Odp: [sdiy] Useful equipment

[Roman]

wellll....
a good soldering iron is the kind that makes good
solder points. It's like someone
(was it Larry H.?) talked about pro photographers
making pics with cardboard
camera. If you're good at it, you can make good
solder points even with cigarete
lighter ;)
Get the one that controlls temperature. No matter
if it's fixed by tip type, or
adjusted at the station, but some kind of
temperature control is essential.
Check also the length of the heater. I mean, take
it in hand, put the hand on
a table and see if it is in convenient for you
position. Most soldering irons
I've seen are just too long for my shaky hands...
And check also availability and price of
replacement tips. You may want
to try other (smaller) type than is supplied
regularly with the iron.

Good (the one of my dreams) soldering station can
go for 400$, pro ones
don't fall below 1000$.

If you really want it cheap, you can live with
simple iron and light dimmer
to power it. Not exactly a temperature control,
but much better than
plugging it directly to AC outlet. And you can
make your own tips
from copper rod. I've done that for years.

Roman

----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Begin <Steve.Begin at pwgsc.gc.ca>
To: Synth (E-mail) <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2002 9:03 PM
Subject: RE: [sdiy] Useful equipment


> What constitutes a good soldering iron?  I'm
guessing mine is far from it, since it was under
10 dollars CAN. :)
>
> I'm on a budget, but I'm willing to spend more
than I should, if it comes to that :)
> Thanks for all the great advice, I'm gonna be
spending the next week or so glued to ebay, and
see if I can't get a decent selection of equipment
out of it!
>
> > Steve Begin
>
>
>