Another Soldering Station

[salvarsan]

Radio Shack sells/gouges $80 for a temp-controlled soldering station (PN 64-053). As with most things RS, it is a rebranded product, specifically a Madell AT201D.


Out of the box, its 1mm soldering tip handles surface mount parts adequately but does through-hole work only tolerably. Madell supplies other tips for $6-10 depending upon weirdness. Warning: some of them are indicated to run hotter or colder than the indicated temperature on the AT201D.

Considering that you get sub-industrial solder station with DRO and presets for <$100, it is somewhat better than it needs to be.

BTW, Madell is in Ontario, California, not Canada.

[big_teee]

Sounds like real good alternatives to the more expensive Weller Products.
Thanks for the Heads up!
Terry

[salvarsan]

Update:
The direct purchase price + shipping ($67+$20) is within a couple dollars of cost+tax at Radio Shack.

The tips are only available through Madell.

[defaced]

Looking at their side (Madell), their stations look very similar to the ones at MPJA - I own one and really like it, best 40 dollar electronics tool I've bought so far. Comparing the pictures of the tips and handle assembly, I bet they'll work. Not that 1-2 bucks is alot, but they are less expensive at MPJA.

[David King]

This is a timely post for me I was trying to replace the filtering caps on an old imac g5 motherboard and couldn't get the board hot enough to solder with my 50W Hakko and 1.6 mm tip. It's a 6 layer board with a lot of heavy ground plane, basically a big copper heatsink. I definitely felt emasculated after the ordeal. What's the standard equipment for this type of rework?

[Dave Kerr]

David, you've been around here long enough to know that everything has already been asked, and that all you have to do is search

[big_teee]

David, you've been around here long enough to know that everything has already been asked, and that all you have to do is search

Now that's a soldering Iron!
When I was a kid in shop class we had some like that but no cord.
You stuck the iron in a gas torch flame, to get it hot.
You could really go to town until it cooled off.
Then you repeated the process.

[marku52]

you might try a propane torch. Don't laugh, a friend used to recycle memory chips off computer boards by flaming the entire board with a torch until the solder liquified, then slamming the board down on a desk top.

Worked great.

[marku52]

Here is another one to consider, very inexpensive, $29.95. I bought one for my SMT work (bought the tweezers adaptor too). Does it have enough heat for old school work? I don't know, I use an old weller/PTA7 for that stuff.....
Circuit Specialists Inc. - CSI Deluxe Station w/Analog Display (CSI-STATION1A)

[David King]

How about this guy?
Xytronic LF2000 Lead Free Digital Soldering Station
It says 90W, that seems like a significant step up from my current 50W.

Otherwise this guy is looking like it handle just about anything you throw at it:
Amazon.com: Wall Lenk LG400 400/150 Heavy Duty Watt Soldering Gun: Home Improvement
I don't want to melt my motherboard either...

[defaced]

Here is another one to consider, very inexpensive, $29.95. I bought one for my SMT work (bought the tweezers adaptor too). Does it have enough heat for old school work? I don't know, I use an old weller/PTA7 for that stuff.....
Circuit Specialists Inc. - CSI Deluxe Station w/Analog Display (CSI-STATION1A)

Hmm. Mine says MPJA on it and it cost 10 bucks more. At that price, I think I'm buying another one and one for work too. My boss said to get us some soldering stuff, so I'll get us some soldering stuff. To say the least, for the money, this system is very capable if you have a couple of different tips.

[dai h.]

This is a timely post for me I was trying to replace the filtering caps on an old imac g5 motherboard and couldn't get the board hot enough to solder with my 50W Hakko and 1.6 mm tip. It's a 6 layer board with a lot of heavy ground plane, basically a big copper heatsink. I definitely felt emasculated after the ordeal. What's the standard equipment for this type of rework?

"Chip quik" mentioned in this thread sounds promising:

http://music-electronics-forum.com/t23724/

re: soldering/desoldering on modern multilayer boards can be a nightmare. I think basically there is so much mass (power, ground planes, etched alu foil in alu electrolytics, etc. together acting as a giant heat sink) that even with a really powerful iron, you can't get the joint up to solder melting temperature.