quick soldering station question, is this decent?

For the money it looks like a decent one. I bought a similiar station to replace my crappy soldering iron for 20 bucks at fry's and it's been great. Having the temp control is a very good idea. It would be nice to have one that shows the temp on a readout, but these are fine. I've heard of that brand before, not sure of the quality. - Barry
 

if you are planning on doing soldering for the forseeable future, i would tell you to go ahead and spend a hundred bucks w/shipping on something nice and be done with it.

it might have an adjustable temp control and even an LED readout maybe and get a couple different size tips, replacement heater element, and you'll be all set.

if you are on a budget or just starting out or whatever, that one looks nice but i think the heater element will fail sooner than later...
 
no, I don't mind spending more. That's why I started this thread to get some feedback. I will look for some better set up's and get back for advice, :O)
 
ive been doing electronic repairs for almost 20 years and the first station i used was a weller than i bought a unger now i moved up to a metcal. As far as a station thats used for basic parts replacement go with the weller it has great temperature control and a stable unit
 
throwing up

heres what i have and i like it just fine. i wish it had some sort of display though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/936-12-Hakko-So...in_0?hash=item5acdd857f9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

the next soldering station i buy however, will have some sort of display. LED or whatever.
probably wont buy a HAKKO next time, but just to try something different.

i like it when they advertise ESD safe. electro static discharge i think.

a little bit ago, i was working on a G07 with a blown fuse. the big grey cap had NOT been discharged and when my iron got near the fuse holder there was this quick blue arc that zapped the iron i was holding !
didnt feel a thing and the iron kept working ! boy was i lucky.
that woulda bit me hard.
the line in the air was thick !

i was looking at your ebay choices and what i thought was this. go down to your local pawn shop and get yourself a cheap/used vacuum pump. hook up a long hose to it and use it to suck away your molten solder. you can invent some sort of solder trap so the little solder drops dont get sucked up into the pump, ruining it.
i use an old neon shop vacuum pump and it makes de-soldering a joy !

also, since im a soldering smoke wimp, get a cheap window fan to suck the air around you outside. i attached a 2 foot long, large diameter hose to the fan and aimed it at my soldering area. dont pick your nose and eat it either ! keep drinks covered when you are soldering and wash your hands.

i try to keep my work zone a "static free environment".
use an ESD mat with a wrist band. put your PCB's in anti static bags.
 
There's a guy @ BYOAC who works in a factory soldering stuff, and all they use is Metcal stuff. I can see why...it doesn't use an element, it uses some kind of IR system to heat. Tip attains temperature in about SEVEN SECONDS and maintains.

Pricey though, unless you can find a deal.

Me? I don't do enough soldering these days to warrant one unless I could get it cheap, I have a $50 Weller.
 
There's a guy @ BYOAC who works in a factory soldering stuff, and all they use is Metcal stuff. I can see why...it doesn't use an element, it uses some kind of IR system to heat. Tip attains temperature in about SEVEN SECONDS and maintains.

Pricey though, unless you can find a deal.

Me? I don't do enough soldering these days to warrant one unless I could get it cheap, I have a $50 Weller.

your right the metcal is very quick and its the tip that sets the temp so i have to buy a bunch of diffrent styles so i can get some versatility. As far as price goes i have around $2200 invested. For when im doing monitor repair i still have my old weller and edsyn stations i use.

Note: it doe'snt matter what staion you use if you cant solder in the first place you screwed!!!
 
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/TENMA-21-7935-/21-7935

I picked up this soldering station awhile ago. I also saw it on sale last week for 59.99 (what I paid), may still be on sale with a code. Highly recommend it for anyone! It's cheap, does it's job, and build quality is excellent.

I started out with a crappy radio shack iron and will never go back after this one.
 
I thought that one looked sweet too. But probably more than I know what to do with.

Jrok gave me a great suggestion in a PM.
 
i got mine from mcm its a tenema but it has replaceble irons(like only $10 each) and the display is digital, its a closed loop constant control iron..

its not a super deal at regular price but if you know anybody that gets mcm catalogs you can get the irons and stuff at a nice discount by entering the current promo code..

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/TENMA-21-7935-/21-7935
 
wow, that looks like an outstanding deal. Someone who knows chime in and let us know if this is as good as it looks.

I bought one of those recently, and it works great. Heats up quickly, and it's fairly accurate as far as temperatures go.

I was used to a Weller digital station, and this one works just as well. Depending on which auction you buy the station from, it comes with several tips of different sizes. I've *heard* that the tips are compatible with another brand (Hakko I think), but I haven't checked.
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270458389144&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have a 35w weller right now.

This is a decent upgrade isn't it? Having the option to control temp?
Or is it a waste of money, and I need to buy a better one if I am going to
upgrade?

That's complete junk...

If you're going to spend any money on an iron, you might as well get a good one that'll last forever...

These are kinda old, but they'll pretty much last forever:

http://cgi.ebay.com/METCAL-PX2E-01-...in_0?hash=item2a0147414e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
 
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