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**willawake** · 06-12-2006, 12:15 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

wow there is actually someone out there with a decent budget.

the problem is that nobody can really advise you unless they own one of the products you have selected in your shortlist. what i would say though is you dont need to spend so much for a station that will do the job and you dont need digital either, analog is fine. http://www.kiesub.com/hakko936.htm is a well priced product and galvanized will do a review later on in the week for us. we have a few members also using only corded soldering irons. basically for removing the caps you need good wattage and the iron will be on 450oC or higher, basically maxed out because in hot and fast is the key. then for soldering in the caps it can be done at 450oC or preferably at a lower setting, whatever is best for you. temperature settings are important when dealing with other types of components which can be very sensitive to temperature.

However if you have an interest in electronics and will be using the station for many years i agree that around $300 will buy you a very nice digital station from any of the major brands. i would recommend to go for a 70-80w at that price. I have a 60w that does max 450oC and sometimes i wish i had a little more power and temp although it gets the job done fine.

i will definitely upgrade to a new one in the future though but it will be a jap one, either hakko or goot.

i have my eye on this one cos it goes up to 500oC
Goot RX-760AS
http://www.bomir.com/online/?sub=385

or this one if i decide to go lead free
Goot RX-802 - $249
http://www.bomir.com/online/?sub=412

from your choices i would eliminate the WESD51 as it is only 50w, you would be better served with the hakko 936 at the cheap end of the market. From your choices the WD1002 looks well specified and pace is used in many rework companies. kc8adu who is probably doing the most recapping on the forum uses a weller. The hakko falls short at only 60w but does go up to 480oC which would be useful.

here are a few reviews
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/41

like i said, anything 60w and over from goot, weller, hakko, pace will be very nice. but impossible to assist you to choose a specific model without having used one.

**Galvanized** · 06-12-2006, 12:44 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

On the box of this Hakko 936-12 is stated.

"Iron can easily convert from medium (907) to large with the 908 conversion kit (908 ck/p)"

With a quick check yesterday it did not come up at Hakkousa but Kiesub shows it in stock(iirc). It would still be 60W but the tips have more mass so hold more heat. 907 tips don't fit 908 irons.

I have yet to plug it in but will post about it soon. (watching USA get stomped by Czech team up-set me)

**jtrade** · 06-12-2006, 02:20 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

thanks willawake for the info. i just figured that some people here might have had some of the soldering stations listed. I think I am going to give the Weller WD1002 a try. I comes with an 85watt iron and a nice stand that has 4 adjustible positions. I can also use a 65watt iron which is able to use surface mount tips if I needed to remove surface mount components in the future. I found it for a great price and think I will give it a try.

again, thank you for all the info.

Jtrade

**willawake** · 06-12-2006, 03:58 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

hope it works out for you. please give us a review if you find time. it would help to dispel some of the mystery of buying a station if everybody contributed reviews.

i was just checking out the video for the goot 802, looks like it creams the 711. but if they had presented the same effect compared with the 760 i would be sold.

**jtrade** · 06-12-2006, 04:08 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

i am still in a little bit of a struggle. i just received a quote via e-mail for a new PACE ST-50 with PS-90 Iron they are checking to see if it includes the stand. If it does I'm sold. I can get it for the same price I was going to pay for the Weller WD1002. I think either will do the job I need them to do but the Pace ST-50 looks a lot better and it can use 4 different attachments, which is a nice feature. Either way I will try and post a review. Even though my soldering skills are pretty much zero. (i've only replaced 3 dc jacks on laptop motherboards)

Pace ST-50

I have been attempting to repair an old motherboard with bad caps with a Radio Shack 20/40watt selectable soldering iron and lets just say it doesn't work very well. That is why i want to go ahead and spend the money on something that's worth a crap.

Thanks again,

Jtrade

**willawake** · 06-12-2006, 04:33 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

looks real nice, dont forget to get a few sponges while you are at it because they wear out after a few months. i would recommend to get an about 2mm standard short chisel and a conical pointed tip also.

