when soldering irons go bad

David Griffith wrote: IME soldering stations are usually more reliable than the throwaway soldering irons. I've got an Antex 660TC, and the only problem I've had with it is that the transformer inside the base station has started buzzing. If memory serves, it's about six or seven years old now. I've been through two ST6 soldering iron stands (they usually break where the top section attaches to the base), and four soldering bits, but the iron and station are still working as well as they did when I got them. I don't think I've managed to damage the silicone cable yet (though I'm not actively trying to do so!). Even if the iron does fail, it's unlikely to take the base station with it, and the irons aren't expensive (about ?30 -- or twice the price of a 25W Antex "XS" standard soldering iron). Cost was about ?70 (down from ?120) in a Maplin clearance sale, but even at full price they're worth having. The main advantage to being able to set the temperature is that you won't end up damaging PCBs you're trying to repair. Most 25W "pound-shop special" irons will get to ~450C after about an hour of use, which is more than enough to ruin the glue that holds tracks down to PCB substrates. -- Phil. classiccmp at philpem.me.uk http://www.philpem.me.uk/