To Ed and all the others who responded to my query. I weighed all your ideas and bought a Weller WESD51. Nice unit and does have var temp.
So far works well. Sent from my iPhone ...nr4c. bill > On Jun 6, 2014, at 3:48 PM, Edward R Cole <kl...@acsalaska.net> wrote: > > I used several Weller solder stations thru the years. I just retired to the > garage, a model WCC for which I can no longer find tips. I had one tip about > 1/4 to 3/8 inch wide chisel point that was great for very heavy soldering of > large metal objects (actually too much for a PL-259). Lost it last fall > outside. But I finally just tired out of trying to keep a tin on the old > point that I used for sm soldering (typ 0805 and 1206 size). My dog and my > wife were tired of my rant against the old POS. > > So I sent my $300 to a Amazon.com vendor and bought a brand new Hakko FX-951, > with three tips: T15-ILS conical (for I know not what), T115-D12 (for most sm > work), and T15DL52 with 1/4-inch chisel for heavy-duty (incl PL-259's). > > I have built two pc boards in the two weeks I have had the new solder station > and it is amazing. Both boards are major projects with over 100 components. > I dial in the temperature exactly to what I want and the unit maintains that > while soldering; not just a rheostat but a full feedback temp control. > > Even soldering some filter cans to the ground plane of the pcb was done well > with the D12; previous use of the WCC was total muck-up cold soldering which > required using the 3/8-inch tip to get good flow. > > I like the wire tip cleaner vs using a wet sponge. It keeps tip bright and > ready. I do a quick plunge-swipe before each sm component is soldered. I've > found with a little experimentation that 670F works well for sm with 60/40 > solder. The T15-DL52 seems very hot at this temp, making quick work of > heavier items. > > But if you are not a person that uses a solder iron a lot, the Weller > probably is a reasonable choice. If You build a lot or for work, then the > FX-951 is what you want! I have no desire to go back to Weller. > > 73, Ed - KL7UW > http://www.kl7uw.com > "Kits made by KL7UW" > Dubus Mag business: > dubus...@gmail.com > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to n...@widomaker.com ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
