ta_man

iTrader: (168)

Well, I'm going to put my 2 cents in and mention my favorite: The Weller 4033S

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Product...vyTuJOgg%3d%3d

http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brand...c=037103031938

Here is a link to the catalog page from the mouser catalog that lists this part:

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/634/2076.pdf

If you look at the fine print you will see it lists the tip temperature at 100 degress. I called about that. It is a typo (which they still haven't fixed 5 years after I bought my first tip from them!). The actual tip temperature is 1000 degrees F. It takes about 1-2 seconds to solder a battery bar with this tip. It does it so fast that very little heat actually gets into the battery. You can touch the completed solder within a few seconds of removing the iron and not burn yourself.

You also need a handle for it. Mouser sells them too, but I am using the origiinal Ungar handle from when I was building slot car chassis back in the late 1960s.

JeromeK99

iTrader: (3)

Lol.. All I'm saying is that you don't need to spend that much money...

If you want to.. GO FOR IT!

It's really bad when people tell new folks in the hobby that they have to spend all this money on tools they don't really need...

I'm not saying this $80+ soldering iron isn't good or not better.. clearly it is a good tool.. Lot's of folks swear by it. Cool...

Let's not scare away newbies.


Jerome

jla8874

iTrader: (23)

I dont really see anybody telling newbs they need to buy anything. I see people saying the same thing over and over again, just like you are. What I see people telling newbs is the fact that the 40W Weller is a great iron to start out with, and if and when they do decide to upgrade to a nicer unit they will definitely think it was money well spent. I haven't seen one person say you CANT solder with a 40W, but merely pointing out that better quality tools more often than not produce better quality work. I could be wrong though?

Nik

iTrader: (1)

the reason Hakkos are so expensive is because they are ESD and are tempurture controlled...Not power controlled light a dimming light switch on cheaper stations or FULL BLAST all the time like a pencil iron.

You only time you NEED an anti-electrostatic discharge iron is if your doing PCB work with sensitive components...

For battery work, you dont really need it. But if you want to, say, replace an antenna wire, you can change the tip and drop the temp waay down, and you wont mess anything up on the board.

That being said.. I have a weller 40w pencil, and it works pretty good. Then I got this for like 40 bucks, and its not really fancy, but it has a stand, and a sponge/holder, and since the base is power controlled and not temp controlled, you can unplug the iron itself (standard 2 prong)and plug another one in up to like 300 watts.

only thing I don't understand is the base is a 3 prong but where you plug the iron into it its only a 2. Figure if it was also a 3 it woudl be an easy way to make it ESD.

Jason Pelletier

iTrader: (33)

That was more in reference to a weller over a 100.00 hakko that is larger. good link for the thread.

Dave H

$10 or $100, a little dab of flux will result in a quicker better joint.

JeromeK99

iTrader: (3)

Everyone here is an expert! lol..

Seems the consensus here is the following:

• larger chisel type tip is better
• hotter the iron is better
• rosin core solder and flux together is better
• spend what you can or what you want to for an iron

Sounds good to me!

Have fun its a hobby!

Jerome

B4 Racer1

iTrader: (2)

yeah but the hakko gets the job done with ease and fast with no problems at all it is the best soldering iron out there no questions asked why do you think its a 100 dollars...

Dave H

Perhaps not. What some are trying to say is its not just "the hotter the better", but rather the ability to hold that heat, and control it. Both the $100 guys, and some of the $10 guys who recommend 2 different irons for different purposes. I do agree that either way can be valid, I would suggest that technique is at least as important as the equipment used.

Cheers!

jla8874

iTrader: (23)

Well said B4. Its no coincidence that everyone who owns a 936 has said that its worth every penny. Especially with that $79.95 link with the skins if you like those. The Hakko will heat up to full temp in SECONDS, and like someone else said, the recovery time is super quick as well.

kdeselms

For sure - and the shipping on that directly from Hakko is free. So not a bad deal. Personally, I have already used the thing quite a bit. I don't use bullet connectors on the wires to/from the motor, everything is directly soldered - so if I go have a comm cut, I solder in another one. Back and forth - so it ends up being quite a bit of soldering. It's not just building batteries.

Definitely invest in good tools if you plan on doing much of something...it's worth it to have stuff that works right.

Jason Pelletier

iTrader: (33)

The 40w weller gets the job done with ease and no problems at all and it's one of the best soldering irons for 12-13 bucks. Why aren't they 100 dollars ?

You can even pick them up at LIR !

C'mon brYan.

B4 Racer1

iTrader: (2)

if you ask betts youcan order one so yo can pick one up at lir...idnt say the weller was a bad charger just that the hakko is better..

cjtamu

iTrader: (11)

Lots of talk in here about irons but nobody stated the obvious. Be sure the iron tip is tinned properly or it won't transfer heat. Wrap a little solder around the tip before you plug it in, when it melts I roll the tip in it a little. At that point the iron temp is still low enough that the solder will stick and you're good to go. I also prefer solder made for R/C (either Dean's or Novak). Dean's jig is as good as you can get, but I don't think they make it anymore. The Venom one looks similar, but I'm not sure you can do 7 cell packs with it. I think you probably can with the DTX that looks like a picket fence. I have one of those that I carry to the track with me for quick repairs, I'll see if I can make it work to do 7 cells.

jla8874

iTrader: (23)

I was flipping through a mag just now and saw the new HAKKO 937. It has a digital display and a mem card slot for some reason? Thing is super trick. Ryan Cavaleri is using it now.