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Soldering Iron / Station recommendations

magchiel

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Quite happy with my JBC BT-2BWA. Tips aren't the cheapest. However true magnetic standby, heats up quickly and plenty of power if you need to solder chunkier bits.

Depending where you are in the world, besides the Hakko models mentioned above, its digital equivalent e.g. CD-2BQE or the PACE ADS200 might be a reasonable alternatives (the latter at least has cheaper tips).
 
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airborne

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*Cough* that's getting kind of fancy for soldering the occasional lamp wire or interconnect, no? Old-school thermostatic control works very well for most general purpose tasks, and can be pressed into light SMD duty, though the flood-and-solder-wick technique is a bit more labor intensive. But for working with the occasional SOIC opamp, it's fine.

Traditional solder station likes: Generally includes a stand, some means of cleaning the tips, and handset cords will typically be made from burn-resistant material, like silicone.

Don't get me wrong: I love the best of the new tech, and in fact, upgraded to Hakko's FX951. Really love how I can breeze through soldering and desoldering 30 gauge wires with minimal heat damage to the insulation. But my emphasis is more on smaller-scale stuff like camera repair + SMD.

- weller sucks, old tech, stuck behind the times ...

- but it has the exact same new tech !

- you don't need new tech ! ! !

- uhm ... so the problem with Weller is ... ?

reminds me of that ass clown from YouTube who deliberately stuck 120V Weller into 240V to set it on fire and then declared that Weller is garbage because you can't even plug a 120V unit into 240V ...

what is wrong with you people ?
 

Lambda

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reminds me of that ass clown from YouTube who deliberately stuck 120V Weller into 240V to set it on fire and then declared that Weller is garbage because you can't even plug a 120V unit into 240V ...
Well with every modern SMPS this is no problem... and there shuld be a fuse...
 
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airborne

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Well with every modern SMPS this is no problem... and there shuld be a fuse...

i think the "E" in "WE" stands for "Education" ... so basically it's a model for kids.

child abuse is the foundation of all societies which means that Weller specifically developed the "Education" model to be trash.

watch here at 5:31 the WX model has an externally accessible fuse and a physical disconnect.


the WE has nothing - extra deluxe version just for kids.

as for SMPS if they went that way they would then have to make the chassis metal just to keep it from sliding around the table. i think it's clever how they use the transformer to give it some stability while also eliminating the complexity of SMPS or the cost of metal housing.

by contrast i watched the video of the new Metcal GT120 - it has a really expensive metal housing ... with nothing inside ... and then a separate external SMPS power supply ... just makes no sense ...
 
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pseudoid

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I have a collection of the Weller, Ungar, Hakko solder stations and all the tips, heaters (etc.) that go with these old-skool hardware.
I decided to join the 21st Century and get a digital Solder/HeatGun station; I found this JDC#8898 for under $40 and I am impressed.
HeatGun even has a delayed-auto turn-off, when returned to mount.:) GX-16 connectors w/caps are a nice touch.
I also bought some spare tips and heater cores for the 22nd Century!
1648419317400.png

1648419344200.png
 

coonmanx

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A little over a year or so ago I bought a $10 soldering iron off of Ebay. It has a small dial for temperature control on it as well. Came with extra tips and solder. 60 watts...

And the thing works absolutely great. Gets plenty hot to melt solder easily. I used it on an amp and also some speaker crossovers.

An example...
Screenshot at 2022-03-27 22-51-32.png
 

coonmanx

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I know those cheaper soldering irons are not for everyone but I love mine. The tip is small enough that I can do some pretty small and precise work. It is great for desoldering as well. And for the price, it can't be beat. Extra tips and solder are a bonus. YMMV...

That one actually works way better than the Radio Shack one I used for years.
 

Lambda

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If your good at soldering you can work wit an rusty nail and a candle and get decent solder joints.
Its more about the Flux and the Solder)
If your new to soldering a good soldering iron with temperature sensor ring in the tips and fast compensation helps a lot!
 

coonmanx

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If your good at soldering you can work wit an rusty nail and a candle and get decent solder joints.
Its more about the Flux and the Solder)
If your new to soldering a good soldering iron with temperature sensor ring in the tips and fast compensation helps a lot!
I would like to see someone doing solder joints with a rusty nail and a candle. That would be pretty cool.

But seriously it all depends on what you want and how much you want to spend. I still have an old Radio Shack iron that works but the tip is pretty bulky and hard to use and it does not really heat up all that fast either. The newer $10 unit blows it away and even has variable temperature, which is nice. It may not be all that accurate but that does not really matter as I believe I have it on 325 degrees and that seems to work great.

I did use a flux pen and good solder while doing some work about a year and a half ago on a Technics SU-V707 that I was bringing back from the dead. That and patience make for good solder joints.

Obviously if you want brand name and more features then a station is for you. I just don't do enough solder work to justify getting something that costs a lot more. So for me the $10 iron is perfect and so far I have not had any issues with it. Will it last? I don't know. So you will have to decide exactly what you are willing to spend and how many features that you would like. If I did a lot more soldering I would probably have a much better iron. At the same time if the cheap unit does the job well then I am happy to just go with that. Decisions, decisions...
 
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airborne

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i agree that unless you are running some kind of repair shop where you are soldering all day and your livelihood depends on speed and quality of your soldering you can probably work out a technique where you can get the job done with whatever tools you have.

i mean the $20 Radio Shack wasn't my first soldering tool and i remember when i got it i was blown away by the speed and power compared to the soldering iron i was using before, which took several minutes to heat up and then could barely melt solder.

the Radio Shack gun heats up in seconds and will get extremely hot if you keep the trigger depressed ...

my main issue with Radio Shack is the tip shape is impossible to clean due to the nature of soldering guns and how they produce heat by passing current through a U shaped tip ...

but generating the heat in the tip itself is what gives soldering guns their performance ...
 

coonmanx

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I use one of those tins with a brass coil in it to keep the tip nice and clean. Seems to work great.

