[sdiy] Soldering station decision

[Trevor Page]

Hi all,

The time has come for me to get myself a decent soldering iron station!
There are two particular models stocked by Rapid Electronics here in the
UK that I am considering, but having trouble deciding between:

1. The Xytronic XY9-60. There is the analogue version which costs 65GBP,
and the digital one for 80. 

2. The old faithful Weller WS81 and WSD81. The analogue WS81 costs
150GBP, and of course a little bit more for the digital model. 

I'm very familiar with the Weller station because I use one at work, and
I know that I cannot go wrong with this station. The Xytronic, however,
would probably do exactly what I want but for half the amount of money.
I've never used a Xytronic, however, and I have no idea how the quality
compares with the Weller. I know that the method of swapping between
bits is the same, which is good. The station will probably see fairly
moderate use, mainly SMD, and I want this thing to last for ages. It's
important to me that the quality of the iron itself is similar to that
of the Weller.

Any opinions on this? Any user reports on the Xytronic products? 

Regards and many thanks in advance for any advice offered. 

- Trev

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