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Soldering iron - suggestions?


PeterW

Question

Hi Everyone, :)

 

I am about to attempt my first serious pin repair so need to buy a soldering iron. I haven't soldered since I was a young kid playing with model trains, so would appreciate some recommdations on what to buy.

 

The repair I need to make is replacement of the rectifier board in my SS Stern pin. Aside from that, I may also attempt to repair some of the dodgy light bulb sockets that seem to affect old pins.

 

As I am not going to use it on a regular basis, I don't want to spend a fortune but I also don't want to buy a piece of rubbish. With this in mind, what would everyone suggest is a good soldering iron to buy?

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DSE have an own branded iron that isn't too bad:

 

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/Product/T1976 is the economy version, 45w adjustable temperature

 

http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/Product/T2200 is slightly souped up - 48w adjustable temperature and temperature display.

 

The T1976 is on special today apparently, for $39.98.

 

I have the T2200 model, have had it for 8 years and still think it is a good iron.

 

Cheers

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I like the Weller WTCPTD & the Hakko 936. The good thing about the Weller iron is the temp is set by the tip, so the temptation to just set the iron to full belt is eliminated. If you're after a good quality temperature controlled iron, I recommend the Hakko 936.

 

Regards,

 

Johns-Arcade.

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http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/en/Product/T2200 is slightly souped up - 48w adjustable temperature and temperature display.

 

 

 

this little unit is bloody magic. i bought mine when i started trade when i was 17. cost me in those days over $300 for *EXACTLY* the same thing. they have not changed at all for years.

 

i swear by my unit. i have bought a number of different tips for it and its a god send.

 

i cant not speak highly enough about one of these units.

 

mine is now 17 years old and *NEVER* skipped a beat.

 

buy one.... dont muck around, just do it!

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I have a fleet (!) of Hakko 936's but you probably don't want to spend that much. (~ $200 IIRC)

IMO, they really are that much better than the DSE (and similar) ones.

 

If you have to buy a cheaper unit, make sure you can buy spare tips.

Also buy some real solder, not some shitty stuff in a tube.

 

It can make a huge difference to the soldering.

You should be able to buy a 250g reel of 0.71mm or 0.9mm solder for < $20.

Something from Multicore should do the trick nicely.

 

DO NOT BUY LEAD-FREE SOLDER. You don't want or need lead-free.

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I have a fleet (!) of Hakko 936's but you probably don't want to spend that much. (~ $200 IIRC)

IMO, they really are that much better than the DSE (and similar) ones.

 

If you have to buy a cheaper unit, make sure you can buy spare tips.

Also buy some real solder, not some shitty stuff in a tube.

 

It can make a huge difference to the soldering.

You should be able to buy a 250g reel of 0.71mm or 0.9mm solder for < $20.

Something from Multicore should do the trick nicely.

 

DO NOT BUY LEAD-FREE SOLDER. You don't want or need lead-free.

 

I couldn't agree more with the solder recommendation. I use multicore 60/40 (Tin/Lead) 0.71mm stuff 95% of the time. You can buy it from Prime Electronics.

 

Regards,

 

Johns-Arcade.

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Good quality solder is a must, I've had much better luck using 63/37 than 60/40, seems to yield a better quality solder joint.

 

I have Weller and Ungar branded irons and both suit the purpose well for what I use them for. I do PCB repair with a Weller WES51, there's also a WESD51, adds a digital display. I skipped the digital part as I found a deal on a display model WES51 for about half the retail price and decided to save $70 (US), I'd live without digital. Have probably repaired 100 or more pin PCBs with this and my Hakko desoldering stations.

 

I would like to try a Hakko 936; the Ungar soldering station I use to solder in coils, etc is getting old and tips are quite expensive. But, until it dies or I find a great deal, I shall continue to use it..

 

Desoldering wise, I have a Hakko 470 bench unit that is absolutely amazing for desoldering, and a Hakko 808 portable desoldering gun that is quite nice, just a little heavy for 'day to day' use. The bench units have a seperate base with the compressor in them, the portable ones have it in the unit itself. Great if you need to replace an IC on-site somewhere to get a game going, but would not do so well as my primary unit.

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I couldn't agree more with the solder recommendation. I use multicore 60/40 (Tin/Lead) 0.71mm stuff 95% of the time. You can buy it from Prime Electronics.

 

Yeah, a lot of people just don't appreciate the difference it can make. We hand solder hundreds of thousands of solder joints every year so don't have time to fudge around with poor quality solder.

 

The 0.71mm is a really good size for almost anything you'd want to do. Wires, switches, PCB components, anything. Sometimes we use 0.56mm for really fine work. I never feel the need for anything larger than 0.71mm in our work.

 

The other thing is to keep the solder clean. If it's been rolling around in some box or drawer for years, you may have to take a layer off to get rid of the contaminated stuff. If you only use it once in a while maybe keeping it in a zip lock bag may be worthwhile. (to keep it clean)

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Yeah, a lot of people just don't appreciate the difference it can make. We hand solder hundreds of thousands of solder joints every year so don't have time to fudge around with poor quality solder.

 

The 0.71mm is a really good size for almost anything you'd want to do. Wires, switches, PCB components, anything. Sometimes we use 0.56mm for really fine work. I never feel the need for anything larger than 0.71mm in our work.

 

The other thing is to keep the solder clean. If it's been rolling around in some box or drawer for years, you may have to take a layer off to get rid of the contaminated stuff. If you only use it once in a while maybe keeping it in a zip lock bag may be worthwhile. (to keep it clean)

 

Yah small diameter solder, and keep it clean. A wipe with metho (or windex) is good - the black gunk on the rag is what would make your joint look sad.

 

While a Hakko would be lovely, it probably is a bit of overkill for your starting back up with an iron hobbyist...

 

Cheers

Jacob

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I am still using my old Dick Smiths T1976 and has served me well over the past couple of years, several dozen board repairs, cab refits, etc etc . I have a T2260 sat on the floor here still in its box, I keep putting off setting it up until I have tidied up my work bench, hasnt happened yet :lol
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:038: That is a great list of suggestions.

 

While I'd love to get one of the Weller of Hakko units, I'm thinking that the T2200 will be sufficient for my needs so will check this one out on the weekend.

 

Thanks everyone! :)

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One thing I find important is the length of the silicon lead to the soldering iron itself. I find the lead is way too short on the T1976 which can make it a pain to use in some situations. Sometimes it is hard to find a place for the soldering station to sit especially if you are working in the field and not on a bench. I have the T2250 which has roughly 450mm extra lead length than the T1976. This means I can lift my playfield to the vertical position, sit the soldering station in the bottom of the cabinet and pretty much reach the entire back surface of the playfield. Not sure what the lead length of the T2200 is but it might be something worth considering when choosing. :)

 

Dave

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To a point yes, but when you are starting out there is no point going for professional gear at every turn. A $50 DSE iron will serve him well enough until the point where he may decide he needs something better. I am still using my T1976 iron despite having my freeby brand new digital 100W T2260 iron still boxed in the corner. I havent found the cheapy 1976 lacking enough to make the effort to unpack and set up the decent one. You don't have to drop $150 just to avoid the $20 trash end of the market.

 

Was in DSE at lunch time - they seem to have the T2200 on special at the moment - $39.99

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I've always been a fan of the gas ones.

 

If you spend $100-$150 on a decent gas soldering iron you can use it ANYWHERE, without needing a power point, they heat up much faster, fuel costs $5 a can and lasts for years, they double as a blowtorch for doing heatshrink and lighting your crack pipe...

 

I had a bench iron once but the length of the cord really gave me the shits and was useless when I was out and about.

 

The digital temperature controls are a wank, solder melts at 300 and something degrees and that's that. 90% of the time you set the dial and never change it.

 

On a gas soldering iron, you crank it up to it's highest setting for 10 secs to warm it up, then turn it down to half and do what you gotta do. If you need to solder some BIG-ASS wires like a car battery wire, you convert it to TORCH MODE and fry that sucker till the solder melts. I'd like to see a bench iron solder some car battery leads.

 

I bought this one http://www.testtools.com.au/index1.html from Jaycar and it kicks butt.

The next model down is just as good but don't buy anything under about 70 bucks or you'll get junk.

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The digital temperature controls are a wank, solder melts at 300 and something degrees and that's that. 90% of the time you set the dial and never change it.

 

Soldering is more than just melting the solder. It's about heating the joint too. This is what temperature control is all about. We set ours to 375 degrees C most of the time for PCB work, but need to increase that when working with large terminals, etc. The thermal capacity of the iron and the shape of the tip are also important factors.

 

Soldering noobs (I'm not including you here) often make the mistake of applying solder to the tip of the iron and then trying to get it to "stick" to the joint. It just doesn't work that way. You need to heat the joint itself and apply solder just after in one smooth operation. It's not rocket science but it does take practice to produce good, reliable joints.

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