Inexpensive Soldering Station

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Zung

Member
Joined 2005
HF noise

You guys got me curious, so I looked at my Quicko T12-952, and here's what gives: probe: 1x to tip, ground to ground, V sens: 10mV, H scale: 10uS
 

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stratus46

Member
Joined 2009
wiseoldtech said:
So who's in such of a rush to do soldering, that needs a hot iron in 8 seconds?
I'm certainly in no "rush to the grave", but I think society is.. :eek:

And a pair of pliers can change my hot tip in a jiffy if needed.
As for power, I'm not concerned with "efficiency" when I'm working.
Click to expand...

You clearly have never used a Metcal. I have 2 Wellers, a 1 piece WTCPN and the successor WTCPT. They were a
big step forward in 1968. The problem with them is they heat in the middle of the tip, but we use the tip for soldering
and the temp is measured at the opposite end of the tip. The tip temperature varies a LOT. The Metcal heater is also
the temperature sensor and it is inside the tip so if you put a big thermal load on the tip it gets back to temperature
much faster. I can solder a much larger item with the Metcal than I can with the Weller. The faster heat up of the
Metcal is a result of better control. Speed heating wasn't the target, just the result.

G²
 
H713

H713

Member
Joined 2017
stratus46 said:
You clearly have never used a Metcal. I have 2 Wellers, a 1 piece WTCPN and the successor WTCPT. They were a
big step forward in 1968. The problem with them is they heat in the middle of the tip, but we use the tip for soldering
and the temp is measured at the opposite end of the tip. The tip temperature varies a LOT. The Metcal heater is also
the temperature sensor and it is inside the tip so if you put a big thermal load on the tip it gets back to temperature
much faster. I can solder a much larger item with the Metcal than I can with the Weller. The faster heat up of the
Metcal is a result of better control. Speed heating wasn't the target, just the result.

G²
Click to expand...


That better temperature regulation allows the use of lower temperatures as well, which is definitely a good thing on aging PCBs or very expensive components.
 
wiseoldtech

wiseoldtech

Account Closed
Joined 2018
stratus46 said:
You clearly have never used a Metcal. I have 2 Wellers, a 1 piece WTCPN and the successor WTCPT. They were a
big step forward in 1968.
G²
Click to expand...


Right, I won't pay such a hefty price for something like those metcals.
No need to.


In my professional work through the decades, I've always used the WTCPT station.
We're talking 40 years of doing customer service work, in various shops that I ran and worked in.
And in several factories that I know, the assembly lines all had those Wellers.


All my colleagues at other shops in the repair business also used the WTCPT, and we all had Fluke meters on our benches.
It was "the standard" that we swore by.


Oh sure, at home through the years, I got by with a radio shack pencil iron, doing occasional fixing, but when I set up my basement service area, I went right out and got a new WTCPT.


That said, I'm content with what I use.
 
S

stratus46

Member
Joined 2009
H713 said:
There's also someone who designed a DIY 13.56 MHz RF supply for the Metcal system, but you still have to buy that $90-$130 handpiece. I suspect that piece of super-noodly coax they use is pretty expensive.
Click to expand...

You're right about expensive for the handpiece but I can tell you I am running the same handpiece ("wand")
for more than 12 years and I bought it used on eBay. Don't tug on it and it will be fine.

Where can I find info on the DIY RF supply? I've repaired a couple of Metcal supplies. 2 of them had a
blown power FET (IRF130 IIRC). On both units the bolts were not tight on the transistors and may have
contributed to the failure. The 3rd one I repaired was the 12 year old eBay (my own unit) and it just
needed some caps. Ironic since I replaced literally thousands of caps with that iron.

G²
 
T

thimios

Member
Joined 2009
My own cheap soldering station.
A light dimmer for temperature lower, a start switch, a dimmer bypass switch.
A timer with a blinking led and sound reminder that end time is close enough and a button for time expansion.
Ersa soldering gun of course!
The best that i tried , nothing better than ERSA.
 

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H713

H713

Member
Joined 2017
stratus46 said:
You're right about expensive for the handpiece but I can tell you I am running the same handpiece ("wand")
for more than 12 years and I bought it used on eBay. Don't tug on it and it will be fine.

Where can I find info on the DIY RF supply?

G²
Click to expand...


