..........................<a href="http://dorkbot.org." target="_blank">http://dorkbot.org.</a>........................... ........................................................................</div>
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.........dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity..........<br>
..........................<a href="http://dorkbot.org." target="_blank">http://dorkbot.org.</a>...........................<br>
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