/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.207717]

starting with electronics, how do I choose my soldering station ?
can I have a decent one for less than 40 $, for casual use ?

[Anonymous No.207746]

Even a cheapass one does a good job. More expensive ones will have some frills that will be really awesome, but you don't have the skill to take advantage of them yet.

This is one of those things where if you can't answer it yourself, then you probably shouldn't worry about it.

Now go make stuff.

[Anonymous No.207766]

hey thanks

[Anonymous No.207769]

LED readout temp. control master race reporting in. Don't try to save $5 by getting some 15W thing that will take 15 minutes to warm up and then go cold when you're trying to pull of something crazy.

If I had to guess, 30W or maybe 40W. Mine's 50W full bore and I do that about once a year on an amortized basis. Use a damp sponge to help keep the tip in good shape. The tip matters more than anything.

[Anonymous No.207774]

Not OP.

Is the Weller WLC100 a decent solder station? Are other tips compatible?

[Anonymous No.207779]

>>207774
Weller is a solid brand, 40W is good, and you should have no problem finding tips.

I switched my old Tenma base station to use 50W Weller irons after my original one burned out and I couldn't find another Tenma. Worked out well. The Tenma was mad cheap compared to buying a new Weller rig, but maybe that's why it crapped out on me after a few years.

[Anonymous No.207809]

High power with temperature control.
High power means it'll heat up to your set temperature quicker.

I have a hakko 936, I'd recommend hakko to anyone who asks.

[Anonymous No.207812]

>>207774
I would not get that one. I think I own the same one. The dial controls power, not temp, thus is generally finnicky since your tip will be too hot or too cold more often than not.
Not saying you can't do real work with it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Anonymous No.207928]

>>207809
I also love my Hakko 936. The new ones have this weird Fisher-Price look to them, which might be a count against or not.

Weller's got a great reputation but I've heard that they've been coasting on their reputation and letting their quality slide. Probably still pretty good though.

IMHO: at a bare minimum what you need is an iron with a decent iron-plated tip and at least, say, 25W. If you can at all afford it, get one with temperature control and a bit more wattage. The temperature readout is a frill, handy but not worth spending $$ on if you're on a budget. Get a couple of different tips for whatever iron you get.

[Anonymous No.208037]

>>207928

The new ones take up less space, have faster heatup, better recovery and slightly more power (65W).

I'd still recommend an FX-888 despite how silly they look.

>>207746
>More expensive ones will have some frills that will be really awesome, but you don't have the skill to take advantage of them yet.

I disagree, at the very least for temperature control. Somebody new to soldering will have a much easier time and wreck less shit learning with a proper temp controlled station.

[Anonymous No.208148]

Check out Aoyue for cheap soldering stations that are basically clones of the old style Hakkos.

They go quite well for the price, and are compatible with Hakko tips.

[Anonymous No.208251]

thx all, I think I'll go for this one :
http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-936-AOYUE-Soldering-Station/dp/B000VINMRO

[Anonymous No.208255]

>>207717
This subject needs to be covered in the sticky or in one of the links in the sticky, it's been asked over9000 times already.

[Anonymous No.208259]

>>208255
yeah that's a good idea ! I'm sure this question will be asked again and again