28 May
2009
28 May
'09
6:54 p.m.
Rumor has it that Dennis Boone may have mentioned these words:
> One reason I never graduated to /real/ soldering
stations is that I kept
> wondering "what do I do when it goes bad?". What do you guys recommend?
Only loaning out the RatShack crap to friends & keeping the nice soldering
station for yourself!
I do have a "loaner" soldering station - my company bought it from Dalbani
Electronics of Miami for about $70 shipped (to Northern Michigan - it
traversed both ends of I-75! ;-) It did OK for what we used it for (much
better than any RatShack crapola) but knew it was cheap and could afford it
breaking. I think it paid for itself by the 2nd job we used it on.
3. FAST warmup. My Hakko goes from off to ready in 30
seconds or so.
(I hate waiting for the iron to warm up.) It also cools down faster.
I timed my Hakko - it hits 700F in 20 seconds, but honestly, the tip
doesn't have enough spare thermal energy to solder well until about 60
seconds. Still easily the fastest & most accurate The Dalbani noname took
about 2 minutes to fully warm up, and I haven't soldered with a pencil in
so long I can't remember how badly it sucked - only that it sucked. ;-)
4. Much better construction quality.
I got whacked with a clue stick by a friend who bought a refurbished
Hakko 939 from EAE Sales. He convinced me of the above advantages, and
I bought an identical one. It's completely changed the way I solder.
I'd suggest a station with lots of wattage and variable temperature
control, though the digital readout isn't strictly necessary.
Testimonial: Bruce at EAE is a great guy, and Knows His Stuff. He sells
refurbished (by himself, and by the factory) gear as well as new.
If that wasn't me, it could have been! I've been a convert of Hakko
stations & Bruce at EAE sales for years. I purchased mine at the Daytona
Hamfest 5-6 years ago
I'm not saying Weller isn't good stuff (my portable butane fired iron is a
Weller, had it 10 years & still works quite well[1]) or that Metcal is
better (never used one but heard many drool over them) but at $100
refurbished from EAE at the Fest, my Hakko was an awesome deal that I've
_never_ regretted for a millisecond. With the fine electronics tip, I think
the largest wire I soldered was 10 or 12 gauge. Yes, it took a little
while, and that was the only time I ever saw the tip temperature drop 2
degrees F. before it recovered... I did it because someone told me it
couldn't. ;-))
[1] and that's what you use to fix the electric station - make sure you
have a can of Butane handy & you're golden! ;-)
--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger | Anarchy doesn't scale well. -- Me
zmerch at 30below.com. |
SysAdmin, Iceberg Computers