Also the thing that I found to be cool was that the cheap iron that I bought came with about five different tips. I really only use one that is fairly small. But they can be changed out. The Radio Shack unit had a bigger and bulkier tip and that did not work all that well for some more delicate work. I absolutely love the smaller tip for getting in there and soldering or desoldering stuff on a board. Makes life so much easier.
 
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airborne

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you're missing the point.

the SHAPE of the tip:


is impossible to clean on the INSIDE of that bend.

i had no major issues with speed, power or control of a soldering gun - it's the shape of that tip that is problematic.

although you can get different tips for soldering guns they are more similar than different and changing them is also not as easy - you have some screws to deal with and they must be properly tightened.

whereas with Weller Active Tip cartridges you just pull it out with your bare hands while its still hot and plug a new one in. very clever IMO.

i think Weller is the only one where the rubber grip is part of the cartridge - at first i thought this is dumb because it adds cost to the cartridges but the benefit is you don't have to wait for the tip to cool to switch cartridge tips. i wonder how many people had to burn their hands swapping cartridges before this innovation LOL.


and i also like that you don't have to use these expensive active tip style irons if you don't want to. certainly i wouldn't need one for my lamp and the WX base can work with either old style or new style irons, so you only get what you need but you're futureprooof.
 
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Count Arthur

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Wella is sadly no more they ust sell out the name and the good image but There products are stuck in the 90s and quality is gone downhill.

Get a ts100 or pinecil and be happy.
The heating element directly integrated in the Tip makes a Day and night different

I have one of those and it comfortably outperforms the Antex soldering iron I had previously; I'm very pleased with it.

I've no idea how it compares to the pricier Hakko and Weller soldering stations, but for someone like me, that does a little bit of soldering once in a while it seems absolutely fine.
 

DonH56

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you're missing the point.

the SHAPE of the tip:


is impossible to clean on the INSIDE of that bend.

i had no major issues with speed, power or control of a soldering gun - it's the shape of that tip that is problematic.

although you can get different tips for soldering guns they are more similar than different and changing them is also not as easy - you have some screws to deal with and they must be properly tightened.

whereas with Weller Active Tip cartridges you just pull it out with your bare hands while its still hot and plug a new one in. very clever IMO.

i think Weller is the only one where the rubber grip is part of the cartridge - at first i thought this is dumb because it adds cost to the cartridges but the benefit is you don't have to wait for the tip to cool to switch cartridge tips. i wonder how many people had to burn their hands swapping cartridges before this innovation LOL.
I used a piece of desoldering braid to run inside the gun's tip to clean it. Gun in lap, tip up, and take an end of the braid in each hand to sweep back and forth inside (and outside) the tip.
 
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airborne

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I used a piece of desoldering braid to run inside the gun's tip to clean it. Gun in lap, tip up, and take an end of the braid in each hand to sweep back and forth inside (and outside) the tip.

OK maybe "impossible" was too strong a word.

pain in the ass maybe more accurate.
 

okaudio

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whereas with Weller Active Tip cartridges you just pull it out with your bare hands while its still hot and plug a new one in. very clever IMO.

i think Weller is the only one where the rubber grip is part of the cartridge - at first i thought this is dumb because it adds cost to the cartridges but the benefit is you don't have to wait for the tip to cool to switch cartridge tips. i wonder how many people had to burn their hands swapping cartridges before this innovation LOL.
Is this really a benefit? I haven't change my ungar iron tip in a over decade but I also have a gun style for heavy work.
 
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airborne

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Is this really a benefit? I haven't change my ungar iron tip in a over decade but I also have a gun style for heavy work.

it's not something i would have any use for personally i'm just trying to refute the idea that Weller has somehow turned to trash, is outdated and so on ...

i'm just not seeing how that is the case ...

i looked at the competition from Hakko, JBC and Metcal and i just don't see how they are better.

Weller goes to 150W on active tip and to 200W on the old style fat ass tip - higher than competition with more options to choose from.

the hate Weller is getting seems to me a lot like the hate Mercedes was getting in Formula 1 and why they had to rig the final to make Verstappen win ... perhaps people are just sick and tired of Mercedes / Weller and want somebody else to win already.

i can totally understand that ... but it's not my battle.

likewise some people are sick and tired of Microsoft dominance in operating systems and they will tell you that Windows is trash and Linux is awesome etc ... but they're just saying that because they are rooting for the underdog.

as i see it Weller is to soldering what Windows is to operating systems and what Mercedes is to Formula 1 - nobody likes them but they are number 1 for a reason.

i will definitely change my mind if you can show me that i am wrong. i changed my mind on a number of subjects lately. for example i used to look down on Italian prosound offerings as silly and innovating for the sake of innovation, but now i'm starting to think that in fact JBL and Crown are starting to fall behind Italians ...
 
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JeffS7444

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Is this really a benefit? I haven't change my ungar iron tip in a over decade but I also have a gun style for heavy work.
Oh yes it can be! My old Weller iron had marks on it from where I grasped the hot tip with pliers in order to change the tips. Hakko provides a silicone sheet which hangs off the handset cord for the same purpose. But I've done a lot of building and repairing over the years.
 

ryanosaur

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I have an Xtronic 3020 that I've used since 2018... been pretty decent.
Overkill for just the occasional household soldering, maybe... but it got me through a crossover build and then some! :)
 
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