Lucky that I got it for free! but it works very well. That's what I use at work. (repairing aircraft electronic components) They have some more economical stations that work as good as the mbt 250.

lol, I use a heavy weller soldering gun. Got used to that back in the day, still use gun types.

Guns are arguably the worst way to solder. Zero consistency or control in the heat and it is like trying to solder with the head of a putter.

I also run my irons super hot. I want to get it done quick with minimal heatsoak. Guns seldom ever achieve that without transferring what I consider too much heat.

I disagree.

A QUALITY Gun produces heat more rapidly than anything else and nothing soldered things faster or more efficiently in my experience but they are a bit cumbersome to use.

A gun doesn't heat up faster than a proper iron allowed to warm up to operating temp ahead of time.

I'd be curious to know what irons you have in your list of experience you are comparing a gun to - and what wattages they were.

There is a reason why people who solder things for a living don't use guns. I work in an industry which uses a lot of custom electronics/wiring and nobody uses a gun.

Say what now?
Am I the only one this makes no sense to?!???!?


Oh wow… Couldn't begin to remember them all but a few were Wellers from the mid to late 80's and my dad had one that was Blue and silver that was even older that was tops. In the 90's my dad bought a Weller that was powerful and heated up all the way in about 6 seconds which is what I used to solder up my RC Cars back then and it was never easier. No iron I've used was less than 60 watt for RC applications.

Was using an Edsyn 915 station I got as a gift that went from 15 - 220 watts but my brother in law left it on unattended one day and it stopped holding heat and I gave up on it last year. Bought a 75 watt station today, hoping it works as well as the Edsyn did.

It's called evolution. Today pencil tip irons are the go to device, but it doesn't automatically mean they are necessarily better. More than likely pencil style irons became the standard because they are easier, more comfortable to hold and work with and can get into much tighter areas pistol style irons simply can't because everything has reduced in size over time. Add to that advancements in technology and pencil style irons have improved tenfold in their power and efficiency, but again, it doesn't mean they are indeed the best tool for soldering. The greatest advantage modern stations have is temperature adjustment and control but many need time in between setting joints to recoup heat which is something guns generally don't suffer from. In the end everything has it's pros and cons but a Gun's quickness to reach temperature and ability to work non-stop trumps that to a station in my experience. I'm sure very high end stations will likely exceed the capabilities of a pistol iron, but stations sold for RC use are far from those bentleys.

I thought that was the main problem with guns? They usually have a small tip that heats up quickly, but also drops temp just as quick when applied to the work, with the relatively large wires commonly used in RC. The irons have more mass behind the tip that helps hold the temperature consistent.

I have a couple of the popular thermo controlled stations, similar power ratings. They hold temp very well during a solder job, the light goes off quite soon after the job, nearly as quickly as it does just sitting ready.

I also grew up/learned with a Weller gun. No way I'm going back, a good temperature controlled station is one of my fav tools ever.

Every gun I've ever used can maintain heat for as long as you hold the trigger in and they don't lose any of it while soldering.

Think the OP ever thought this thread would turn into a debate on the best type of soldering iron/gun/station. LOL. You guys crack me up...

My point is that a gun cools as soon as you release the trigger - then heats back up as soon as you pull the trigger. I get it - cold gun vs cold iron the gun heats up quicker.

My point is you turn an iron on, let it heat up and then leave it on until you are done your work. Already hot is gonna be quicker than 6 seconds to heat up every time.

My Hakko doesn't lose heat between solders - because I'm not holding the iron on my workpiece long enough. Like I said I run my irons hot and I flow a small amount of solder before I make the connection to "pre-heat" the connection. I've also been soldering RC stuff for 30 years (I went through a gun phase when I was 12 so I get why people think they are better). The only time I have ever had an issue with irons losing heat was when soldering up NiCD/NiMH batteries. Guns lost heat just the same. In the end I found a 70W Weller with the big fat tip and 10 minutes to warm up was the solution for soldering batteries effectively.

P.S. I'm not arguing - just curious. You are the first person I have ever heard (who clearly has a clue) say they prefer a gun so I am intrigued as to why.

Quite the contrary, I prefer the iron over the gun but guns are more efficient in several regards. The biggest mistake people make with irons is that they do leave them on constantly and it is the main reason tips go bad and irons themselves wear out and die. I learned the hard way myself and had the good fortune of having one of the coolest teachers in high school for electrical engineering class and he taught me so much. Since then however, technology allowed irons to become what they are today and are light years better than they were.

Guns cooling off is actually one of their greatest advantages because they end up lasting years and even decades as a result of not being constantly ON while in use. I'm waiting to receive my new station to see how it compares to the track power 955 which costs almost 4x as much. If it performs just as good or better I'll be sure to post up the info for everyone's benefit.

Booooorinnnggggggg. Back on track.

Oh and nice neat soldering, you put your money where your mouth is.

I just got mine in today. I even asked Danny for an extra stator and was able to get that added for $15. So for $195 I received the ESC, and 5.5 motor with an extra 8.5 stator. From what I understand they are the same as the Orion Vortex R10.1 Pro ESC. Even made in the same factory. Even the program box is the same. SO for $55 under the price of the Orion I received the ESC, Programmer and basically 2 motors for the price.
No complaints so far very smooth. There is a nice review on youtube from short ourse world.

Goodf Luck.

Does anybody know if Maclan makes a sensored esc? i went to their page and they have some nice looking motors and i was taking a closer look at their MR4 SCT 4150Kv motor but i did not see any competition sensored esc. I thought Tavis Amezcua and JP Richards use those electronics. I doubt they run sensorless ESC's. Just curious....