Hi Jeremy,
On 15 October 2013 10:11, Jeremy Bennett jeremy.bennett@embecosm.com wrote:
Hi all,
I want to set up a decent soldering station. Any suggestions on what I should look for in a soldering iron (and solder for that matter). Any other suggestions on kit that is particularly useful.
I have a Weller iron and 24v transformer and they've served me well for ~22 years, with many times just left on all day. The soldering iron did stop working earlier this year and I've been using my backup Antex mains iron since, but I'm about to purchase a new 24v Weller iron. It might be possible to repair it as you can get most parts, but it's a less common model and I thought I'd treat myself to a new one.
Noticed a big different in going from using the Weller iron to using the Antex one (which is actually not bad for the money).
In any case, this looks to be the equivalent current Weller model:
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/soldering-stations/3320357/
As for solder, I only ever use the stuff with lead in it, as I find the lead free stuff horrible to use and if you have to do any rework you can quickly end up ruining the PCB since it has a higher melting point. Lead solder is fine for my purposes and perhaps prototyping in general, but obviously no good for use in consumer products.
Best,
Andrew