**jtrade** · 06-12-2006, 04:38 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

I'm gonna get a few different tips for which ever station I get as well as some sponges. I've got some 60/40 rosin core solder from radio shack but do if I need flux & tip tinner???

Sorry I told you I was a noob.

Jtrade

**willawake** · 06-12-2006, 04:54 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

personally i have never used flux. my solder is 2.2% flux. get some nice 0.8mm though. if you are to spend so much for the station no need to compromise and use radioshit. get from where you purchased the iron. they should have some quality stuff 500g reel will last a long time. get some flux cleaner though. tip cleaner well never used that also but i have some goot brand. get a little tin of that. if you see anything better than a sponge at that place get it also, i remember hakko had something that looked good. so important to keep the iron clean all the time you are working.

**jtrade** · 06-12-2006, 05:24 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

thank you again. got to looking at the tip cleaner and it is mostly for lead free solder it looks like. but i will get some quailty 0.8mm 2.2% flux solder like you have and make sure I keep my tip tinned with that. i saw the hakko tip cleaner that looks like the one from goot with the shaved stuff. i'll have to get it from a different place but i'll pick one up because i read they were the best thing to keep your tip clean. looks like a brillo pad. i also saw this new cleaning block from Weller that is suppose to remove all oxidation etc from your tip but they didn't have them in stock yet. i'll get some flux-off or similar cleaner as shown on the Recapping Post.

thank you once again,

next missing is to order and find the caps i need.

**Per Hansson** · 06-13-2006, 10:23 AM

Re: Soldering Station Help

I use the iron in the pic, suits me well, I use a very fin tip, against the recommendation of some of the users on these forums... I think it works pretty well, though I must admit that on VRM layouts with large grounding copper planes it can be a bit difficult; but it gets the job done after some added solder etc...

I have a few other tips but have not really tried them out... (if it works...)

Attached Files

**jtrade** · 06-13-2006, 02:45 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

Thanks for the Pic. Just found out I can get the Pace ST-50 with PS-90 Iron and Stand for $230. Think I'll take that over the Weller WD1002 for the same price.

Thanks again,

**jtrade** · 07-06-2006, 03:58 PM

Pace ST-50

Well my Pace ST-50 just arrived today, along with the PS-90 Iron and a "cubby". Here are a few pics of the Soldering Station. I'm still waiting on my chisel tip kit to get here, which has like 6 different chisel tips. Although I'm a little worried because on the Iron it says 51w but in the manual it says 80w for the power station. Anyways I still can't wait to try it out. Guess I can go ahead and order my caps, some solder, and flux cleaner.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jtrade

**teeDee** · 07-24-2006, 09:57 AM

Re: Soldering Station Help

jtrade,

I think the stations you mentioned will serve you well. The weller wesd51 at all-spec has very good prices as well as weller tips galore! For what you want to do this staion will do.
The weller wd1002 is definatley a little beefier with really good temp control. If I were you, I would wait until September to buy, I always buy my solder supplies this month at all-spec because they have one heck of a weller sale.

**Spacedye69** · 07-28-2006, 07:27 AM

Re: Soldering Station Help

I would like some review of the hakko 936 , weller wd1002, and that pace from people that have used them. Getting close to time to buy a real solder station.

**willawake** · 07-28-2006, 11:33 AM

Re: Soldering Station Help

galvanized promised a review of the 936 weeks ago.

**skafiskafnjak** · 08-28-2006, 09:45 PM

Re: Soldering Station Help

I have Pace ST-70 new version, its not bad.

With motherboards you need soldering station with quick response, ST50 is more for standard boards that does not have multilayer prints.

It can be usd but you have to go with higher temperatures and it can damage prints.

The best one for motherboards is JBC, these are ready for 3 seconds when you turn them on. Also they last longer and have 5 years warranty. Tips last 4-5 times longer.

With them you can remove capacitors with 320C easy.

The one that you biught I use for 4-5 years every day and it will last you long time! Mine is just analog one with potentiometer but same PS-90 iron.

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