Update on Trip, opinions on purchases...

From: Doc Shipley <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Tue May 18 01:09:48 2004

Roger Merchberger wrote:
> As a lead-in to another thread, tho, I did pick up a soldering station &
> desoldering gun. For $100 I got a Hakko 939 soldering station w/1 tip
> (it's fine for medium work, but for some fine circuitry I'd want a finer
> tip), photocopied manual, and key (yes, you need a small "punch-card"
> key to change the temperature & the configuration... each tip has a
> "temperature coefficient" that you key into the station, to keep an
> exact temperature, AFAICT)...
>
> Anyone else have any experience with this brand/model of soldering
> station? The cheapest I'd found on ePay (tho I didn't search completed
> auctions yet) was $150, and it looks like they still make 'em for about
> $400, so I think I did OK...

   not shabby at all. I like the heck out of mine, although I just got
it a couple of months ago, and haven't done any really fine work with
it. The $150 ebay model was probably the folk in Austin TX where I got
mine. They get refurbs pretty regularly, and give a 90-day guarantee.

   Tips are damned expensive because the element is in the tip, but that
improves the balance quite a bit, as far as I'm concerned. It's also
supposed to improve the temperature control, but I can't tell about that
yet.


        Doc
Received on Tue May 18 2004 - 01:09:48 BST