A decent soldering iron.

[sausageroll]

Hi Everyone,

So soldering is important in all of this, and especially when soldering big thick wires, you need an iron with power. Some people seem to make the mistake of buying a huge great big thing from maplin for 20 quid thats got far too much force and they melt things, and lift pads up off PCBs.

I recently changed my iron to a new one that I was unsure about, but its worked out really well. Its a bit more expensive than some people may consider but a decent iron makes things SO much easier, and they will last a life time. This iron can do anything, massive cables, down to tiny surface mount, in fact I just soldered some bigarse cable with the same iron that I do 0.5mm pitch surface mount IC chip hand soldering with. Its very versatile.

Its a temp controlled iron, but it does not have a way of selecting the temperature. I dunno why this is, but somehow, it works. The iron knows what your doing seemingly, and its never too hot. It heats up in seconds and it can flow solder onto big heatsinked PCB pads in seconds. Its a very very good iron.

Ok so its 150 quid, but its amazing and you wont regret it. I thoroughly recommend getting a decent soldering iron, and this here is one of the best. You can spend 500 quid on a soldering iron, but thers no need. This iron is amazing. If you combine it with a flux pen and some decent solder you can make perfect (and long lasting, and safe) joints very easily. There are loads of tips available for it too that make any kind of job easy and the tips are cheap.


Its great. At 150 quid, its a lot for a soldering iron for some hobbyists but you wont ever buy a soldering iron again.


BUY THIS SOLDERING IRON:

http://uk.farnell.com/oki-metcal/ps-900/soldering-station-60w-240v-eu-uk/dp/1560738

[BrianS]

Its great. At 150 quid

You forgot to add the dreaded VAT which takes the price up to £178.80

[guest325]

Nice iron, but I have 3 irons - total cost £50; a 15W tiddler, a 40W middle size that will do short bursts of 60W and a gas powered one - everything I need covered including at the field repairs!

[Ross]

Agree.  Its a lot of iron for modelling purposes when smaller will do.  ANTEX  do decent pro irons.

[Gav]

Metcals are excellent proffesional soldering iron';s.  Nice one Pete.
Last xmas I was given Maplins  60W iron (part A55KJ) and nib selection pack.  Think they were on offer at £45 at the time. Now £59. Not in the same league as Metcal but I';ve used it a helluva lot from fine pcb work to 5mm bullet connectors and think it';s a great hobbyist iron.

[guest325]

The most important thing with soldering irons is your choice of tips and their condition, it';s a bit like flow of water restrict the outlet and it flows slower but at higher pressure. Speed is important as well, make the joint as quickly as possible, it';s not actually the temperature that causes the damage it';s how far it spreads.
My favourite iron is one I didn';t mention, a chunk of copper on the end of an old screwdriver that gets heated up on a gas ring, not suitable for pcb/small electrical work but great for anything else!

[ChrisH]

I use two, a temperature controlled iron for most work but it won';t cope with 10SWG copper tails! For that I have a 100W Antex that is only used for battery cables, etc..

Horses for courses... The 100W probably causes less problems because it is so quick on big cables and connectors. 

It';s also essential to have a solder bridge between tip and component, just applying a dry tip will not solder! 

[jwl940]

I';ve spent all morning with my head in a cloud of solder flux building a Morse Code keyer; any other hams here?  It';s not so much the choice of soldering iron that';s my problem but 58 year old eyesight! Getting old is a PITA.  My 40W iron has to be 30+ years old, it';s big and hot enough to get in quick and get out, and small enough to get everywhere it needs to.  If the soldering iron fairy was to bring me a decent soldering station I';d snatch his hand off but until then this old workhorse of mine will have to do.

My gas iron is another story.  While replacing a motor on my Hubsan I saw another motor arm twist and droop through 90degrees; those exhaust gasses are hot!

