Yes, another soldering iron thread.

[blearyeyes]

I got tired of burning up perfectly good PCBs trying to remove my fumbling component mistakes so I bought a CSI 701a, which is actually a Hakko 701a. Never looked back.  I love a good Solder Iron!  What was that old Beatles song... Happiness is a warm soldering iron...shoot shoot, bang bang...maybe that was gun..uh Soldering Gun yea...

[pickdropper]

Been using the same 25W iron with original tip I got off ebay for about £5 since I started this hobby 6 years ago and i've done commercial product soldering during that and have no qualms soldering a sensitive part in under a second with it, the tip is justtttt starting to look like it might need replacing... or just cleaning.

The only thing I wish was that it had a stand so it stops trying to burn things when I set it down.

My wire clippers were free instead of £100 too... you know who you are

Well, I'll assume I'm the wire clipper guy.  :-)

I look at it sort of like woodworking tools; skill is obviously the most important thing.  There are amazing woodworkers that can make amazing things with cheap tools and make it look pro.  Conversely, there are hacks with really expensive tools that couldn't make a bird feeder.  Clearly, people can do amazing things with cheap tools.

But good tools can just make the job more enjoyable to do.  I've spent many many hours of my life with cheap soldering irons and cheap side cutters (and other cheap tools).  At this point in my life, I enjoy the process a lot more with good tools, so they are worth it to me.  If somebody else doesn't find it worth it to them, hey that's cool; everybody has to make that value judgement for themselves. 

The downside of using a cheap soldering iron is that it can be less tolerant to bad technique and I have seen people get frustrated and assume that they were incapable of decent soldering because they spent a lot of effort fighting their iron.  Put a decent iron in their hands and sometimes things go better.

[john_p_wi]

^^^ This regarding quality tools.  I may be a new guy to this forum, but have a long history starting in the mid-70's with ham radios etc moving into a heavy building addiction of vacuum guitar amps in the 90's (before it was the in thing).  One tool that is the most used on the bench, but the most scrutinized regarding cost is the soldering iron.  I have used and owned virtually every Weller, and I will say that they all pail compared to the Metcal 5051 system that I now use.  The Metcal's ability to quickly add heat when needed and to quickly cool the tips when placed back in the stand (saving the tip and reducing flux burn) is above and beyond anything that I have used before.  Couple the instant rf tip heating with appropriate tip geometry for the job makes soldering very enjoyable.  There is something to be said about using quality tools. 

[playpunk]

I've been using the Hobby King Hakko clone - it is kind of crappy. I want to get a different iron, but it just isn't that crucial right now.

[pickdropper]

Metcals sort of stand alone.  To really see the difference, find a board with the worst designed ground plane and then try desoldering and any other iron and then use a Metcal. 


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[davent]

^Like jumping in the Lamborghini to pick up take out coffee. Oh well, appears to be discontinued.
dave

[pickdropper]

^Like jumping in the Lamborghini to pick up take out coffee. Oh well, appears to be discontinued.
dave

Check on eBay.  There are good deals to be had on Metcals.  They were bought out by OKI, so they might be under that name.  I think they are back to Metcal now.

I got my Metcal tweeter station from eBay at about a third of new pricing and the handset was unused.  At some point, I'll pick up a standard soldering handset for it.


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[john_p_wi]

The MX-5051 was replaced with the MX-5251 which allows both 80 watt channels to be energized simultaneously.  With the 5051 if one chooses to switch to the desoldering hand piece a button needs to be depressed to enable the second channel.

The Metcal's may be like a Lamborghini, but in all honesty they put less heat into the component as the contact time with the component and pad is less.  One can get in and out very quickly.  There is a reason why they are a tool used in production.

Agreed, look on ebay there are great deals to be had on Metcals.  I was fortunate to score mine NIB with a handful of tips for about 40% of list from a colleague.

[playpunk]

which metcal should I consider?

is the METCAL SP-PW1-10 one that works with a variety of their handsets?

the system is a little more confusing than the HAKKO or something similar.

[pickdropper]

which metcal should I consider?

is the METCAL SP-PW1-10 one that works with a variety of their handsets?

the system is a little more confusing than the HAKKO or something similar.

Yeah, Metcal can get a bit confusing with what parts work together.  I believe I have an MFR-1160 single output power supply and the MX-PTZ tweezers (which are awesome).  The only downside to the tweezers is that the tips are stupid expensive.  I got four sets (of three different types) when I bought it, so hopefully those last a while.


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[davent]

Before i wrote that i checked the usual suspects without finding a price i turned to ebay and the firts hit, and only one i checked, was from the UK ebay and the price was £1000 so checked my pocket change and no can do.

I was just curious, i recall looking around years ago and couldn't justitfy it for myself and the little i do but i can lust!

[john_p_wi]

The power supply that was a generation ago, was the MX-500P series, the newer power supplies are the MX-5000 series.  Here is a document detailing the differences:

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1644322.pdf

I work for a high tech company (I'm a mechanical engineer) and the EE guys have 2 of the MX-500 systems and 1 of the newer MX-5000 systems in the lab running 10 hours straight daily - honestly, there is not a performance difference between the two different series with the SMD components that they work with.  All of our production and service departments have been switched out to Metcals' - at least 20 units comprising a mix of the two.  It should be noted that the newer MX-5000 series is 80 watts compared to the 40 watts of the MX-500, which is only an issue with very heavy soldering loads such as large ground planes.  Even with the 40 watt MX-500 and a 5mm wide chisel tip one easily solder to a solid sheet of clad FR4.

What is important when buying a used Metcal MX series is to make sure that the cradle is included as that is what automagically idles down the temp when the iron is replaced.  Take care of the tips and they will last for years.

We all use the STTC-1xx tips, 413 degree C tips - they work fine with leadfree and leaded solder.  As said before, get in and get out.

[playpunk]

Are there any applications where the Metcal is subpar?

I just can't escape my inner cheapskate, I guess, as i look at the solder stations from Circuit Specialists and think any of those would be plenty for pedals, guitars, and amps.

[john_p_wi]

Are there any applications where the Metcal is subpar?

IMHO, no.  That being said, I used Weller irons for nearly 40 years before making the jump at home and did not feel limited by them for use on guitars, amps, and other through hole type projects.  We use Metcals here at work, and when I was offered one at a deep discount I took it, otherwise I would still be a Weller user.

What Metcal offers is speed, consistency and convenience - along with nearly any tip geometry for any application that one could imagine.

[pickdropper]

Before i wrote that i checked the usual suspects without finding a price i turned to ebay and the firts hit, and only one i checked, was from the UK ebay and the price was £1000 so checked my pocket change and no can do.

I was just curious, i recall looking around years ago and couldn't justitfy it for myself and the little i do but i can lust!

I've never spent anywhere near that much on a soldering station. 

I've seen used ones between $200-300 plenty of times.  There have been a few cheaper ones that were in pretty rough condition.

For work, I found a dual output power supply with a standard hand piece and a tweezers (and two stands) for $375 shipped.  Not cheap, but that is a higher end configuration.

At home I use the Metcal tweezers station and a Weller soldering station and can do just about anything with the two of them.


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