Choosing a soldering station

[timelessbeing]

Applying solder to an iron and then taking a focused macro shot was trickier than I thought! So here you can see what I mean. The brown crust is flux from the solder I had just applied, so it can't be helped.

I find that having some solder on the tip makes transferring heat more efficient. It increases contact area with the part being soldered, as well as providing a heat "reservoir" for parts that dissipate more heat into the air. I'll confess there's a little bit too much in the first pic, but when you're de-soldering parts you need a good size blob to envelope all the leads. When space is tight, you need that solder at the tip end as much as possible.

Anyway, I've said too much about it already. Just a little niggle.

 

[KJ6EAD]

I don't see anything unusual happening; just the tendency of the solder to move towards the hotter part of the tinned surface and for surface tension to cause the solder to move away from the smaller radius curve near the tip.

If this is a problem, perhaps a different solder alloy or a smaller tip would help.

 

[Mr RB]

Yeah I couldn't live with a fat tip like that either.

 

[StudentSA]

Just a quick addon to what tvtech mentioned, The local South African made Magnum soldering Iron range is excellent. I have a Iron as well as a hot air station setup that has been working hassle free for many years. If anyone is interested have a look, maybe try one magnumproductsl. The quality of workmanship is unbeatable. (IMO)

 

[KJ6EAD]

If I buy a Magnum, do I have to come to South Africa every time I need a new tip? I used to live near Xytronics (another solder station manufacturer) but I bought a Hakko. I need to be able to support the tool anywhere through normal distribution channels.

 

[tvtech]

Just a quick addon to what tvtech mentioned, The local South African made Magnum soldering Iron range is excellent. I have a Iron as well as a hot air station setup that has been working hassle free for many years. If anyone is interested have a look, maybe try one magnumproductsl. The quality of workmanship is unbeatable. (IMO)

Old thread but nevertheless very valuable for people needing help with tool selection..

As a tvtech, my iron runs from 7.30 AM in the morning till around 6.00 PM in the evening. Almost every day of the year except Sundays and Public Holidays.

These stations are never switched off in working hours. Weak or useless stations pack up very quickly

My first Magnum bought in 1992 packed up/stopped working around a Year ago. That's almost 20 Years of continious service. Not shabby.
So I went out and purchased a new one. Beautifully engineered rock solid tool that is made to work hard.

Looking forward to another 20 Years plus with this upgraded beaut

Regards,
tvtech

PS: Forgot to add...Thanks Student SA for backing me up. Good is good. Period.

 

[BeeBop]

Hey Timelessbeing,
What is it that made you choose Interior Electronics over RP or my favorite Lee's? Or Main or any others. They don't seem to list prices at Interior. In fact I didn't even know about them until you posted. Thanks.

 

[tvtech]

okay...bye.

 

[timelessbeing]

Hey Timelessbeing,
What is it that made you choose Interior Electronics over RP or my favorite Lee's? Or Main or any others. They don't seem to list prices at Interior. In fact I didn't even know about them until you posted. Thanks.

Mainly it was the price (I phoned around) but I had bought parts there before and I liked the customer service. They stayed open a little longer so I could rush there after work. Later on, I went to get a new fuse for my multimeter and I decided to try RP. I will never go back there again. The guy there was curt, barely willing to acknowledge my presence, and it just wasn't a pleasant experience. I've never heard of Lee's, but I'll check them out now.