DiyLightAnimation
Forum Info => Getting started with Light Animation => Topic started by: Harley on January 13, 2013,
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just trying to see what everyone uses and how they work
i see a lot of soldering in my future, so i wanna see what everyone uses
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This is the one I have. It has worked well for me.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/lead-free-soldering-station.html
Todd
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I use a Hakko FX-888, that i picked up from Amazon.com for under $100.
Tom
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I've done 3 LEs, 2 SSR4s, Dongle, Active hub, 4 SSCs, a bunch of wire and terminal splicing, and repaired an MR16 with the cheap 30watt $4 iron from harbor freight
I've had to replace the tip a couple times but it's done the trick just fine
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I have the circuitspecialists -bk3000lf and its been great.
The nice soldering stations make it much easy than the cheap irons do ...
and do a better job also. Do you absolutely need it? Maybe not ..., but I
Think it's totally worth it and I'm a cheapskate.
For example, each time you are ready to solder .... Do you want to wait a long
Time or a very short time?
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Im using a cheap 40 watt weller, seems to be fine, i was juat wondering
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Kendall 852D+
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MROSxfzBL.jpg)
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Here's the one I use, built over 10 controllers plus a bunch of other stuff,
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000ARU9PO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358138998&sr=8-1&keywords=wesd+weller
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Radio Shack station. (well over 50 kits)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3132686&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=4819275&utm_content=Exact&utm_campaign=PLA&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPij7rCN57QCFc9W7AodjGoAAA&gclsrc=ds (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3132686&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=PPC&utm_term=4819275&utm_content=Exact&utm_campaign=PLA&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CPij7rCN57QCFc9W7AodjGoAAA&gclsrc=ds)
Some people have stated the Radio Shack does not have replacement tips, but I have found them on line from the original manufacturer.
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If you've been using a Pencil type soldering iron with OK results, that's good, but if you ever tried a soldering station like kgustafson shows above (whether from HAAKO or others), you will be surprised by how much your solder quality improves. There is a big difference in "held in place" by a blob of solder versus a solder joint with a smooth "wet" looking surface where the solder flowed fully into the joint, out to the edges of the pad and has a shiny concave fillet up the component lead.
Good quality tips, choice of tip sizes, temperature control, a cradle to put the hot iron instead of "hoping" it will lie still where you set it, all make the solder station a big plus.
Solder tip temp is more important than many realize. Solder is supposed to FLOW onto the pad, not just melt. You actually keep the iron on the connection for less time with a hot tip. If you are worried about overheating a component, the cooler tip is usually the culprit because it takes several seconds to complete the joint rather than just one second.
Tip Cleanliness, Flux, 63/47 solder and the right Tip and Tip Temperature.
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this is the one I use and the tips are readily available CSI-STATION-3DLF. I like the different programmable settings
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I've been using this one. It's a clone of the 852D.
Real pleased with it.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-852D-2in1-SMD-Soldering-Iron-Hot-Air-Rework-Station-w-Stand-4-Nozzle-5-Tip-/320990818629?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4abc8b3145
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I bought this one http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-station1a.html
can't beat the price and it does a great job.
I know some other folks here use it as well and were happy with it.
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now that one is in my price range
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i would say if your a novice at soldering, then maybe you need the fancy station. i use a 10 dollar, 40w pencil from radio shack and i get the nice wet look, flows to the edge of the pads just fine. i built 12 le's, active hub, 10 ssc's and an ether dongle with no issues. between initial cost and 2 extra tips, i would rather save my money to put towards more lights or more equipment. a 100 dollar soldering station could be 10 ssc's or 256 smart nodes, or an LE with enclosure and wires. all in where you want to put your money.
just my 2 cents
duane
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now that one is in my price range
If you reach $50 which is not difficult to do if you get solder wire, you can benefit from a free gift
https://www.circuitspecialists.com/freegifts. Having a multimeter is helpful and you should get one if you do not have one already.
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I grew up using the radio shack irons and they are ok.
