Soldering Station Advice

[roadlesstraveled]

I am looking to purchase a soldering station for hobby use. The station will get used only a few times a month which is why I'm not going with a pricier station. From my research thus far the below stations seem to offer the best bang for your buck.

At first I was leaning towards the CSI station because they also have the solder, desoldering braid, helping hand, etc... that I need to purchase and it's at a great price. I would also be able to get a free digital multimeter through them. Take into consideration that while I would still have to pay shipping there I'd be ordering quite a few small items that would cost more elsewhere so it evens out.

After doing a little more research I found that Aoyue also seems to get mentioned quite a bit. It seems like the tips between all of these soldering irons are interchangeable. Also the SMD Tweaser should also be interchangeable as long as you make sure to choose the one with the correct number of pins (the CSI model costs ~$30 more than the others).

I'm not sure which model to go with since their all basically a clone of the same Hakko 936. What do you guys recommend?

Circuit Specialists CSI-STATION1A 40w - $29.95 before shipping
Madell QK936A 60w - $43 shipped
ATTEN AT937b 50w - $39.98 shipped
Sparkfun AT936B 50w - $29.95 before shipping
MPJA Model 301A 40w - $39.95 before shipping
AOYUE 936 35w - $39.00 shipped

 

[Lavcat]

I use a Weller WES51 and I recommend it.

 

[Francec]

Your profile doesn't say where you are so it is hard to give proper advice. Not everyone lives in the US of A (happily).

 

[roadlesstraveled]

Sorry about that, I live in the US. Profile has been updated.

 

[thaumaturge]

I am looking to purchase a soldering station for hobby use. .... What do you guys recommend?

I use a Wellwe W60 for kick around use and a WCTN station on the bench. Both are magnetic controlled.

Of those you listed I'd go with the 60W for faster heating and recovery time. Looks like tips are available, I'd get a couple of spares.

I like a hot 800 F tip so I can get in and out fast. You do less board damage by being quick than using a lower temp iron that has to heat a trace a long time to make a proper joint. Whatever you get, get some junk circuit boards to practice on first before you attempt an expensive project board. Use a damp tip cleaning sponge, clean just before you solder then put tip back in stand dirty. Always have some solder on the tip when it is just sitting in stand. This will help with tip oxidation. Use a small fan to keep solder fumes away from your face. Lay tip on trace and touch solder to point of contact to get things started then move solder to other side of lead you are soldering to finish joint.

Best of luck to you.
Doc

 

[PbAg]

This is my first post on DIYA and given my nickname, an appropriate topic? -

I am also a "few times a month hobbyist" and have owned the MPJA Model 301A for a number of years. It has performed very well - heats quickly, maintains temperature accurately, tip lasts a long time. An optional SMD "tong" is also available. I would definitely recommend this type of station for hobby use.

 

[Zero Cool]

I have to 2nd the weller route. even a used weller! besides the initial purchase of the iron system, you have to consider the maintenance of the unit as well. replacement tips, handles etc. Weller has a long reputation and is well supported.

 

[nezbleu]

I have a station I bought from Circuit Specialists, branded "Black Jack Solderwerks". I think it is about identical to the CSI unit. I am very happy with it; it heats fast, is easy to handle, has a good tip and a nice stand. No complaints. When I bought it, like you, I ordered a few extras, some spare tips in a couple of sizes, some solder, desoldering braid, and a couple of other things, including a decent DMM. Everything arrived as ordered, no surprises, no disappointments.

 

[dangus]

For only occasional use, I might just go with a butane soldering iron. The only one I've used is the Weller Pyropen, but I've seen visually similar if not identical irons from other brands (Master Ultratorch). Portability, hot air for heatshrinking, and a flame torch for heavy duty soldering. For convenient ignition, I cut the top off an old disposable lighter.

I still have a 40 watt Weller iron well; one of those might be usable if you use a light dimmer to reduce the power. It tends to run too hot (glows in the dark!).

But, I'd strongly recommend a Weller temperature-controlled station. You may find one at a real surplus outlet (industrial, government, school) or ham radio swap meet.

 

[jcb72]

The WES51 and at937b both have pretty decent reviews on Amazon. I cant comment on either of the personally because I don't own them though. I know it is not a budget station but I have a Hakko-951 and it is the greatest thing since sliced bread! If you ever want a top end station and have the money to spend the 951 is the way to go.

