Your favorite soldering irons/stations.

Frequently asked questions about tools and instruments used in stompbox development.
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matt239
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Post by matt239 »

What are some of your favorite soldering irons/stations?
Tools, tips?

I'm looking for an inexpensive upgrade to my Weller 40W pencil.
It's been great for through hole boards, and using sockets for ICs,
- but replacement tips seem a little hard to find, and I need something smaller with more kinds of tips to do occasional SMDs.

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onebuzz
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Post by onebuzz »

I like the Hakko FX-888D and the Weller WES51. Each around 100 in American dollars. Lots of tips availiable. I use mainly chisel style tips in the 1.5 to 2.5mm for my pedal stuff. I don't know much about SMD though. All my projects are turret board or thru hole.

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John Coloccia
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Post by John Coloccia »

I usually recommend the Hakko. My preference would be the 936/FX-888 (though I hate the FX-888 doesn't stack). FX-888D if you can't find the other two. I'd say to be very careful and only buy from a reputable source because there are tons of fake Hakkos clones out there floating around. Personally, I have an older FP-101 that I love, and more recently a JBC station. The JBC is pricey, but it's the best I've ever used at any price, including Metcal.

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Dirk_Hendrik
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

Pewsonal favourite is Metcal. However my bench has 2 Weller WECP20 which are cheaper and replacement tips are more widely available at this global location.

And from that perspective,
Giving you global location "could" influence the suggestion for a best choice. I have never seen a "hakko" here.
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

http://www.dirk-hendrik.com

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astrobass
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Post by astrobass »

I got a Weller WES51 station two weeks back and I love it and don't know how I lived prior to owning it.

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lasermonkey
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Post by lasermonkey »

I have a couple of Weller PS3/TCP soldering stations which I bought off an old employer for £5 each when they changed over to Metcal soldering stations.
The Wellers are great; simple to use, easy to repair and generally dependable. The Metcals were amazing though, a quantum leap over anything else I have used. I had one of the desolder guns too, which was an absolute joy to use.

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Ice-9
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Post by Ice-9 »

The mention of Weller irons reminds me I have hiding in a cupboard I have a Weller AG700 hot air Iron and a EH1000 hot plate repair station. Must dig them out and see if they still work.
At the moment I have been using an Antex 660TC, cheap and reliable and fits on my bench.
It's fairly straight forward, if you want to start it , press start. You can work out the rest of the controls for yourself !

No silicon heaven ? preposterous ! Where would all the calculators go ?

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