when you say among 'experienced builders', I suppose you refer to the new more expencive professional Weller stuff
What they could not do as good as a Weller? Not having a temp knob maybe?
wow, that Ersa model look real great, and ok price, I want it
Its good, and has temp control. ERSA are not that great for thermal graphs as OKI or JBC on paper but they got very agile irons at that price range and their tips are very natural with solder flow in my experience. The nano eats little bench space too.
The Metcal was really good at Surface mount, but when it came to soldering emitter loops (just solid core wire making an 2.4GHz transmit/receive loop into an antenna assembly) it didn't work as well as a soldering iron.
It was really useful for dealing with swapping out SMD fets and 8-lead SMDs. But we did do most of the surface mount work with soldering irons. It was 5 stage, discrete, 900MHz oscillator/amplifiers and fewer stages for 2.4GHz on teflon PWBs.
For heavy work all you need is a powerful tip. I agree that the standard smaller more detail orientated metcal tips aren't amazing when it comes to sheer power jobs, like melting the enamel insulation off of and soldering thick solid core copper wire, or soldering big things onto large thick copper planes. That's why I purchased this tip.
STTC-117 - METCAL - TIP CARTRIDGE, SOLDERING, CHISEL | Newark
Now that thing is a beast and so far there's been nothing that I've needed more power for.
The one thing you do have to watch out for is that the RF heating system that Metcal's use does not work well at all when in close proximity to magnetic fields. This means that soldering standard ferrite tweeters and small unshielded ferrite drivers can be a right pain. The one thing Metcal's don't have is a high thermal mass, this is one of their usual benefits as it allows for rapid heating and cooling of the tip, but this does mean that you can't really let the tip heat up and then solder the wire. You can work around this by heating the wire up, especially if it's thick, before trying to solder it, the insulation though will probably melt and you may burn you fingers, but you'll get the job done.
Bottom line, if soldering drive units is going to factor highly into you soldering requirements, then don't get a Metcal.
STTC-117 - METCAL - TIP CARTRIDGE, SOLDERING, CHISEL | Newark
Now that thing is a beast and so far there's been nothing that I've needed more power for.
The one thing you do have to watch out for is that the RF heating system that Metcal's use does not work well at all when in close proximity to magnetic fields. This means that soldering standard ferrite tweeters and small unshielded ferrite drivers can be a right pain. The one thing Metcal's don't have is a high thermal mass, this is one of their usual benefits as it allows for rapid heating and cooling of the tip, but this does mean that you can't really let the tip heat up and then solder the wire. You can work around this by heating the wire up, especially if it's thick, before trying to solder it, the insulation though will probably melt and you may burn you fingers, but you'll get the job done.
Bottom line, if soldering drive units is going to factor highly into you soldering requirements, then don't get a Metcal.
This previous model line, one piece JBC station without LCD screen can be found second hand from time to time on a good price if someone needs pro features like really on the fly tips exchanging.
Howard Electronic Instruments Soldering Video Clip - YouTube
Howard Electronic Instruments Soldering Video Clip - YouTube
That video helps to highlight another reason why I like the Metcal . The wand, the part where you insert the tip to in the Metcals extends almost right up to the tip, you only have around 4-5cm of tip that extends beyond where you fingers grip. This does give finer control over the tip and as there's less hot metal exposed you are far less likely to melt other things when you're working in space constrained, heavily populated, fiddly to reach areas.
Now I do a ton of soldering with SMD, standard parts and in fiddly areas, so the features of the Metcal are very well suited to my needs. If your needs are different then it might not be quite as beneficial or worth the cost. One things for sure, I would definitely not pay the full retail price for a Metcal unit as they are overpriced imo.
Now I do a ton of soldering with SMD, standard parts and in fiddly areas, so the features of the Metcal are very well suited to my needs. If your needs are different then it might not be quite as beneficial or worth the cost. One things for sure, I would definitely not pay the full retail price for a Metcal unit as they are overpriced imo.
JBC & WELLER offer a range of micro hand pieces to choose from, smaller lighter, shorter to the tip than what comes as standard with their better stations. Modern marketing overshoots a bit presenting stations as starships in some occasions though.
New Weller WX 2 Soldering Station_english - YouTube
They get complaints with this flagship in particular regarding menu ergonomics and real performance. Now splash hot blobs on that touch screen when on a production bench and cry.
Back to the original question about entry level, Weller simpler classic models are good but long in the tooth for recovery, heft, and tray functionality VS Hakko in its US pricing IMO.
Back to the original question about entry level, Weller simpler classic models are good but long in the tooth for recovery, heft, and tray functionality VS Hakko in its US pricing IMO.
I just bought one of the Hakkos (the 888), and it's a nifty iron. It also heats up quickly. I use a Weller WES-51 at work and it's been doing ok, but my one at home died, hence the Hakko. The iron holder for the Hakko is better quality than the Weller, with provisions for both sponge and brass wool as tip cleaners.
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Why I went with Weller...
Parts and models are easy to get and plentiful, relatively inexpensive, large number of different tips to chose from, built pretty darned good with good materials, heaters are easily replaced (on most of the newer models -- just check for it) even on the single wattage non-adjusting soldering station ones.
Up here in my parts of Canada, I can't find a Hakko in a store within 70 kilometres.
You could also test drive a friend's soldering iron if there are solderers near you.
Parts and models are easy to get and plentiful, relatively inexpensive, large number of different tips to chose from, built pretty darned good with good materials, heaters are easily replaced (on most of the newer models -- just check for it) even on the single wattage non-adjusting soldering station ones.
Up here in my parts of Canada, I can't find a Hakko in a store within 70 kilometres.
You could also test drive a friend's soldering iron if there are solderers near you.
I was quite happy with a very old Weller with magnastat. One day, I found an old Pace solder-desoldering station for a few Euros. I had incredible feeling of confort with its small iron and, I think, the excellent control of temperature at the tip. However I could not find replacement tips. So I got an 936 Hakko on Ebay but I was a bit disappointed. If I can, I'll return to Pace, an ST25 station with a PS-90 iron will seem to be able to perfectly fit my needs.
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