The DIY Metcal supply can be found here:
DIY Metcal 13.56 MHz RF Supply - Page 1


I've never done anything with it (I was impatient and bought an MX-500), but lots of people seem to have had good success with it. Shouldn't be too difficult by any means.




wiseoldtech said:
Right, I won't pay such a hefty price for something like those metcals.
No need to.

In my professional work through the decades, I've always used the WTCPT station.
We're talking 40 years of doing customer service work, in various shops that I ran and worked in.
And in several factories that I know, the assembly lines all had those Wellers.

All my colleagues at other shops in the repair business also used the WTCPT, and we all had Fluke meters on our benches.
It was "the standard" that we swore by.

Oh sure, at home through the years, I got by with a radio shack pencil iron, doing occasional fixing, but when I set up my basement service area, I went right out and got a new WTCPT.

That said, I'm content with what I use.
Click to expand...


The WTCPT was a good station in its day. It's what any serious technician or engineer used for decades. Some might have used a Pace, or something like a Hakko 926, but the WTCPT was the standard for decades.

Most of the "graybeard" engineers I know who previously used Weller have long since moved to the Metcal because it improves both the speed and quality of the work being done. Just because the WTCPT works well and was the standard for 30+ years doesn't mean that it is still the best choice (it's also out of production).

Rock bands used to tour with Phase Linear 700s or Crown DC300s. That doesn't mean they're a good amp by today's standards. By the 1990s amps like the Crest Pro series (4801, etc) and Crown Macro-Techs had set a new standard. Companies like BSS and MC2 pushed that standard even farther. Is the Phase Linear 700 any worse a design now than it was in the early 1970s? Hardly, but our standards have changed. It's the same story with soldering irons.

Before you bash the Metcal too hard, I would suggest trying one. I was a skeptic too, but it's a very, very clever and beautifully simple solution to the biggest deficiency of older irons- temperature regulation.

Does it circumvent skill? Not by a long shot. Part of why it's worth it though is that it makes things that used to be very difficult and unpleasant are now a lot easier. Replacing parts on a heat-damaged PCB is much less risky. Replacing parts that are soldered down to a ground plane isn't quite such a chore.

They are expensive- no question. But as has been mentioned many times in this thread, used Metcals are available for a very reasonable price and there are even DIY power supplies.
 
wiseoldtech

wiseoldtech

Account Closed
Joined 2018
H713 said:
The WTCPT was a good station in its day. It's what any serious technician or engineer used for decades. Some might have used a Pace, or something like a Hakko 926, but the WTCPT was the standard for decades.
Just because the WTCPT works well and was the standard for 30+ years doesn't mean that it is still the best choice (it's also out of production).
Before you bash the Metcal too hard, I would suggest trying one.
Click to expand...


I'm not "bashing" anything.
I'm just not interested in purchasing another station, expensive or otherwise.


As for the WTCPT, when did it "go out of production"?
Because that's news to me.

The one I purchased brand new from Mouser is only 3 years old.
 
1

1audio

Member
Joined 2004
Paid Member
I have several eBay Metcals, all worked fine and were pretty reasonable. My first exposure to Metcal was a friend working at a company making pacemakers. Something where reliability is extremely important. One of its strengths is precise temperature with no overshoot. Another is the very fine control of the tip and frankly the cool handpiece with the hand much closer to the small tip. Its like comparing a fine tip sharpie to a fat magic marker.

I have had quite a number of irons over the last 50+ years. There have been repairs i could do with a Metcal that otherwise would have required complete dismantling of the instrument. My primary Metcal I have been using for almost 30 years now. I recently added the desoldering tool to it, which is pretty amazing to use.

Skill and technique are critical to any soldering project but the better tools can open up possibilities that otherwise aren't attainable.
 
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Joel Wesseling

Joel Wesseling

Member
Joined 2003
Paid Member
I've had my KSGER for about one year. It has excellent heat stability. On occasion I would get an ERROR and recover by rotating the tip. The vibration switch has been giving me a problem as well. I now have a Permanent ERROR and hear arching in the handle. Probably need a new handle..

Well, I cant have these problems, need something more reliable!

I might try this one below. Anyone own a Multicomp Station? My multicomp scope is great. All of their resistors and semiconductors have been excellent and measure consistently and to spec..

https://canada.newark.com/multicomp-pro/mp740149/1-channel-rework-station-150w/dp/39AH0174
 
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