I know that this is a little off-topic (sorry) and I should have asked on some of the other topic areas, but I have come to know and respect the opinion of the guys on the "tube" pages...
I was feeling in need of a project lately as my amp building has ground to a halt over the last 12 months, so I ordered one of these nixie clock kits
Great little project. Kept me busy for an afternoon. SWMBO, who is not enthusiastic about my passion for tubes, immediately declared that she wanted one! Anyway, while building it became obvious that my cheap "micron" brand solder station from Altronics here in Australia is in need of replacement. I knew that there was a general impression that Weller was a reasonable brand, but a search of solder station recommendations also turned up this: Hakko 936 for about $138 AUD. Does anybody have a recommendation for a good solder station that would be suitable for tube work and general electronics construction? I have a cheap high wattage iron for bus bar soldering etc, so that does not have to be a requirement to be able to do that. Other contender might be something like this Weller for about $200 AUD.
Thanks guys!
Chris
I was feeling in need of a project lately as my amp building has ground to a halt over the last 12 months, so I ordered one of these nixie clock kits
Great little project. Kept me busy for an afternoon. SWMBO, who is not enthusiastic about my passion for tubes, immediately declared that she wanted one! Anyway, while building it became obvious that my cheap "micron" brand solder station from Altronics here in Australia is in need of replacement. I knew that there was a general impression that Weller was a reasonable brand, but a search of solder station recommendations also turned up this: Hakko 936 for about $138 AUD. Does anybody have a recommendation for a good solder station that would be suitable for tube work and general electronics construction? I have a cheap high wattage iron for bus bar soldering etc, so that does not have to be a requirement to be able to do that. Other contender might be something like this Weller for about $200 AUD.
Thanks guys!
Chris
I have the Weller WES51 station and it works great. On-off switch, basic analog temp dial and LED to let you know it's up to temp and closed-loop, and takes the common Weller tips. Replacement tips and sponges are available everywhere. Comes up to temp in seconds, which is convenient. They are new in the states for <$100 and used for $50-70 or so.
Before that i had one of the red 50W cheap ($30 IIRC) Wellers, and the WES51 was a big step up with a smaller pencil and flexible rubber cord instead of plastic.
Before that i had one of the red 50W cheap ($30 IIRC) Wellers, and the WES51 was a big step up with a smaller pencil and flexible rubber cord instead of plastic.
me2 me2 
Weller, weller, some weller, maybe a weller and you could try a nice weller.
As boywonder says, one of the upmarket types and not the cheapest though they
work allright. Me, I started with a piece of copper on a stick so I'm quite used to cheap
irons p.s. I've also had good experiences with the old antex irons.
Weller, weller, some weller, maybe a weller and you could try a nice weller.As boywonder says, one of the upmarket types and not the cheapest though they
work allright. Me, I started with a piece of copper on a stick so I'm quite used to cheap
irons
p.s. I've also had good experiences with the old antex irons.
I could not access the Weller link listed, but the WSD80 is an 80W unit, and there's all sorts of tips to suit anything from SMD to larger connectors. The extra heat reserve is very useful when soldering large parts or groundplanes. Having too less heat is a real nuisance, and can also be a part killer as you'd have to heat up for longer time to reach solder flow temp's.
It is certainly my choice - and we have about 10 of them at work-singles and duals. The solder station is one of the points where I'd recommend ppl spending a few extra bucks.
It is certainly my choice - and we have about 10 of them at work-singles and duals. The solder station is one of the points where I'd recommend ppl spending a few extra bucks.
The Weller soldering stations cannot be beat, although, the Metcal units we use at work are quite good as well.
The most important thing is that you want a soldering iron that has a built-in thermostat. It doesn't need to be a variable thermostat, but that's a nice feature. A fixed 700 degree F (~350 C) iron will work for 99.9 % of the soldering you'll do on a PCB or point-to-point wiring.
For a thermostat controlled iron, I'd aim for a 50 Watt. That seems to provide enough power to heat even stubborn solder joints given enough tip area.
For my electronics projects at home I have been using a Weller TCP 50 Watt for the past 20 years. They last forever. The temperature is controller by the tip - different number tip for different temperature. I bought the TCP iron and a stand with sponge and use a 24 V switchmode power supply for it. Works great and is pretty low cost.
The WES51 is a very nice soldering station with temperature control. It's incredible bang for the buck...
~Tom
The most important thing is that you want a soldering iron that has a built-in thermostat. It doesn't need to be a variable thermostat, but that's a nice feature. A fixed 700 degree F (~350 C) iron will work for 99.9 % of the soldering you'll do on a PCB or point-to-point wiring.
For a thermostat controlled iron, I'd aim for a 50 Watt. That seems to provide enough power to heat even stubborn solder joints given enough tip area.
For my electronics projects at home I have been using a Weller TCP 50 Watt for the past 20 years. They last forever. The temperature is controller by the tip - different number tip for different temperature. I bought the TCP iron and a stand with sponge and use a 24 V switchmode power supply for it. Works great and is pretty low cost.
The WES51 is a very nice soldering station with temperature control. It's incredible bang for the buck...
~Tom
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7508
For $45 this is an unbeatable station. For $10 more you can buy an extra soldering iron for it. They have mutliple tips, get a couple when you order.
For $45 this is an unbeatable station. For $10 more you can buy an extra soldering iron for it. They have mutliple tips, get a couple when you order.
That CSI station looks just like the Aoyue 936 I bought off eBay recently. It's a 35 watt iron so it probably won't work well for big jobs, but it's perfect for building circuit boards and soldering tube sockets. It's nice to be able to melt soldering without scorching the circuit board and lifting traces like my old cheapo $5 iron did.
I agree with Zero Cool on the Weller stuff, open any electronics catalog and there they are. After my OK Industries station (military model) died and couldn't get parts for it I researched and found I wasn't going to run into that problem with Weller. They always seem to be on sale too!
Craig
Craig
Just watch out for the cheapest Wellers (WLC100, WLC200). I do not believe they are truly temperature controlled stations. The base unit allows you to vary the iron's wattage, but there is no thermocouple in the heater element.
If I were buying a Weller, I'd spring for the WES51 at a minimum.
If I were buying a Weller, I'd spring for the WES51 at a minimum.
WES50 here. Not digital, but not really necessary. It's variable and thermostatically-controlled. Another nice thing about the ones with thermostats is that they heat up quickly and recover quickly when heating up a large pad.
Another feature of the WES50 that is a perfect match for me is the auto-shutoff. I don't know how it works...it must start a timer after the thermostat reaches a steady state. I can solder for hours on end, but once I stop it seems to shut off after 30 minutes or so. Great for me because I was always leaving my old one on.
Another feature of the WES50 that is a perfect match for me is the auto-shutoff. I don't know how it works...it must start a timer after the thermostat reaches a steady state. I can solder for hours on end, but once I stop it seems to shut off after 30 minutes or so. Great for me because I was always leaving my old one on.
This is a good solid station that won't break down on you:
This is what I use....
http://www.hakkousa.com/AHPDirect/images/FM203-01_setup.jpg
The old Weller stuff was good... I don't like there new stuff since Copper Tools bought them out....
Ungar was reall good brand, search for Ungar NOS stuff possiobly Ebay...
This is what I use....
http://www.hakkousa.com/AHPDirect/images/FM203-01_setup.jpg
The old Weller stuff was good... I don't like there new stuff since Copper Tools bought them out....
Ungar was reall good brand, search for Ungar NOS stuff possiobly Ebay...
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