soldering iron & advice for magnifier

From: Michael Holley <swtpc6800_at_comcast.net>
Date: Sat May 15 13:48:33 2004

I have been using a Metcal soldering station for over a year. (Model PS2E)
My previous unit was a Weller WTCPN that I used for 20 years. The Weller is
OK but nothing like the Metcal.

The Metcal gets up to temperature fast (seconds), this means you can change
tips for one solder connection. There is a rubber pad for removing hot tips.
It also holds the temperature under heavy use.

Get a Metcal.

The Weller WTC series uses a magnetic tip to control temperature. When the
magnet heats up it loses strength and the heater switch opens, when the
magnet cools down the switch closes.. This works but it makes it difficult
to solder jumpers to restore cuts in PCB traces. Capacitor leads are often
made of steel. The lead wants to stick the tip.

Another thing is the WTC irons produce a lot of electrical line noise as the
heater power cycles. In the early 1980s we were designing a digital
instrument that would reset (lockup) when used on the same power circuit as
our soldering irons. Seeing as how most of our customers would have a
soldering iron next to our unit we had to fix this. We rigged a Weller WTC
soldering station with the iron replaced by a relay that cycled on and off
as a noise generator. A power line filter on our instrument fixed the
problem.

Michael Holley
www.swtpc.com/mholley
Received on Sat May 15 2004 - 13:48:33 BST