need help on buying a starter soldering set and hot air station  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2013, 11:31:06 pm
content: i am finding my self in a bit of a quandary i have been soldering since school i am now 24 years past that time and have only used single standalone plug in the wall 25,30,40 watt soldering irons and found i buy a cheap one use for a while and then buy a replacement tips use for a time then throw away and buy a new one at a cost of a £5-15i find my self in a point that my other half could not find me a Xmas present and have asked what i want in the sales and on looking on line after trying to use my iron again am now looking at a soldering iron and poss hot air stationthe stuff i work on might be a bit of help in choosing so most stuff i do is iPods, phones nintendo ds and such and have been playing with ps3 and 360(these i only played with just to get working to give someone a few months to save up and buy a new one as there realy cheap and old ones not realy worth repairing in my view) and most i work with is laptops mostly power jacks (mostly these as have mate that owns a pc shop and if he gets a few jobs in i help him out for a few beers please can i say i do not do this to make money most of the things i do are friends and family and poss a friend of a friendi reason i throw most of the time is black tips and gets to the point that the heat does not seam to transfer the heat but from what i have seen most other problems i believe i have is cheap tips and poss the wrong mix of iron/solder/flux/i am asking your option on this as i really need some fair but cheap item that will work well but not go to a professional price i know you get what you pay for normally i buy good quality and keep them for years (buy a hilti drill dont buy another)so what would i need to pay for a soldering station to get fair quality and the hot air would be a bonus as i think this will help in getting a few of those power-jacks off the board a bit easier poss ps3 and 360 repairs for my kids machines if need beis it better to get a all on one do the lot station or separate units and what are the benefits and drawbacksthanks for your help in advance

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 12:16:39 am
content: I am using an Aoyue 968, I have reflowed hundreds of QFPs with it and soldered tons of boards with itIt will work for lots of things, I wouldn't recommend it for a production environment, instead get a Hakko/Metcal or somethingYou will not be able to use the hot air for big BGA reflow jobs like 360 and ps3... you really need a preheating system or heat gun for those

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 11:51:34 am
content: thanks marshallhany more input guys angel

author: cwalex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 12:33:11 pm
content: I have tried hotair to do laptop jacks with and had no luck at all (I'm probably doing it wrong).Best would be to spend the good money on a really good soldering station, you can do so much with it crazy to spend on a hotair but you can get a separate hot air like the one that dave reviewed later.My recommendation would be JBC for sure. Many would agree but they cost a pretty penny. Like you say, buy good and buy once. If you are in the US you can get a real bargain on JBC.

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 04:06:08 pm
content: sorry to say i am in uk so dont realy want to import but can do i just dont want the problem of returning if faulty when deliveredposs i will go with amazon just incase of any problems nut can be persuaded if i get a better deal else wherei am disappointed you have had problems with hot air to remove the jack plug as this is one of the main reasons of me buying as when taking the old one out half the time i end up getting miffed and just snap the plastics apart and then taking out each pin and then solder in the new port my wanting is to use the hot air to heat up all of the pins together and just pull out the plug clean up and just solder in the new partthanks for the input any one else with idears on what i need please guys

author: plazma
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 04:35:30 pm
content: I got an AOYUE 2702. Really good for the price. I got an other model before that. It got contact problems with the tip. The long tip models are much better.Btw. I also repair consoles, phones, and laptop dc jacks etc.

author: plazma
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 04:38:34 pm
content: Check outhttp://pcb-soldering.co.uk/Good source for AOYUE stations and spares. Much cheaper than the German site.

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 05:42:06 pm
content: this is good information but is it better to buy seprates or all in one ?

author: FJV
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 05:54:28 pm
content: Quote from: angellonewolf on January 01, 2013, 11:31:06 pmI had a soldering iron with a black tip and I managed to clean it woth nail polish remover.

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2013, 07:53:45 pm
content: yes got a stand with wire wool type i find it good when you have a newer tip i think some of my problem is not setting up first and not powering off when i am not using it i start do the job eg remove the power socket i should then turn off and power on again when ready but when it takes a while to heat up it makes me keep it on witch i assume blackens the tip mix that with the wrong solder tips i make me think a bitagain thanks for all input and keep it cumming all in one or separate bitsthanks angel

author: nadona
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 01:52:33 am
content: @angellonewolf;I think you may consider the desoldering is equally important as soldering, too.@ErikTheNorwegian;I am having problems removing a 20 dip IC from a PCB. Do you think the Blackjack 6000 De Luxe's desoldering iron has enough suction power to remove the solder cleanly from each pin on the DIP type ICs? I sucked all the solder from the pins using wicks and a desoldering hand pump. Enough to the point where I can see through the holes from the bottom side.However, the IC still won't move. If raise the temperature of the iron, then I can suck more solder into the wick, but then the IC is ruined.

author: cwalex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 11:48:21 am
content: Quote from: angellonewolf on January 02, 2013, 07:53:45 pmWhen removing any component for a board like m/b remember to add lots of additional solder and sometimes additional flux it you end up spending too much time with it. Using a good quality soldering station you shouldn't have to mess with the temp settings. I leave it set at 350degC and have no issues.I'm using an ATTEN 315D at work for m/b recaps and DC jacks. Like you I tend to cut the broken jack up with old cutters taking care to use needle nose pliers to make sure no excess force is applied to the solder joints while I make a mess of the old jack by destroying it. I remove the pins individually and then cleanup with quality desoldering wick. Seems to work for me so far and I haven't damaged a board yet.I hope you get some more replies that help. Like I said the hotair didn't help for me but I'm not used to using hot air.I still think money is better spent on a good station with less priority on the hotair side of things.Last time I checked the postage from circuit specialists was just way too expensive to australia.

author: plazma
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 01:13:02 pm
content: Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on January 02, 2013, 07:10:46 pmThese products from circuitspecialist looks like rebranded AOYUE. Even part numbers are the same. Looks like only front panel redesign. I'm looking for a preheater and the circuit specialist version looks good since it includes the stand.

author: Otatiaro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 01:44:15 pm
content: Hello,I have my bumble bee for a few years now (Aoyue 6031), works like a charm, automatic sleep on the hot air gun, fast heating of the iron, lightweight, tips are not too expensive.But if I was to buy it again, I'd buy a separate iron and hot air ... I use the iron a lot more than the hot air for small jobs and a separate iron is really small comapred to the combined station.Anyway, Aoyue or Hakko, you can't be wrong.Thomas.

author: Kibi
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 02:11:44 pm
content: I had an Aoyue 936 soldering station. It was fantastic value for money, very pleased with it. I gave it to my brother when I got my JBC station and he's happy with the Aoyue too.

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 07:37:26 pm
content: can i start a poll how meny of you have a all on one and how meny have one of each thanks guys

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2013, 08:05:02 pm
content: and if i go with the separates what to look for in a soldering iron eg i have seen ceramic core and long something else

author: Praxis
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 02:55:09 am
content: Quote from: angellonewolf on January 01, 2013, 11:31:06 pmDo you use tip tinner/cleaner? If not, you should; I use it whenever the tip gets particularly grungy during soldering, and I thoroughly re-tin the tip in the compound before powering it down. I've had the same tip that came with my cheapass firestarter of a soldering iron for several years; I'll probably replace the iron before I replace the tip, since I want to get a temperature-controlled iron soon.

author: angellonewolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 07:54:39 pm
content: thanks for the help guys and more i should look atthanks angel