I'll second all of that!! Good rundown on slobbering irons.
I deal in electronic surplus and see broken temp-adjustable irons all
the time, at the same time there are tons of Magnetrol type Wellers out
there, some as old as I am, still working fine. (Got the tuner, key,
and first part of my KX1 done with my trusty Weller myself last night.)
73 de Alex NS6Y
On Apr 15, 2006, at 6:55 AM, G. Beat wrote:
Some comments, each station design has its strengths and weaknesses
The Haako 936 uses ceramic heaters - some users swear by them other
swear at them.
The true Haako replacement heaters are NOT cheap - and their are
already Chinese copies of poorer quality (users beware of future
"cheap" replacements. IF you drop the iron - the ceramic can (and
does crack) - causing failures.
The Weller "EC" series (EC1002, EC2002) was discontinued by Weller in
2002. The Weller WES51 (WES50 earlier) was introduced around 1999 as a
direct competitor for the Haako 936. The Pace ST-25 is also of this
same "class" of station
The price points (~ $90 ) are virtually identical for the Haako 936
and WES51 (Fry's Electronics still has cheapest price for a walk-in
store purchase in US) - both are temperature controlled (knob up
front) - as well as the Pace.
The WES51 offers a magnetic wand to "set" or "lock" the temperature.
The replacement iron for the WES51 is $30 .. significantly less than
the Haako or its heater.
The more expensive units (Hakko, OKI, Weller, Pace etc.) feature
temperature set-backs
The Weller "TCP" series is still a tremendous bargain (and still made
after 40 years of production and 50 years after first patent filing.
Either used or new - any competent Elecraft builder can repair it !
The surface mounted control board (knob and all) stations -- require
expensive control boards, thermostats or heater assemblies - and MUST
be properly calibrated for temperature - or the knob has NO meaning !!
w9gb
Sometime simplicity
============================
Like you, I have a Hakko 936. The reason I like it over the Weller in
a $100
soldering station is for the Hakko's front-panel temperature control
instead
of changing tips to change temperatures. Of course Weller offers
front-panel
temperature change too, but at substantially more money than the Hakko.
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