Can someone tell me if this a good deal and of reasonable quality for a hobbiest? http://www.megaproductions.net/Soldering_Iron1.htm -- Chris W Gift Giving Made Easy Get the gifts you want & give the gifts they want http://thewishzone.com
oops that page didn't give the price. It is $65 Here is the page with the price http://www.megaproductions.net/Electronics/RC_Electronics_Parts_Home.htm -- Chris W Gift Giving Made Easy Get the gifts you want & give the gifts they want http://thewishzone.com
Hi Chris, Since you are asking, the unit you link has specs more than suitable for what you need. They make a comparison to a Weller, for a few bucks more you can have a Weller. In my opinion I would buy the Weller. Something like this one: http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/product/1980-0044 Tom
I haven't used one of those, but I recently bought one of these: http://store.yahoo.com/webtronics/didisostc.html and it appears to work very well. I especially like that I can get parts for it at reasonable prices.
Hi, I have a very similar iron and would recommend it to anyone. There are two variants over here (UK), one with a straight digital temperature readout and the other with a LED bar-graph. Spares are easy to come by and I haven't had to replace a tip in several years of use. Throw away the sponge though and get some form of brass turnings tip cleaner and/or one of those tinning pots made by Multicore. Treat yourself. Hobbyist need good tools just the same as the professionals. I ran a large maintenance organisation for many years and if I could have thrown those crappy 'Curie Point' switch Wellers out of the window I would have done so but the military supply chain had standardised on them. Cheers - Joe
Chris, While the price is attractive and it might be a great deal, there are a few things that bother me about the specs. 1. No approvals listed. 2. No ESD (maximum tip voltage to ground) spec. 3. No temperature stability spec. 4. They don't know much about soldering iron care if they think you should use emery cloth and alcohol to clean the tips. I've used Weller/Ungar stuff in the past, but now I would go with a Hakko soldering station. You would pay a bit more ($90 or so) for a 936-12 ESD safe station but you definitely know what you are getting. It doesn't have the direct temperature readout, but you don't really need that for hobby work. Specs for 936-12 are at http://www.hakkousa.com/products.asp?page=3&pid=936-12.
Thanks for the suggestion. That sounds like a better solder station than the one I was looking at and I found it for under $80. Not a bad deal so I added it to my wish list. Hopefully I will get it for Christmas if I don't decided to buy it for myself sooner http://www.thewishzone.com/?ID=cdw3423 -- Chris W Gift Giving Made Easy Get the gifts you want & give the gifts they want http://thewishzone.com
This model is available through Marlin P. Jones as stock # 15845-TL for $46.95. http://www.mpja.com/directview.asp?product=15845+TL John
