soldering iron & advice for magnifier

From: Jay West <jwest_at_classiccmp.org>
Date: Fri May 14 20:31:13 2004

Tom wrote...
> I bought a used Metcal MX1 on eBay and it is easily the best iron I've
> ever used! Throw out all of the others. I also have a Bausch & Lomb Stereo
> Zoom 4 microscope which makes surface mount much easier, at least for my
> aging eyes.

I'm not familiar with Metcal units. How would the MX1 compare with the
Weller WES51 I recently bought?

Also, I have a lamp magnifier... one of those lighted magnifiers on a elbow
arm you clamp to your desk. Invaluable to me for small work. Mine is missing
one of the two springs, so I'm out looking for a new one. I found a truely
nice one for $55 that has two separate flourescent bulbs on each side (I
strongly prefer flourescent lights for that rather than the cheap
incandescent units). I'm thinking these would have to be better than a
stereo microscope (which I've never used)??? Wouldn't it be hard to position
boards and such under that?

Jay West
Received on Fri May 14 2004 - 20:31:13 BST