I have a weller wsT2 butane iron that I use when I'm not at my workbench.
I bought a weller wes51 station when I started into this hobby and absolutely love it. It allows me to work quickly and I can turn the heat down a little for smaller stuff and up for the heavier items. It bought a small tip, which is good when the pins are really close together like the led drivers in the aether 2. I'm still using my first tip (the small one) after 2 LE, a freestyle, ~10 SSR, 2 mr16, 2 active hubs, ~30 ssc, 3 EtD, 2 USB dongles, bobcat tester, bobcat servo controller, 3 4-port hubs, 4 splitters, 1 DMX splitter, and a few other things. The tip is still in great shape!
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i would say if your a novice at soldering, then maybe you need the fancy station. i use a 10 dollar, 40w pencil from radio shack and i get the nice wet look, flows to the edge of the pads just fine. i built 12 le's, active hub, 10 ssc's and an ether dongle with no issues. between initial cost and 2 extra tips, i would rather save my money to put towards more lights or more equipment. a 100 dollar soldering station could be 10 ssc's or 256 smart nodes, or an LE with enclosure and wires. all in where you want to put your money.
just my 2 cents
duane
The reason I bought my resolder station is because I am a terrible solderer! *grin*. Without that heat gun, all my re-work would take forever! Also, the station I have take seconds to heat up, whereas my weller (which I still have use and do love it) takes a lot longer to warm up. This helps because I am sooo impatient.
Kurt
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I have the older version of this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-937D-SMD-Solder-Soldering-Iron-Station-Welding-LED-Display-w-Stand-5-Tips-/221131224914?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item337c72b752
mine uses touch pads instead of a dial to change temperature, but works great. It is a Hakko clone and uses the same tips. 16LE's, 40+ SSC's, 3 dongles, 1 Etherdongle, 4 hubs, etc., etc., and it works great. I think I am on my second tip.
HIH,
-Keith
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When I was in HS I used a RS el-cheapo soldering iron. When I decided to get back into electronics, I purchased the 30W adjustable soldering iron from Adafruit. Worked fine and I built a bunch of LEs, dongles, a bobcat or two, and a bunch of other non-Christmas stuff. After reading about the different soldering stations, I finally gave in and purchased a Hakko FX-888. The pen is lighter, it heats up faster, recovery time is pretty much non-existent. The cord is also more flexible so it is easier to use.
Yes, it is expensive ($80). But I can work faster with less fatigue. I consider it an investment. Plus I wouldn't want to try and fix the CF socket pins using the pencil tip on my old RS iron. That conical tip would have been a nightmare. I hope they put a better tip on it by now.
Whatever soldering iron you end up getting, I highly recommend a brass wire sponge tip cleaner. RS now carries it:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=15693336
The brass ribbon scrapes off the excess solder and cleans the tip of burnt rosin and other junk. The wet sponge works, but it pulls heat away from the tip so you have to wait a bit for the iron to heat back up. I heard that the sponge thermally shocks the tip and can cause early failure. Tips are cheap, so I don't know if that is a big issue. The Hakko has it built in to the iron stand.
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Well i ordered http://www.circuitspecialists.com/soldering-station-60-watt-3dlf.html (http://www.circuitspecialists.com/soldering-station-60-watt-3dlf.html)
and got https://www.circuitspecialists.com/low-cost-multimeter.html (https://www.circuitspecialists.com/low-cost-multimeter.html) FREE!!
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You will like it... DId you get a couple of extra tips too? Chances are you will burn up a tip or 2 learning how to use it and getting temps set right
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i watched the EEV Blog series on youtube and have a pretty good idea on how to start
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I just got the weller wes51 station - hopefully it will do the job! I have a couple of LEs, a couple of active hubs and some SSCs to do. Going to learn how to solder on a PS2 that got the ring of death a few years back that I kept in the basement along side the O'Reilly book "learn to solder"....i have a safari books subscription and that is one of the short reads that is available...so why not!!
Can't wait to get my first build done.
Cheers!
Ryan