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MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Mar 28, 2018

@#$%&! Soldering Guns

I leave a pencil type soldering gun sit for a minute and the tip turns black the barrel turns blue, the tip screw chars black and the pencil solderer chars.

I bought a solder station and turned the tip temperature down a reasonable amount and ooohboy it no longer takes application of five seconds to bring the work to heat, it now takes twenty five seconds.

Gripe Gripe Gripe

Using a Weller pistol is like using a pitchfork to eat salad.

Groan Moan B****

None of this is relevant unless you sit at a bench for hours, soldering

Wouldn't it be nice if someone made a rather lightweight and dexterous remote power supply like PWM powered, that could have a momentary switch in the handle.

Or is this like searching for landing lights for a pig?
  • mike-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Mar 28, 2018
    Get a Weller WTCPT with a PTP7 tip, keep the tip tinned, the sponge damp and use it. Or a WES51 if you want cheaper and adjustable. I've heard good things about the Hakko FX-888, too.

    I've got a WTCPN which has been going strong for 40 years.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Mar 28, 2018
    Have you ever used a Metcal Smartheat system? I had the chance to use one a little some years ago, and it was by far the nicest hand soldering equipment I've ever used.

    The technology is pretty clever. The heater is a little block of metal energized inductively via a coil, like an inductive cooktop, with an alloy chosen such that the Curie point is the desired temperature. When it reaches that temperature, it is no longer magnetically active, and so the heating cuts out. It all makes for very quick heat up, and very tight temperature control, and calibration that physically can't get out of whack. Unfortunately, that does come at a (not insignificant) price.

    (Because of this design, they can keep the handpiece fairly cool as well.)

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