New tools

[poobah]

If you want to buy your last soldering iron first, get a Metcal SP200 and call it done. Ebay it... $80 - 120. Then buy tips.

For your first real meter, get a fluke portable... like a Fluke 80, 83, 87.

For your second meter get a bench model and spend the $$ HP34401A's are good ($1200+) Older HP like Jackinnj mentions are good too.

 

[Burnedfingers]

Poobah

You forgot to mention something here......

A wife that will buy those tools.

 

[poobah]

You can always get another wife...

 

[EC8010]

My ex-wife bought me a DVM in 1989 and I still occasionally use it so it's outlasted her by a good few years. Lower maintenance too.

 

[loek]

But I think they were wrong, to high temperature causes oxidation

Indeed, when you use tip 7 and inspect the soldering with a microscope you clearly can see the oxidation , not the case with a tip no 6...
Greetings, Loek

 

[AKN]

4fun,

You said your new iron has "electronic temperature regulation", does that mean you have the wesd51 ? How does your new iron compare to the WTCPT?

Thanks,

Josh

That's too new my gear today is WECP-20, electronic control with connection for esd protection.

Comparison, hmm.
Reliability is much improved with electronic control. The mechanical thermostatic switch could get stuck on old WTCP. Another obvious advantage over old WTCP is choice of tip temperature over a wide range.