Christopher2113 Posted April 17, 2012 Posted April 17, 2012 Hello All,I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am looking for a soldering gun, iron, or station. I would like it to be temperature controlled if possible. I have been looking on the web and the options are endless. I was hoping if someone could guide me. I have four sandevices that need to be soldered together.ThanksChristopher
pyromill Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 Cheap decent place to deal with I personally use the zd-99 have not failed me yet in both the work of diy world and through i think three kits.. i will advise though to get the smallest and the largest tips for kit building. Been soldering stuff up for oh gosh 22 years now and it's the cheapest pretty dang well built unit for the price. I've owned weller's stuff... but really, I wouldn't waste the money unless you need hot air reworks.
pyromill Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 ohh and if you ever need... i HIGHLY suggest radio shack's desoldering iron. better and faster than wick most times!. many times I used one... buy extra tips though
David Rise Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 I'm just a rookie when it comes to soldering.I spent $10 on my soldering iron from HD. Works great for the little bit of soldering that the DIY kits require.I would highly recommend a solder sucker, it's been a life saver.http://www.amazon.com/SOLDER-SUCKER-DESOLDERING-DESOLDER-REMOVAL/dp/B0002Y8OPM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334745577&sr=8-3
Santas Helper Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 I got mine at Radio Shack (saves on shipping costs if you have a local store).A great soldering station and it shows the current temp, which you can adjust to your needs.http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3132686
bisquit476 Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 I've used Weller products for years, never a problem, this is what Santa brought me for Xmas a few years ago,http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000ARU9PO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334764373&sr=8-2
harrison0550 Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 This hakko is awesome!http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-Soldering-Station-FX-888/dp/B004M3U0VU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334766902&sr=8-1Here is a video with it in action. Here is a list of the top rated units on amazon. The best price is probably the aoyue unit that is a knock off of the older Hakko 936. If you see rework or smt work in your near future then the x-tronic all in one units can't be beat for price vs what all you get I.e. Tips, heat gun, light, magnifying glass etc.http://www.amazon.com/gp/top-rated/hi/13837391Oh and here is the second half of that soldering video with some good pointers. While were at it LOL here is the last video going over surface mount technology.
flogger7 Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 harrison0550 wrote:This hakko is awesome!http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-Soldering-Station-FX-888/dp/B004M3U0VU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334766902&sr=8-1+1I hadn't done more than solder a couple wires together now and again prior to taking on some rainbow flood kits (through hole resistors and LED's). The hakko combined with the EEVblog tutorials got me where I needed to be.
Steven Posted April 18, 2012 Posted April 18, 2012 harrison0550 wrote: While were at it LOL here is the last video going over surface mount technology.I like what he said at the beginning, identifying SMD components:"Now the 1206 up here is an absolute monster; Stevie Wonder could solder this thing."He's right about surface mount. It's not that hard.
Christopher2113 Posted April 19, 2012 Author Posted April 19, 2012 Sounds pretty goodI'm liking that Hakko !
Guest guest Posted April 20, 2012 Posted April 20, 2012 I have the Hakko cordless iron..best cordless I've ever owned.And definitely giving some thought to upgrading the older corded Weller temp control to the FX-888...maybe not the SMD add-on right away, but very tempting.While a good corded temp control iron is essential, don't discount the usefulness of a smaller cordless to go with it.
WilliamS Posted April 20, 2012 Posted April 20, 2012 For my first 2 kits I used a dual temp unit right off the shelf from Radio Shack. Regardless of overall quality it did the job and for a novice it worked great. Im sure the more expensive units will have finer controls, more tips, and overall easier experience but for my first soldering job on the LOR PC kits this thing worked without a hitch. Now I did practice on some little led kits Radio Shack sells as well. This is to prevent me from ruining my LOR kit. Those led spinners and such still work as well.I plan on upgrading soon over the Rat Shack station but until then its still setup in my shop doing its job.
k6ccc Posted April 21, 2012 Posted April 21, 2012 Almost any gun would be too large for PC board work. For small quantity, a decent iron is OK, but if you are going to solder very much, a soldering station really is nice to have. For anything but VERY small quantity repair work, don't depend on solder wick. A de-soldering bulb is better, but a real vacuum driven de-soldering station is a Godsend. Unfortunately there are also far more expensive than a de-soldering bulb. I don't do enough repair work to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a nice Pace de-soldering station (but it would be nice!).
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