 

[NanoFrog]

Weller WD1001 (includes the WMP iron) & bought the WP80 iron for it as well.

LT1 tips are usually under $5 per (fit the WP80), while the NT series are ~$11 to $20 per (fit the WMP).

 

[Itsmee]

The Antex TCS is a temperature controlled 50 watt iron for reasonable money, I used one before stepping up to a proper base station.

 

[Rullknufs]

Is it OK to borrow this thread a little?

I'm also looking for a soldering station (preferrably available in Sweden or the surrounding area). I'm a total beginner (never soldered anything before) so I need something that's easy to use but something that I can keep with me for maybe 10-15 years. I was thinking of using to to make crossovers, amplifiers and such.

What do you recommend? I'd prefer to keep it below 1000SEK / €110 / $145 / £93

 

[Graemedench]

I'm pretty happy with this one. good solid. I imagine you'll have an RS there.
Buy Soldering Stations RS DS50 Digital Soldering Station eu/uk RS DS50 online from RS for next day delivery.

 

[AdamThorne]

Man! Maybe I'm just a noob. My dad taught me to solder on heathkits in the '80s. It was always simple pencil soldering irons. I solder a few times a month. I saw lots of people talk about their soldering technique and expensive soldering equipment. I thought maybe there was something I didn't know.

I bought a cheapish MCM solder station. It has since acquired some negative reviews, so maybe not a fair unit to judge by. But it wasn't really a different experience from a pencil iron. It broke, and I got a radio shack 15 / 30 watt switchable iron. It cost half as much. My soldering experience has been the same, from previous pencil irons, to the solder station, back to my current iron. I've gone as far now as having 2 cheap irons, one with a big fattie tip and one with a smaller one.

Maybe the stuff I do just isn't demanding enough to justify the fancy kit. I still wonder if a nice station wouldn't be a revelation to me. Probably those guys who solder all day every day wouldn't want to live without one.

I've ordered stuff from MPJA before and been happy with them, so maybe I'd go with their unit.

 

[NanoFrog]

You might want to take a look at the Hakko FX-888 (FX888-15BY = 230V version).

Not sure about pricing, but they're within your budget here in the US (run ~$90USD). RS has a listing, but are out of stock (listed for 135GBP).

It's possible to use a US version + 100W stepdown transformer, but that would tack on another ~ 30GBP or so, which would be around the same cost as getting the EU version from RS.

 

[ByronInPortland]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Stahl from Parts Express. I'm very happy with mine.
Stahl Tools TCSS Temp Controlled Soldering Station ESD Safe 374-200

 

[nezbleu]

That Stahl unit looks pretty much the same as the Circuit Specialists unit, or several others in the price range. Temperature control, decent pencil, good looking tips. Probably a good choice for $40.

 

[Drew Eckhardt]

Man! Maybe I'm just a noob. My dad taught me to solder on heathkits in the '80s. It was always simple pencil soldering irons. I solder a few times a month. I saw lots of people talk about their soldering technique and expensive soldering equipment. I thought maybe there was something I didn't know.

I bought a cheapish MCM solder station. It has since acquired some negative reviews, so maybe not a fair unit to judge by. But it wasn't really a different experience from a pencil iron. It broke, and I got a radio shack 15 / 30 watt switchable iron. It cost half as much. My soldering experience has been the same, from previous pencil irons, to the solder station, back to my current iron. I've gone as far now as having 2 cheap irons, one with a big fattie tip and one with a smaller one.

Ergonomics on a Metcal closely approximate a pencil in terms of precision and handle temperature, you can use the same soldering iron starting at surface mount and running through big power and ground planes (laptop power jack replacement) and structural (RCA jacks, terminal strips stuck to unetched FR-4 circuit boards) connections, they come up to temperature in ten seconds, and you can have a different tip on there in less than twice that time (with little thermal mass the tips cool off immediately without power wrapped in a wet soldering sponge. Metcal provides a silicon pad so you can ignore that, but at 20 seconds for a change without it do you really need it?).

$200 on a used MX500 and some tips divided by over a decade is a monthly cost that's a rounding error above zero. It's totally worthwhile averaging one full board and a little rework per year.

 

[7kentn]

RE:

I just bought one from my local hardware store and it works fine. You can change the nib on it as well.