DiyLightAnimation
Fun => The Porch => Topic started by: Ralph A on February 04, 2011, 07:14:52 pm
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I wanted to get your options on what you guys like to use for your soldering irons for the type of work we do. I have soldered here and there and sometimes everywhere (not by choice). Yet this will be the first time for PCB'S. I have a soldering gun but need to get what is right for the job. (Correct tools makes the job)
I have read the wiki, but it seems a bit lacking.
1. What type of Iron do I need, and what wattage?
2. Should I get a station Iron or not? (Would like to keep it under $150.)
3. Are there practice kits out there, and do I really need them?
4. Is .032 the best size solder for pcb's?
5. Is there an online place to buy that has better prices than local stores?
Thanks for all the help and advise!!
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What he said! <pop.. <fp.
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I asked the same thing a couple of months ago and RJ referred me to this one:
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=15141+TL
I got it and love it. Only one issue is the lame excuse for a sponge, but a replacement is easily DIY'd from a cheap kitchen sponge.
They have other choices like non digital version etc.
http://www.mpja.com/productsdirect.asp?dept=480&main=79&item1=15860+TL&item2=15845+TL&item3=15140+TL&item4=15141+TL&item5=17204+TL
Hope that helps.
-JS
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I bought this one from Amazon over a year ago and it's been great.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000ARU9PO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1296865688&sr=8-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000ARU9PO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1296865688&sr=8-2)
Hope this helps
Tim
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Another good one :
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-Soldering-Hobbyist-Yourselfer/dp/B000AS28UC
I got it over a year ago. Tips are easy to change. I built 2 dongles, 11 expresses, 4 ssr4's and a aeon clock so far with it. I just ordered a few replacement tips for the upcoming coop toys.
Ron
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In lieu of the wet sponge, I picked up this http://www.web-tronics.com/tipclwist4.html (http://www.web-tronics.com/tipclwist4.html). works great to keep the solder off.
Larry
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I believe a low cost digital station that is at least 40 watts would probably be a safe bet as this should handle some of the larger components fairly easily and easy to adjust the temperature.
You don't necessarily need a practice kit but if you have never soldered before it is a good idea to spend time practicing to get the hang of it. So if you want the practice I would say get a protoboard and some random components similar to what is used in the Lynx boards and practice soldering using them.
I keep a couple of different diameters, typically 0.032, 0.015 and some others for some different work. The 0.032 is very useful for electronic soldering.
Some of my other thoughts. Get some chisel tips (1/16in, 1/8in) and a conical tip. It is easier to work with 63/37 solder. A solder cleaner is good at helping extend the life of the tips by not causing the temperature shock of water. Maybe some de-soldering gear such as a sucker and some wick and flux. A helping hands stand and a magnifier can be very useful also.
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http://www.circuitspecialists.com
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I guess i would really depend on what you intend to work on in the future. If you intend to do more work on surface mount components then you might want to look more at a rework station like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-Digital-Rework-Soldering-Station/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_167?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1296433795&sr=1-167
The price is good and it has gotten some good reviews. I am looking into ordering this one myself.
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I have a station with variable temperature...I think I set it once about 10 years ago and haven't touched it since. The big keys seem to be matching the tip/wattage/solder for the job at hand. For circuit boards, that means a fairly small / tapered tip, small gauge solder and you can probably get away with 25-40 watts easily. My station used to have a sponge, when that deteriorated beyond use, I switched to a couple of heavy paper towels folded up and dampened.
I guess the bottom line is, the fancy stuff is nice, but good boards can be assembled with a simple iron, the appropriate tip and solder, and a small paper towel to keep the tip clean.
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It kinda follows your preference.
I still use a 25watt, and 40 watt soldering pencils.
I picked up a cheap $20.00 Weller 25watt pencil b/c it came with different types of tips.
I built an SSR4 (with DMX) with it tonight, and the iron did really well.
Dont feel like you have to get something super expensive just to so some soldering. Remember, this is still just a hobby for most of us.
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Awesome!!! Thanks for all the helpful replies. Lots of great information here. When most of you started to solder did you use practice boards or just jump in?
Thanks again for all the help. This group of DIYER's is the Best!!
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I guess i would really depend on what you intend to work on in the future. If you intend to do more work on surface mount components then you might want to look more at a rework station like this one.
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-Digital-Rework-Soldering-Station/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_167?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1296433795&sr=1-167
The price is good and it has gotten some good reviews. I am looking into ordering this one myself.
I just bought this one myself...should be here any day now.
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Cool, let me know what you think of it.
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Has anyone tryed the BlackJack SolderWerks Soldering Station (BK2000) ?
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/9747
also does anyone use lead free solder?
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re: lead free solder
Everything I have heard .. is that its terrible and hard to use. Requires a very hot iron as well.
May want to consider an absorber fan.
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Has anyone tryed the BlackJack SolderWerks Soldering Station (BK2000) ?
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/9747
also does anyone use lead free solder?
I have that one and it is a nice unit. The only problem that I have with it is that you can't change the default heat setting which is too low so I have to keep cranking it up when I turn it on but I think that I will live. It also comes with a needle tip so be sure to order a chisel tip along with a few extras. As others have said, lead free solder requires more heat so you will have to crank the temp up a bit to use it. It also doesn't seem to flow as well for me but that could be caused by me not heating it up enough.
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You never know what's going to happen in the future, and this station was about the same price as some of the others, so I ordered it today. I will be here in 4 - 14 days, so I'll let you know what I think.
