19 Sep
2014
19 Sep
'14
5:04 p.m.
A younger fellow, new friend of mine, is trying to get into the electronics
hobby - and he needs a decent tempco soldering outfit. I gifted him with a
Weller WTCP type base - the older style, with the iron holder built in to
the top of the base.
But I didn't have a spare TC-201 type pencil, or "irons" you might say, to
work with the base.
If anyone has a spare, working pencil for this base, please email me
off-list. Send details and asking price.. and if you have a spare tip or
two, etc, go ahead and let me know.
He's short on funds and I'd like to help him get-going with a decent set.
And while I'm never one to "blame the tool", the main bench iron is no
place to skimp.. cheap irons +can+ make good joints when needed, but not in
the hands of a novice - in my experience. I don't want to hobble him with
one of those $5.99 Willy Wong specials.
19 Sep
19 Sep
5:08 p.m.
On Sep 19, 2014, at 9:04 PM, drlegendre . <drlegendre at gmail.com> wrote:
A younger fellow, new friend of mine, is trying to get
into the electronics
hobby - and he needs a decent tempco soldering outfit. I gifted him with a
Weller WTCP type base - the older style, with the iron holder built in to
the top of the base.
But I didn't have a spare TC-201 type pencil, or "irons" you might say, to
work with the base.
If anyone has a spare, working pencil for this base, please email me
off-list. Send details and asking price.. and if you have a spare tip or
two, etc, go ahead and let me know.
I don?t have one to spare, unfortunately. On spare tips: those are cheap (under $10 as I
recall) from various mail order electronic tool supply houses.
paul
5:46 p.m.
Howdy Paul,
On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 8:08 PM, Paul Koning <paulkoning at comcast.net> wrote:
I don?t have one to spare, unfortunately. On spare tips: those are cheap
(under $10 as I recall) from various mail order electronic tool supply
houses.
Yeah, tips are available.. but $10/ea is way too steep. If you watch the
eBay, you can find compatible tips for around $2.50-3.00 or so, but you
might have to buy several to strike the right price. Original Weller parts
get silly expensive, I think the MSRP is around $18/ea - and they wonder
why people opt for the import versions..
Four or five-fold cost is not what I'd call "competitive" - even if they
last a bit longer. Go USA..
7:33 p.m.
On Fri, 19 Sep 2014, drlegendre . wrote:
On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 8:08 PM, Paul Koning
<paulkoning at comcast.net> wrote:
I don't really think $10-15 for a high quality tip is too steep at all
(and I'm /always/ looking for a bargain). I can't afford cheap tools.
With Hakko tips, there is a huge difference in the way the genuine parts
are made and the way the Shenzhen-import counterfeits are made. I suspect
the same is true with Weller tips.
Counterfeit Hakko tips are made of a different alloy, the hole where the
tip slides over the heater usually doesn't fit right, and they often have
imperfections and microfractures inside the bore where they fit over the
heater. That is in addition to problems with the plating cracking or
delaminating.
As expensive as replacement Hakko heating elements are, Hakko tips are one
thing I absolutely won't shop for on eBay (although I do look for vintage
Ungar parts from time to time). The counterfeiters are just too darn good
at copying the look of things, including packaging.
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/genuine-vs-fake-hakko-solder-tip/
When used with lead-alloy solder and RMA flux, and when cleaned and cared
for properly, genuine tips seem to last /forever/ so I don't really see
any benefit in buying slightly cheaper counterfeits or knock-offs on eBay.
For Hakko tips, I usually buy from major companies such All-Spec.
I'd also suggest giving a beginner a nice chisel tip instead of a conical
tip. They are much easier to work with and a beginner will have much
better results because the larger surface area will heat joints better.
I don?t have one to spare, unfortunately. On
spare tips: those are
cheap (under $10 as I recall) from various mail order electronic tool
supply houses.
Yeah, tips are available.. but $10/ea is way too steep. If you watch the
eBay, you can find compatible tips for around $2.50-3.00 or so, but you
might have to buy several to strike the right price. Original Weller
parts get silly expensive, I think the MSRP is around $18/ea - and they
wonder why people opt for the import versions..
Four or five-fold cost is not what I'd call "competitive" - even if they
last a bit longer. Go USA.. 
7:57 p.m.
On 09/19/2014 08:33 PM, Tothwolf wrote:
I don't really think $10-15 for a high quality tip
is too steep at all
(and I'm /always/ looking for a bargain). I can't afford cheap tools.
With Hakko tips, there is a huge difference in the way the genuine parts
are made and the way the Shenzhen-import counterfeits are made. I
suspect the same is true with Weller tips.
The Weller TCP tips, as far as I know are only made by Weller.
Fortunately, they've been made for >50 years. Very simple
principle--the heater contains a switch that's operated by a magnet and
a slug. The tips contain a slug of magnetic metal with a specific Curie
temperature. When the slug gets to that point, it ceases to be
magnetic. No fancy electronics in the iron at all. In my own iron,
I've replaced the heater and switch at various times (parts are still
available). The base is little more than a 24V transformer.
Tips can often be found as NOS closeout. I'm still working on a
shopping bag of tips that I picked up for $0.25 each when Sunnyvale
Electronics went out of business (sometime during the 70s).
--Chuck
3577
days inactive
3577
days old
4 comments
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