Soldering Iron

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TitaniumHamster
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Soldering Iron

Post by TitaniumHamster » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:45 pm

I need a good soldering iron. (and solder sucker) The radioshack ones are singlehandedly the reason for the death of my 64p. Any sugestions?
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Kurt_
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Post by Kurt_ » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:51 pm

Find a specialty store for electronics. Ask the store person. You can get some expensive but really good ones. Or you can get a welland. Skyone likes wellands.
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timmeh87
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Post by timmeh87 » Sat Mar 03, 2007 5:55 pm

weller?
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Retromaster
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Post by Retromaster » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:27 pm

radio shack. 15 watt grounded and 30 watt irons. get those= instant success.


EDIT: oh damn, you said THEY destroyed it ok. get the ones at ace hardware.

but the 15 watt one is very good, you should get it.
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TitaniumHamster
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Post by TitaniumHamster » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:26 pm

Retromaster wrote:radio shack. 15 watt grounded and 30 watt irons. get those= instant success.


EDIT: oh damn, you said THEY destroyed it ok. get the ones at ace hardware.

but the 15 watt one is very good, you should get it.
Ohhh! Ace hardware you say? Ok.
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khaag
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Post by khaag » Sat Mar 03, 2007 9:59 pm

Ya, they must be thinking of plumbing soldering...

I actuall got a very decent soldering station @ Sears. Black n' Decker is the make. Its adjustable from 15 watts to 30 watts, and comes with a bunch of tips. It was a good deal too... only $25! :D A good iron, for a good price.
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Skyone
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Post by Skyone » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:14 pm

12W Weller Soldering Iron from Fry's. :)

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Retromaster
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Post by Retromaster » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:26 pm

now, ive never dealt with ace irons, but i still think your best bet is to stick with a 15 watt grounded iron from radioshack.

It worked fine for months. and, a better choice, is the 30 watt iron.
it may sound rediculous to use the same iron that dstroyed a portable, But I think its because it wasnt grounded.
ground your irons people!

ace irons are prolly meant for harder stuff, not the kinda stuff you do!
using the worng iron can destroy a system!
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Skyone
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Post by Skyone » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:36 pm

Retromaster wrote:ground your irons people!
Why?

TitaniumHamster, get a sharper iron, wattage rating is usually not important, but you'd want something 45W or lower. The heated solder pump (with the red bulb) is actually a decent tool. Unless you want to go dishing out money, I'd stick with it.

EDIT: Kurt_, I had no clue I liked wellands. :P

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Retromaster
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Post by Retromaster » Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:43 pm

grounding it keeps it from frying stuff staticaly.
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Post by vskid » Sat Mar 03, 2007 11:35 pm

Retromaster wrote:grounding it keeps it from frying stuff staticaly.
I think he is right, timmeh87 said something about it.
And if you want to do both of the things retromaster said, get a 15/30W iron from radioshack like I did.
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Post by Kurt_ » Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:50 am

@ Sky:

How can you not like Wellands? [A quick google search revealed that] Wellands are from Ontario, and Ontario is in Canada, and everyone likes Canadians!
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Post by bicostp » Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:06 am

We'd better, or their giant death robots will kick our butts to Mexico! :shock:

:P

I use a manufacturing-grade 60w Weller. (Yay corporate throwaways!) It's got a base but no temperature control. You'll think I'm crazy, but I've soldered to batteries with it before. :P I like the high wattage irons because they heat up really quickly. I had to use a Rat Shack cheapie at school a couple years ago... man that thing took forever to heat up!

Invest in a quality iron! You won't regret it.

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TitaniumHamster
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Post by TitaniumHamster » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:37 am

Retromaster wrote:grounding it keeps it from frying stuff staticaly.
What?


Well, my big issue with the old Radioshack irons was the fact that the metal tip would get (I'm gonna sound REAL stupid) "dirty" from exposure to air, itself, and liquid solder. After it was "dirty", it owuld no longer react correctly with solder and would either refuse to melt correctly or start forcing bad contacts on me.

I suck at soldering, but I know that the iron would make things worse the longer it was on. (meaning minutes on)
Skyone wrote: TitaniumHamster, get a sharper iron, wattage rating is usually not important, but you'd want something 45W or lower. The heated solder pump (with the red bulb) is actually a decent tool. Unless you want to go dishing out money, I'd stick with it.
I love your guides and pic tutorials sky, but I hate that radioshack red bulb monster like nothing else!
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vskid
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Post by vskid » Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:55 am

TitaniumHamster wrote:Well, my big issue with the old Radioshack irons was the fact that the metal tip would get (I'm gonna sound REAL stupid) "dirty" from exposure to air, itself, and liquid solder. After it was "dirty", it owuld no longer react correctly with solder and would either refuse to melt correctly or start forcing bad contacts on me.
You have to tin it. Sand the gunk off the tip and when it heats up, smother it in solder. Then it'll look all nice and silvery and work better.
I'll have to re-tin mine the next time I want to solder...
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