I recently purchased a Xytronic 379 Auto-Temp soldering station. I also purchased several optional tips. I was mainly interested in the XY-B03 fine tip for circuit boards with tiny pads such as the K2 SSB board. I've found the long Xy-B03 fine tip to be worthless due to it being made out of hollow steel that wont hold the heat. The all steel tip that came with the iron is just fine if your careful in tight areas.
So my question is: Do any of the soldering stations currently being sold come with real brass or copper tips? I'm not talking about the soldering stations purchased 10 yrs ago. I mean the current production irons. Most - if not all - of todays offerings appear to be made in China and my guess is all them have gone to 100% steel tips. The irons I have used previously from 25 yrs ago had brass or copper alloy which have a protective layer of iron on the tip. And they hold the heat perfectly, unlike these new all steel tips. Even though this Xytronic 379 has auto temp control, it cant keep up with the heat loss of the B03 hollow tip and I've found it completely useless for even a tinniest of pads. Frank W7IS _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
