Posted: 3/20/2012 10:50:22 AM EDT
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I posted this in Urban Commandos but no one has replied yet. I figured you guys might be a little bit more into this kind of stuff ...
I've been wanting to get a new soldering iron lately and I was looking around last night and found this soldering and hot air rework station: http://www.amazon.com/X-TRONIC-MODEL-4040-Soldering-MAGNIFYING/dp/B003TC8EQS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332248654&sr=8-2 Comes with 10 different tips and 4 hot air nozzles. Seems like a great deal and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I really don't NEED the hot air but it would make some surface mount stuff a lot easier. I've been using an old Weller that my dad gave me that just plugs into the wall and doesn't have any kind of temperature control, so this would be a big upgrade I think. I work full time as an EE designing circuits and then having other people build them so this is strictly for weekend hobby projects. I'd like to start getting into a lot more kit building and eventually start designing my own boards. |
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I own one, so do two of my friends.
they are awesome. come with extra soldering tips, heating element for the hot air rework, etc. I originally ordered just the hot air rework (not wanting to give up my weller) and they sent me the exact model you linked to I've done a bunch of small projects with it so far, I would recommend buying it on eBay... $99 + $15 shipping this is the guy I bought it from... he was great to deal with ETA: I just noticed that it's the same guy on amazon... the magnifier that comes with the one on amazon is not worth the $37 extra IMO |
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Great to hear!
I saw them on eBay as well last night and I think it's the same company selling at both places (work blocks eBay so I can't check your link right now). I noticed there are a couple of different model numbers and prices and some with free shipping. |
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They are maintenance hogs. I have used some high end .mil PACE kits and some other top names in the industry. The solder vacuums work for a few times and then have maintenance issues. I use a $800 Metcal dual channel as my bench unit, however, I can do most of my work with a portable Weller W60-P3 iron. A manual operated black Sold-a-pult anti-static vacuum works well with practice, and I can desolder quicker with this than with any pump activated kit. The Metcal has wide variety of tips to support surface mount technology. It also has temperature control directly at the tip and drives the tip as hard as needed to maintain temperature, reacting without delay to the load placed by the work. For some operations, more power may be required, and portablility may be a concern. Butane irons, or a larger Weller may be needed for larger wires or electrical connections. |
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Quoted:
They are maintenance hogs. I have used some high end .mil PACE kits and some other top names in the industry. The solder vacuums work for a few times and then have maintenance issues. I use a $800 Metcal station as my bench unit, however, I can do most of my work with a portable Weller W60-P3 iron. The black sold-a-pult anti-static vacuum works well with practice, and I can desolder quicker with this than with any pump activated kit. For some operations, more power may be requires, and portablility may be a concern. Butane irons, or a larger Weller may be needed for larger wires or electrical connections. This unit doesn't have any vacuum capability. It's just a soldering iron and hot air gun both with temperature control. I just use a manual spring action solder sucker and it does what I need. |
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Quoted: Quoted: They are maintenance hogs. I have used some high end .mil PACE kits and some other top names in the industry. The solder vacuums work for a few times and then have maintenance issues. I use a $800 Metcal station as my bench unit, however, I can do most of my work with a portable Weller W60-P3 iron. The black sold-a-pult anti-static vacuum works well with practice, and I can desolder quicker with this than with any pump activated kit. For some operations, more power may be requires, and portablility may be a concern. Butane irons, or a larger Weller may be needed for larger wires or electrical connections. This unit doesn't have any vacuum capability. It's just a soldering iron and hot air gun both with temperature control. I just use a manual spring action solder sucker and it does what I need. I have been soldering since 1980 and have never needed a hot air soldering unit. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
They are maintenance hogs. I have used some high end .mil PACE kits and some other top names in the industry. The solder vacuums work for a few times and then have maintenance issues. I use a $800 Metcal station as my bench unit, however, I can do most of my work with a portable Weller W60-P3 iron. The black sold-a-pult anti-static vacuum works well with practice, and I can desolder quicker with this than with any pump activated kit. For some operations, more power may be requires, and portablility may be a concern. Butane irons, or a larger Weller may be needed for larger wires or electrical connections. This unit doesn't have any vacuum capability. It's just a soldering iron and hot air gun both with temperature control. I just use a manual spring action solder sucker and it does what I need. I have been soldering since 1980 and have never needed a hot air soldering unit. I've done SMDs with my weller soldering station, but the hot air does make it a lot easier. especially if you're doing SMICs with solder paste. it's also useful for heat shrinking things |