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-Digital-Rework-Soldering-Station/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_167?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1296433795&sr=1-167
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You never know what's going to happen in the future, and this station was about the same price as some of the others, so I ordered it today. I will be here in 4 - 14 days, so I'll let you know what I think.
http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-Digital-Rework-Soldering-Station/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_167?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1296433795&sr=1-167
I just got this one too....I haven't really used it to much but it seems to be well built. I am happy with it so far.
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This does seem like quite a good deal.
Could the hot air gun also be used for heat shrink tubing as well?
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This does seem like quite a good deal.
Could the hot air gun also be used for heat shrink tubing as well?
Yes, that is one of the reasons I got this one was for multiple uses. It doesn't blow as hard as a gun though.
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I bought just a cheapo unit from Radio Shack with a 15/40 watt setting and it works fine. However, I would like to upgrade to a digital model like some shown on this thread.
To answer your question on a practice board--I had never soldered in my life, ordered some Express boards and watched RJ's videos and had absolutely no problems!! Don't be afraid to get the part hot and you can just watch the solder "automagically" flow into the board! It is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.
Good luck.
foody
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It is not supposed to. Remember, it is a REWORK station. It is designed to remove and or install individual components and or work on small sections of a board. You don't want it to blow parts off of the board or melt the solder on parts that you are not working on. I would also bet that it does use a smaller blower than some others to keep the cost down. The real question is; does it get the job done?
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I am finding the selection of soldering stations so vast ... that making a selection is difficult.
Like many, I just have a cheap RS iron and probably never swapped the tip since buying it.
I find that http://www.sra-solder.com/ and http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/6388 alone present a lot of solder stations to choose from. There are also a couple of popular ($50 and $100) Weller irons (avail. at amazon.com) that also seem popular and have a longer track record than most of the newer brands on the market. I've also read how many of these units are perhaps re-badged and/or sold under similar model numbers to look just like a better known name brand model. The result is ... confusion!
There are a lot of "lead free" stations showing up with are usually 70w and have more expensive tips (because they have built in heating elements)., but may be easier to swap out the tips. Again, most people report lead free as being a pain, but if this become the norm in the future ... is a lead free station a wise investment now?
Also, I've had some confusion in the tips on the lead free stations, as they use slightly different terms and measurements so wading through the Bevel, Chisel, Conical, Tunnel, Blade, Sharp Bent, flow type, etc. is confusing.
I know, like anything, over thinking this decision is probably easy to do.
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I picked this one up: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120545542541&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT off ebay and its great...
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Thanks, that looks like this popular Hakko 937 (digital) clone (Aoyue) ... same as sold here: http://sra-solder.com/product.php/6145/1 ... I like that it uses cheaper and more widely available tips. Can you recommend your favorite tips that you use?
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I just got my Aoyeu 937+ in the mail in it is perfect! Definatly would recommend it!
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I'm using the stock tip that came on the Aoyeu and it works great (of course, all I've done so far are a couple of those cheap kits from Ratshack for my kids) but it heats up quickly and it fairly easy to work with.
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The xtronic rework station just came in today. My pickit and the parts for my dongles also came in. Now I just need some pcbs and I am ready to go.
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Alright, so after convincing myself I'd order the CSI 1A ... I ended up ordering the Blackjack BK3000LF combo instead.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/10072
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I asked the same thing a couple of months ago and RJ referred me to this one:
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=15141+TL
I got it and love it. Only one issue is the lame excuse for a sponge, but a replacement is easily DIY'd from a cheap kitchen sponge.
They have other choices like non digital version etc.
http://www.mpja.com/productsdirect.asp?dept=480&main=79&item1=15860+TL&item2=15845+TL&item3=15140+TL&item4=15141+TL&item5=17204+TL
Hope that helps.
-JS
I was really eyeballing this MPJA Model 302A and I think I'm going for it based on the reasonable price. I know how to solder pretty good, but I don't think I need an industrial strength, just one that will do a few kits and some other small electronic jobs. The price seems to be in my target and I was just wondering are you still happy with it? I'm really considering it for the price. One other question; does it display Celsius & Fahrenheit?
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I asked the same thing a couple of months ago and RJ referred me to this one:
http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=15141+TL
I got it and love it. Only one issue is the lame excuse for a sponge, but a replacement is easily DIY'd from a cheap kitchen sponge.
They have other choices like non digital version etc.
http://www.mpja.com/productsdirect.asp?dept=480&main=79&item1=15860+TL&item2=15845+TL&item3=15140+TL&item4=15141+TL&item5=17204+TL
Hope that helps.
-JS
I was really eyeballing this MPJA Model 302A and I think I'm going for it based on the reasonable price. I know how to solder pretty good, but I don't think I need an industrial strength, just one that will do a few kits and some other small electronic jobs. The price seems to be in my target and I was just wondering are you still happy with it? I'm really considering it for the price. One other question; does it display Celsius & Fahrenheit?
That is the one I got and it seemed to work well for me. It displays in Celsius and I didn't see any way to change it. I had to laugh though, it included a replacement heating element, but I scanned through the directions and to replace it, you have to solder it.
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I bought a blackjack and have been very pleased with it.
Here is a popular model:
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/10071
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http://www.mpja.com/prodinfo.asp?number=15141+TL I also use the one RJ suggested and have built 12 LE's and 2 dongles and 12 EX/RX and love it , RJ suggested to solder at 360 C and it solders well.
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Can someone tell me what the roller is for at the top of the station that holds the iron? Is it to hold the solder roll? If so do any of you actually use it, when I was working I just held the roll in my left hand and the iron in my right and seemed to work out well for me. I have a vice to hold the pcb.
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Yes, its for holding the roll of solder on. I use it most of the time.