> Michael Holley wrote:
> [snip]
> > Here are some links to my CT-1024 TV Typewriter II pages.
> > http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/CT_1024/CT1024_Index.htm
> > http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/CT_1024/Restore/CT1024_Restore.htm
> Wow. I'm speechless. That is one amazing repair. I think it's high time for
> me to smash my piggy-bank, raid my bank account and buy a nice soldering
> station :-)
Well, I should probably upgrade myself (I still use an old Weller TCP,
which has a not particularly accurate thermostat), but I can assure you
that even that is a lot nicer than most 'hobbyist grade' irons.
To the extent that on the few occasions that I've tried to use a cheap,
totally non-thermonstatically-controller iron recently (to save going
back to get my Weller), I've had to give up and go and get said unit.
> I've just come to the conclusion that my Antex XS is far too overpowered for
You probably mean _UNDERPOWERED_ !
Power is not the same as temperature. For example, my Weller is actually
a 45W unit, which sounds rediculously high (after all, many books
recomend a 15W iron for PCB work). The problem with too high a power in a
non-controlled iron is that it gets too hot. The problem with too little
power (in any type of iron) is that it takes too long to heat the joint
up, thus getting the rest of the PCB and components hot, causing damage.
Try soldering (or worse, desoldering) an IC pin connected to an internal
ground plane on a multi-layer PCB and you'll see what I mean
-tony
Received on Mon Mar 17 2003 - 18:35:33 GMT