[rsmith21]

I';ve spent all morning with my head in a cloud of solder flux building a Morse Code keyer; any other hams here?  It';s not so much the choice of soldering iron that';s my problem but 58 year old eyesight! Getting old is a PITA.  My 40W iron has to be 30+ years old, it';s big and hot enough to get in quick and get out, and small enough to get everywhere it needs to.  If the soldering iron fairy was to bring me a decent soldering station I';d snatch his hand off but until then this old workhorse of mine will have to do.

My gas iron is another story.  While replacing a motor on my Hubsan I saw another motor arm twist and droop through 90degrees; those exhaust gasses are hot!

CQ CQ CQ GM0KDC  I';ve not been active for years now .

[Leigh]

Metcals are excellent proffesional soldering iron';s.  Nice one Pete.
Last xmas I was given Maplins  60W iron (part A55KJ) and nib selection pack.  Think they were on offer at £45 at the time. Now £59. Not in the same league as Metcal but I';ve used it a helluva lot from fine pcb work to 5mm bullet connectors and think it';s a great hobbyist iron.

+1 from me on this one - I got it after frustration with a 15W cheapy set in.  Haven';t looked back!

Cheers

Leigh

[Britishguy]

i use the maplin blue one 50w (latest version)

its great and works perfectly

tips are cheap too, even though never had to change one as there still like new

£15 for the kit
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50w-Soldering-Station-Iron-Adjustable-Temperature-New-/370414838261?hash=item563e71e1f5

[DarrenG]

I';ve had one of these which has lasted a couple of years but the temperature control is up the swanny now and they choice of bits was always very limited.

So I';m saving for a new one and considering the Antex UB82070 based on the recommendation of a friend who uses on in his business.  Huge selection of spare tips too and can swap irons to suit the task at hand.

[shortwave]

I';ve spent all morning with my head in a cloud of solder flux building a Morse Code keyer; any other hams here?  It';s not so much the choice of soldering iron that';s my problem but 58 year old eyesight! Getting old is a PITA.  My 40W iron has to be 30+ years old, it';s big and hot enough to get in quick and get out, and small enough to get everywhere it needs to.  If the soldering iron fairy was to bring me a decent soldering station I';d snatch his hand off but until then this old workhorse of mine will have to do.

My gas iron is another story.  While replacing a motor on my Hubsan I saw another motor arm twist and droop through 90degrees; those exhaust gasses are hot!

I run the shortwave shop hence the name
Mention your on hear and shure their will be some discount for members
Am lucky to have a selection of soldering equip from surface mount to very heavy in the workshop for our in house repairs

[pheasant_plucker]

I';ve had an Antex X25 iron since I was 14 (36 years) and it still performs like new. It';s still on the same element, the only thing I have changed was back in 78 when I replaced the flex with silicone cable. I can';t imagine using one of those bulky temperature controlled irons I much prefer the pencil shape of the Antex and a good catalytic gas iron for heavy work.

Gerry

[jwl940]

That';s a nice offer Shortwave, very many thanks.  Although licensed for years (G4VUB + CT1 + DA2) I am no longer active but do like to keep my CW skills current. Where is your shop?

Sorry for the thread drift.

[shortwave]

We';re in Christchurch Dorset
If anybody needs a soldering station I can source one we have several suppliers that sell them  or if you want I can do your soldering for you just bring some bickeys with you lol

[AM556]

Metcals are excellent proffesional soldering iron';s.  Nice one Pete.
Last xmas I was given Maplins  60W iron (part A55KJ) and nib selection pack.  Think they were on offer at £45 at the time. Now £59. Not in the same league as Metcal but I';ve used it a helluva lot from fine pcb work to 5mm bullet connectors and think it';s a great hobbyist iron.

Got myself one on your recommendation Gav, great tool and very handy that it takes only a couple of seconds for a temperature change. £59 was fine for me but Maplin now have them on offer this week at £39.99   

[Leigh]

Bugger about the price change!  Never mind, you will get years of good use out of it.  Note that also, if you need a bit more heat, you can press and hold the up-arrow button and it will climb above the presets :)