soldering station

[wsaraceni]

i just got one of the ax84 p1 amp kits. i am wondering what i should get for a soldering station and what other parts i might need. what is a good solder to use? i already have a fluke multimetter so i think a soldering station is all i need to go. any recommendations would be helpful

[5992]

i just got one of the ax84 p1 amp kits. i am wondering what i should get for a soldering station and what other parts i might need. what is a good solder to use? i already have a fluke multimetter so i think a soldering station is all i need to go. any recommendations would be helpful

I like my Hakko 936 station. They can be found on the 'net for about $80. I can't find tips locally, so I have to order them online or through mail order. It's a hassle, but luckily tips last a long time. Make sure to get a tip with suficient mass; the I couldn't get the tip that came with the iron to work with eyelet boards/terminal strips, it just wouldn't melt the solder fast enough. YMMV.

[kaseri]

I recommend Weller. Get something with a digital adjustable temp control. I like the WESD51.

[teleamp]

For solder, I recommend Kester. Get a good desolder bulb or pen, and some solder wick. For soledering iron I recommend a quality Weller (mine stays on 16 hours a day, and I've been using the same tip for over a year).

[Dave C]

I also recommend Weller, Hakko & Pace soldering stations/irons . Weller is the most widely known and distributed and therefore easiest to find and get parts and tips for.Get a station/iron around 40-50 watts and various sizes of tips. Kester is one of the biggest names in electronics solder too , just make sure it's rosin core elactronics solder. Desolder bulb/pen and some solder wick will be useful as well. Surgical forceps work really well to grab hold of small parts like resisters and caps for de/soldering and act as a heat sink as well. Small screw drivers, needlenose pliers and a set of nut drivers will all be useful as well. A set of carburator drills and a pin vise can be handy to clear holes in pc boards or to make new ones.
Dave C

[LOCUSTFIST]

+1 hakko

i love the solid holder...always hated the springs in the wellers

[wsaraceni]

any good places online to order this stuff?

[teleamp]

www.tubesandmore.com (http://www.tubesandmore.com) www.mouser.com (http://www.mouser.com)

If you have a tax number: www.cedist.com (http://www.cedist.com)

Not sure about Hakko online, I prefer the Weller WP35 (holds up to lots of hours). If I were doing pc type repairs then I would want something digital controlled, but for building amps the Weller is good.

If you are going to use the brass plate in your build, there are some tricks to make the ground connections a breeze. Edit: Doh! PX 84 not 5F1, sorry.

[donnyjaguar]

This topic comes up every few months. I'm with Mike, the Weller stuff lasts longer than the others. I used to run an electronics assembly line and we definitely got the most mileage out of Weller tips, wands and stations in general. If you're on a budget, just get a Weller plug-in wand (25W) and I think you'll find it works just fine. For chassis soldering you'll need a wand with a larger tip (not necessarily more wattage). Don't wast your money on a Weller soldering "gun" though. If these are better than the wand for soldering electronics I've seen no evidence of it.

[5992]

One additional comment: I've been using a tip cleaner that looks like it is made of bronze wool rather than the sponge that came with my iron. Even thought the tip on my iron is temperature controlled, the wet sponge lowers the temperature of the tip momentarily. The bronze wool cleaner doesn't do that. I believe it cost about $6US and the refills are $2.

[fadetowhite519]

if you are going for price, weller has a cheap station for 50 bucks (wlc100). +1 on the hackos. edysens are also good.

[wsaraceni]

what about an oscilloscope/signal generator for troubleshooting? i want to start out with the ax84 build but plan on moving into harder builds when i get more experience.

[wsaraceni]

also, im not necessarily going for best price. im more going for what will make me happy for the longest amount of time. but, if i use it to build and/or mod 10-20 amps in my lifetime, i'll be suprised.

[teleamp]

For the soldering, I would still choose the Weller, it is a quality product, regardless of price.