For those of you in the UK who need a new soldering iron

[5th element]

Maplin have a special deal going at the moment for a 50watt variable temperature iron with stand.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/products/mod...016&Products=3

All for a very reasonable £10

Just thought I'd let you all know. I've ordered one so will post what the qualities like when it arrives, I would imagine however that it will be quite good considering at full price the unit costs
£30.

[bigparsnip]

Don't do it!!!!!!!

If you can go and cancel your order now, as this is possibly (well, no, I know for a fact it is) the worst soldering iron I have ever used (including those realy cheep ones you get for about a fiver).

I work at Maplins and last time these were on offer I thought I would give one a try, and when I got it home I was deppressed to find it took an age to heat up, lost it's tip temp way to easily and I'm sure couldn't supply as much heat as my old 12W antex iron (which cost a fiver more). Basicaly, I had trouble even soldering a cable into the centre pin of an RCA plug, only to give up and put it back in it's box.

If you want a decent iron on the cheep, I have a propper 50W temp controled Magnum iron with station (it uses weller tips, and the temp control is by means of a little screw pot on the iron itself) which I could sell you for £30 seen as how I went and bought a £100 weller iron from the states before the magnum arived (oops).

[5th element]

Unfortuantly I have the iron now hehe.

I find it works well doesnt solder perhaps as well as I thought a 50 watt should do. Heating up time, doesnt really bother me to much yes it does take and age. But I does go faster or hotter or whatever then my antex 18watt. £10 aint much though and for £10 is rather good. The tip mind u does seem CRAP. but hey.