[Coco] Soldering Irons/Stations

[Spencer]

There's so many good irons out there. What you ultimately choose depends on your needs and hobby. I'm not a professional/electronics engineer but learned it's mostly how much you will use it will be the "why" you choose a brand/model. If you're really experienced look at the brands already suggested, but I've found if I'm not soldering 8 hours a day you can get some decent irons where the tips last a really good while. Temperature settings are great for jobs that call for hotter or lower temps. Again how long will you be sitting there soldering. Even with the less expensive models one very important thing to always do is tin the tip. I’ve learned this is very crucial for sharp looking solder joints. Deciding what settings (8f you use an adjustable iron) all comes from trial and error.

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  On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 8:55 PM, RETRO Innovations<go4retro at go4retro.com> wrote:   On 6/30/2020 6:13 PM, John E. Malmberg wrote:
> Nathan Byrd has recommended: Hakko FX-888D
> Roy Justus has recommended: Xytronix iron from Jameco

I can recommend the Weller WESD51, which I have used for many years.  
It's about $100-$150.00.

I'm not necessarily recommending this unit for a first buy, but my main 
unit is a Metcal MX500.  it has a much smaller pencil grip, as the 
heater is implemented in a different fashion (not sure how, but I know 
it recovers far faster when soldering large areas). It's a more 
expansive unit, and much less portable, but I can recommend.

I will say lots of Hackko and Weller units out there and I think they 
are both awesome units.

Jim

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