What kind of soldering iron do you use?
Justin Sane
Posts: 35
What's your personal favorite?
I am noob when it comes to micro-soldering (I am not sure what it is called).
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I am noob when it comes to micro-soldering (I am not sure what it is called).
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Comments
Happy holidays!
kenjj
I'm about to buy a soldering station for my home.
My first thought was a Weller, they seem the standard.
Kenjj, thanks for providing another option.
I found your supplier web site, did not see your model.
www.hakkousa.com/productlist.asp?CID=1
Now I have two options to choose from.
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
http://www.hmcelectronics.com/cgi-bin/scripts/sub/Hakko/90/1
Marked down $20 no less, now $100 (surprise!NOT).
Happy holidays!
kenjj
The results of my research yielded the following:
1. Asking "what is the best iron" is like asking "what is the best car"... everybody has an opinion and there is no single best answer.
2. Junk is Junk is Junk... You don't need to spend Hundreds and Hundreds of dollars for a professional iron, but buying one for $40 or less is like throwing your money away. Junky tools just don't work as well, and you can get hurt easier woking with them.
3. A temperature display really helps for amatures to monitor status... For example, I always used to melt insulation on wires because the iron was too hot... now I have better control to get the wire just hot enough to make a good solder connection without melting the insulation. It is also helpful in desoldering where you typically need a little higher temperature. I scavange a lot of components from old VCR's , etc so being able to desolder is something I do a lot of.
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Mike
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This looks like a nice buy.
www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/137ESD.html
Mike, www.paceusa.com seems to be down.
where would I shop for a Pace iron?
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- - - PLJack - - -
Perfection in design is not achieved when there is nothing left to add.
It is achieved when there is nothing left to take away.
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·1+1=10
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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
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·"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
-Jules de Gaultier
The big advantage is that lead lowers the melting point of solder [noparse][[/noparse]usually a mix of tin and lead].
Apparently manufacturers can use tin with small amounts of copper and silver as a substitute to produce computers and whatever. It means the component have to be tolerant of a higher temperature in assembly, but it seems that has been achieved.
The real question is how to do repair and hand-built assembly at the higher temperatures and with different metals.
Europe apparently will not import any electronics built with lead solder in 2006.
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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
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So, manufacturer uses copper and silver as a substitute due to its high conductivity? How good is lead's ability to conduct electricity compared to copper and silver?
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I hope you don’t mind me asking some noob questions, I am new to electronic world. I got addicted to it after I took few courses at college.
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·"Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality."
-Jules de Gaultier
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Mike
Post Edited (SN96) : 12/27/2005 5:57:25 PM GMT
I was talking about the solder and the question of the soldering irons needing to provide more heat because of the change in materials. The conductivity is an interesting side isssue and so is the question of fluxes [noparse][[/noparse]which include rosins].
I suppose that getting rid of the lead may change the needs for fluxes, but I am not sure how.
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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan
Here is more information on what the solder flux does. I copied this from a web site since it explains it better than I could.
"Flux is often applied as a liquid to the surface of the base metals prior to soldering. Though flux actually has a number of purposes, the first and primary purpose of flux is to stop the base metals from oxidizing while they are being heated to the soldering temperature [noparse][[/noparse]2]. The flux covers the surface to be soldered, shielding it from oxygen and thereby preventing oxidation during heating. Most fluxes also have an acidic element that is used to remove the oxidation already present on the base metal. Using a strong acid, it would be possible to virtually completely clean off the oxidation layer. However, the use of strong acids presents a serious problem. The corrosiveness of acids desirable to remove oxidation layers is not limited to the oxidation layer. Very strong acids can be damaging to electronic components, and even mild acids leave a residue that continues to corrode after the soldering process is complete, leading to future failure. There is a definite trade off between using a flux with a strong acid that removes a lot of oxidation and is very corrosive, and using a flux with a mild acid that is not as corrosive, but does not do as good of a job removing the oxidation layer. In any case, most fluxes in common use are corrosive enough that their residue must be cleaned off after soldering.
When the liquid solder is applied, the flux must readily move out of the way so the solder can come into direct contact with the base metal. During this process some of the flux inevitably combines with the solder. Flux designers typically take advantage of this fact and design the flux to lower the surface tension of the solder upon contact, thereby allowing a more efficient wetting.
Fluxes can be divided into two basic parts, chemicals and solvents. The chemical portion includes the active components, while the solvent is primarily the carrying medium. The solvent determines the cleaning method that must be employed to remove the flux residue. While some fluxes can be removed with simple water treatments, many require other cleaning agents such as organic solvents, alcohol, terpenes, and chlorinated fluorocarbons. (Note: it is no longer legal to use chlorinated fluorocarbons due to environmental concerns)."
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Mike
Post Edited (SN96) : 12/27/2005 6:11:53 PM GMT
I know pure tin is quite a bit higher than traditional solder. Thus, there is more chance of damage due to heat.
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"When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan