Originally Posted by
macke
You don't mention how many watts your iron has but... if it is 50W or less you will not get the job done on the RX8. The heat will dissipate through the post to the heat sink and you will never get a good solder joint. If you need to hold the iron more than a few seconds then your iron is too weak. In fact, if you hold the iron for too long to the post you can actually desolder/damage things internally in the RX8. Buy a 80W iron, it is soooo much easier to solder with.
Also, you can solder the RX8 with a big tip, just place the iron on the side of the solder posts.
There is a video on Youtube where Randy from Tekin show how to solder the RX8. You should check it out.
I disagree. I've been soldering for years with a cheap Craftsman 45w iron. It's all about technique and preparation. A new iron tip needs to be tinned with solder, then tin the posts and wire and all should melt together without issue. I've even used my 45w iron on Turnigy 8awg wires.
That said, those Hakko setups look pretty sweet. But I wouldn't label them as "necessary".