Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 I'm considering purchasing a soldering station for the soldering work I have ahead of me(At least 3 DIY kits + FM transmitter + more in the future I'm sure!). It seems like I've been reading people saying things like "I wish I had a smaller tip" when talking about the DIY kits. So I'm curious, what type/size tips have you used that you think worked good for this project?Any recommendations for a soldering station that is reasonably priced(less than $100 preferrably...closer to $50 is better) & nice to work with? I believe having the right tools for the job is going to make the work ahead of me funner & easier to do. Maybe once we get some opinions collected here this could go in the LOR WIKI Thanks, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 DanHere is a Link to a previous post that has quite a bit of information, after reading it, if you have more question's, lets us know.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 [align=center][/align]I got a Weller WES51 soldering station a few years ago and it works great. It's very dependable, easy to use, and ESD safe. Best of all, the tip heats up in just a few seconds! Perfect for my busy schedule since I can power up and solder a few connections without waiting a few minutes for a conventional soldering iron to heat up.I chose this particular model because two friends had the same thing (one has since moved up to a Metcal system, but he is heavily into electronics) and because the station is very compact and inexpensive, and the temperature control lets me adapt to just about any component with a turn of the dial.I looked around on the web and found that you can buy the WES51 for about $100 anywhere. Here is a typical web vendor:http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/1980-0430/And you can always find one on Ebay:http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?satitle=WES51Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 I second Tom's suggestion. It's a very good station for most soldering tasks.Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 This is the soldering station that I used to assemble all five of my kits and the Ramsey transmitter.. It's only $35 too. http://www.web-tronics.com/cispdeesdsas.htmlI think Ted pointed this one out to me back in April. I have had no problem at all with it.Very good prices on wire ties also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Thanks for the link Bill, that's a good thread to read though.Tom, I've been eyeballing the WES51 or WESD51. I have 1 weller already, but it's a 250watt iron that I figure won't work very good for this application. I think I used the WES51 at work a few years ago and really liked it. I'm not sure if the digital version is worth the extra $30. Which tips would you recommend getting for this station for working on the DIY kits?Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 22, 2006 Share Posted August 22, 2006 Which tips would you recommend getting for this station for working on the DIY kits?Y'know, I used the standard ETA tip for everything. I have an ETS for SMD touchup and an ETR that I got because it seemed like a good idea to have, but I had no problems using the ETA throughout. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I ordered a station. I did alot of reading around and decided to go with a Hakko 936-12. It's a little cheaper than the Weller WES51 & people seem to like it just as much. It's a 60 watt ESD safe temprature controlled iron. The iron is a little smaller than the Weller and it doesn't have an automatic off switch. Either one is probably overkill for what I need but I've always wanted a soldering station. I finally had an excuse to order one Tom - I ordered a ETA style tip for this station. Thanks!!I'm starting to think I need to make a trip to Las Vegas. First my controller boxes came from Vegas, now my soldering station is coming from Vegas! Maybe I'll go study some of their light shows...http://shop.kiesub.com/Detail.bok?no=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Dan, looks like a nice station. I'm sure you'll enjoy the difference between a normal soldering iron and a soldering station. It really makes it a lot more fun to work on projects. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Hako makes a good product for the money. I have used them in my NASA solder training at work. For the occasional solderer (a Ramsey kit and a few DIY kits) any name brand would probably suffice. It is best to get an iron with a small and big tip, depending on how much heat you need to transfer to the printed wiring board (PWB).One tip I can offer is how to care for your soldering iron tip. When you pick up your soldering iron, you should clean it in a damp sponge to remove any oxidized solder and burnt flux. When you are replacing the iron in the holder, you should put a ball of solder on the tip and then replace it in the holder without cleaning it. This is opposite to what many people do but it will preserve your tip greatly by reducing the tip's exposure to the air and cause the metal to oxidize. When you are ready to unplug the soldering iron, you should let the tip of the iron cool down with this solder ball on it.Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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