But the Wellers are, or were, inexpensive and are adequate for my use.
If I were 30 or 40 years younger and had two steady hands I'd want
something better for surface mount and DIPs. At 75 they are sufficient. <:-)
73
Roger (K8RI)
On 7/28/2015 5:24 AM, Bryan Fields wrote:
On 7/26/15 8:55 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
I use a soldering station. I think it's a Weller, but it's in the shop
and I'm in the house. It's a rarger simple affair, with a coil holder
for the iron and adjustable heat. It has a small tray to hold a sponge
with water for wiping the tip. The tips screw in. I don't like the
cheap ones that use a set screw to hold the tips.
TBQH the weller stations are crap. I had one and loved it, until I was
introduced to a Metcal soldering station.
The metcal uses a 13.65 MHz RF source to heat the tip of the iron up, and once
it hits the set point, the tuned circuit changes in the tip and it stops
heating. As soon as it cools, it begins heating back to the set point. This
makes a 40w iron act like a much larger conventional heating element iron.
What's interesting with the metcal is there is no adjustment for the
temperature, the tip has a set temperature and will stay at it.
I've soldered copper shields with more mass than a PL259 with it, and it's had
more than enough power to handle it.
I have a magnetic holder that the iron rests in, the magnetic field de-tunes
the tip so it cools down to 300f from 700f, prolonging the tip life. When
it's removed, the tip heats up in under a second. Even from power off the tip
is up to working temp in under 2 seconds.
Here's a video about the concept behind it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Wmqc9O24w
I bought a refurb unit from a well known seller at Dayton a couple years back
for about $200 including a bunch of tips and accessories. Buy one, get the
700f tips, you will wonder how you ever made due with your weller.
73's
--
73
Roger (K8RI)
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