I am a beginner electronics hobbyist. Is this soldering station appropriate for my needs. Will the Weller WC100 do the job?
650544
I can tell you the advantages of the WES51, but you'll have to decide if something lower cost is more appropriate for your current needs. The temperature regulation increases your chance of being able to replace surface mounted devices without destroying the foil or SMD. A beginning Hobbyist may not encounter SMD's. The regulated tip temperature also results in lower peak tip temperature and longer tip life. The 50 watts is more power than I need for a soldering pencil, but provides very fast stabilization of tip temperature (probably about 30 seconds from a cold start). This means you can leave the station off until you are ready to solder, allowing for lengthened tip life. If you are distracted and forget to shut the station off, it will time out at 99 minutes, again preventing destruction of the tip. The range of tip sizes makes the station useful for anything from the smallest surface mount components (1/32" ETH tip) to tinning large wires (1/8 ETC tip). These are "screwdriver" shape tips, which I find the most useful.
650545
Yes, this is a great unit. I have used Weller soldering station for years at work, finally broke down and purchased one for my home projects. Wished I had done this years ago, the Radio S. model I had don't hold a candle to what you can do with this Weller,
650546
This is an excellent soldering iron for the money, and will last a hobbyist a life time. You won't believe how much easier it is to solder with a quality gun, and the damp sponge to wipe the tip is a significant aid in forming a clean joint.
650547
Andy;It's a great system. Most guys who start buy cheap soldering irons and become frustrated because the tip is never hot enough, unless its too hot and burns your boards. Cheap irons take for ever to heat and they don;t have the size to transfer much heat to something larger unless it goes too cold and you have to wait for the iron to heat back up. A cheap iron is frustrating. This Weller is a very good first unit. If you think you may actually use it ALOT then spring the extra and get the WES51. Its about twice the price but really is a professional quality system.
650548
The Weller WLC100 is a better iron than I used for over 15 years. It will most certainly get the job done.
144446
No. Watch a few youtube videos. If you know how to solder it isn't too complicated.
759743
I've only done electronics soldering next to this thing. It --slowly-- draws in the smoke/fumes from the flux quite well and the filter seems to absorb them well. You do have to keep your work close to the unit - and I think that's why it does a slow convection - so it doesn't cool off your work. I like it because I don't like to wear little masks because they fog up any glasses that I wear. To be honest, I'm not sure how it would do around welding. I would think that if you're generating lots of sparks then there might be an issue with how close you can get the unit to your work without blasting it with cast-off and melting the filter or pitting the plastic housing. But, if you're talking about brazing - then I think it'll do the job. The housing is plastic, not metal, so it might be a concern around any sparking cast off. However - if you are doing any soldering - then this is a great unit - and you might just get it for that and then try it out next to your welding jobs.
1567567
it's very simple to wire using test light. i wired mine in 10 minutes, but the item only worked for about a month and quit. the soldering on the inside is not very good and will come loose and stop working. at least mine did anyway.
319188
This has a variable temperature control. It would good for soldering printed circuit boards.
573351
I use mine for electronics. You can't solder stainess or steel. It would have to be made out of brass or copper. A better idea would be the gun type soldering iron or something bigger than this one. I think I would call someplace like Guitar Center and ask what they use.
573349
It should work perfectly for that. Make sure you use rosin core (flux core) solder, and keep your tip and the wires very clean.
962858
If I understand what you want to do correctly, this station would definitely handle the job. Cell phone components are QUITE small and typically very heat sensitive so in general you'll need a soldering station with good thermal control and very fine tips. This station can do both. It might be a little overkill if you don't intend to use it frequently, though. As for the tip, I would suggest this one: Hakko T15-ILS - T15 Series Soldering Tip - Conical - Slim - R0.1 x 13.5 mm If you've never soldered surface mount components (like the ones in cell phone electronics) you should watch some video tutorials and practice on something that you don't mind damaging. You can do a good job by hand, but it can be difficult. I have used a less expensive Hakko station extensively as well as this one and I believe both could handle what you're looking to do. They don't make my other model any more, but it is similar to this one: Digital FX888D & CHP170 bundle, includes FREE CHP170 cutter It uses different (and less expensive) tips but still has pretty good thermal control.
529317
I've been using it to solder resistors and wires to pc boards. Works grat so far. I am a newbie with limited skills, but I have not had any problems so far.
1367925
No, it will not work "from the box". But you have to only replace 1 capacitor, and it will. I made it myself, it took me about 15 minutes (I am absolutely new to soldering)
796306
In my opinion, this soldering iron is of terrible quality. I bought one and it was VERY poorly put together.I ended up going with a Hakko. Check out the Hakko 951 or the Hakko 888.
573348
It would have more than enough heat for that. It will be a matter of trial and error to get the heat right. If new to soldering, before you ever power it on watch some youtube videos on tinning the tip and proper iron care. Also toss the sponge and order a hako brass mesh cleaner. Great iron though.
1480378
Any solder rated for electronics should be fine.... Lead free would be ideal though...
1658257
If you never soldered, I would not recommend doing that. The kit is relatively easy to solder, and it's doable, but most likely you will need to calibrate your hand on something simpler and the basic kits are inexpensive. As a beginner, the hardest (and funnier) part is to troubleshoot the kit and when I started assembling it, I had one bad solder at the first section. Have fun!
550048
Yes see amazon url:Aoyue/Hakko Chisel Soldering Tip Set of 10 Pcs.However, since you have such good soldering station, I would recommend tips you likely have never heard of. They are Plato tips. My father worked for Plato. He gave me soldering tips that lasted me 25 years. They are not that good today, but they are a world of difference. http://www.amazon.com/Soldering-Tip-Hakko-936-Stations/dp/B0027IU3QO/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid;=1423200556&sr;=8-30&keywords;=PLATO+SOLDERING+TIPS
2026197
No I purchased cheap solder tool at amazon and I had some difficulty to do it precisely. I just have experience at elementary school. Just one hour but I liked it and just tried in old memory. You should like it because a lot of concentration and patient. Kit has just one size but mine had 15 was broken. I ordered other size at eBay too. See YouTube samples must
2088818
This is a pretty good soldering gun; I bought it to solder heavy duty starter brush leads and residential wiring. It will normally cause the solder to flow in a minute or less, depending on how much copper you have bundled together. I have had mine for a couple of years now and it's great...gave the smaller one away...you won't be disappointed.