#1,339 in Tools & Home Improvement
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Reddit mentions of Weller WD1002 95w/120v Digital Soldering Station with WP80 Pencil
Sentiment score: 4
Reddit mentions: 4
We found 4 Reddit mentions of Weller WD1002 95w/120v Digital Soldering Station with WP80 Pencil. Here are the top ones.
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- Modern LCD technology gives the user critical information at a glance
- 3 programmable temperature preset buttons allowing quick and easy temperature changes
- Programmable features such as temperature standby, lockout, set-back, and offset
- °F/°C switching which allows the unit to either read temperatures in °F or °C
- Comes with WP80 (80w) soldering pencil and stand (WDH10)
Features:
Specs:
Height | 8.5 Inches |
Length | 15.5 Inches |
Number of items | 1 |
Weight | 4.1 Pounds |
Width | 10.5 Inches |
I've been looking into this space (best medium-cost maker/builder/fab tools) over the past couple of months, and here are my recommendations so far...
Now go make some awesome things!
I hate to say it, but RadShack makes my favorite budget desktop soldering iron. I have one of these and it works wonderfully. I've been through about 40 tips over the last 3 years with it, not counting one-use modified tips.
At the school lab, we were using this (in quantity at lab desk) or this (instructor's, who would loan it if we knew how to solder). I am going to miss the school lab. Transferring to the next higher level at a different university, where a friend attends, and their lab sucks.
If I bought a new one, I'd get the Weller WD1002. Until I upgrade to that, I'll keep my radshack 64-053.
If you buy a $13 soldering iron, you're buying a $13 soldering iron. Some will work better, some will work worse. Really doesn't matter where you bought it. I never had one last more than a few months.
If yours started out working ok then didn't, make sure your tip is clean. A highly oxidised tip left on overnight isn't going to work well, no matter the iron... if your tip is black, replace it. If it only came with a fine point tip, consider a different shape tip. Fine point tips (generally) only work well with higher power soldering irons.
If you want contactless-soldering, then you're not looking for an iron. You're looking for either a hot air reflow station or an iRDA station. Irons are meant to touch the solder to melt it. Hot air works with solder paste, meant for very low temp soldering (SMD safe). iRDA uses infrared light to melt solder, generally used for specialized surface soldering.
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It sounds like you may be a little new to soldering, so I also highly recommend this comic to you... Soldering is Easy - PDF. I highly recommend it to those who have been around the block a few times as well.
I've got a Weller WD1002 that has served me well for about ten years so far, and I expect will keep doing so for many years to come. Heats up in less than 20 seconds, precise temperature control, fine tips and short grip pencil makes small/delicate tasks easier, but it can still ramp up the power quickly to handle those heavy gauge battery power leads. Probably a bit much if just buying it for quadcopter stuff, but as an electrical engineer it has been very useful to me.
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WD1002-Digital-Soldering-Station/dp/B000FVCCOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473703111&sr=8-1&keywords=wd1002
By far the most important part is your iron. There's lots of good choices out there, but if you can swing it I highly recommend this one made by Weller. It's expensive, but is the best iron I have ever used. It has interchangeable tips including some super fine ones that are great for SMDs, 3 selectable temperature settings you can program, digital variable temperature with a real time temp display, it heats up in seconds, has an auto shutoff if you leave it on and in the stand for too long, and has a grounded tip to help prevent issues with static discharge. You can do it with a cheaper iron for sure, but this one is my first choice.