View Full Version : Recommended soldering iron for delicate work
MrAngry
05-22-2003, 11:35 AM
Any of you guys that do volt mods all the time have any suggestions? My local suppliers have many of the top brands and various tips available, I am thinking a modular unit will be the best in the long run but I don't want to spend a fortune either. I don't want to try the NF7 vdimm mod with the iron I have been using 15w cheapo!
Check this link. This is what I use professionaly at work and also at home.
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/weller/soldering_stations.htm
It´s not cheap but 1 of the units I use is aprox 10 years old an still ok.
JPP
Originally posted by MrAngry
Any of you guys that do volt mods all the time have any suggestions? My local suppliers have many of the top brands and various tips available, I am thinking a modular unit will be the best in the long run but I don't want to spend a fortune either. I don't want to try the NF7 vdimm mod with the iron I have been using 15w cheapo!
I thought that 15W is a good thing. Otherwise you would risk overheating something.
What I would like to know is what kind of potmeter I would need?
I read about 10 turn , cermet etc. etc. But I have no idea what that all means. Somebody have some simple to understand info on this?
The Weller units have adjustable temp and various interchangeable tip shapes are available.
Potentiometers with 10 turns mean that the adjustability over the whole resistor value of the pot or trimmer can be done within 10 x 360° . For instance. If the value of a linear pot / trimmer is 100 Ohm each turn will be changing the value by aprox 10 Ohms.
A cermet trimmer is tiny compared to a ordinary potentiometer.
The base for the resistor material is a ceramic plate. It is designed to be soldered on a pcb. A ordinary pot is designed to be mounted through a hole and tightend via a nut. If space is limited the trimmer is more conveniant but a smal srewdriver is needed for adjustment........
JPP
MrAngry
05-23-2003, 07:52 AM
The 15w iron I have doesn't have a real small tip on it for this kind of work. I was going to file it to a very sharp point, but I am thinking even 15w is more than needed for this type of work.
This is the VR most people are using for the vdd mod.
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F010%5F003%5F006%5F003&product%5Fid=271%2D343
I used hot glue and mounted it to one of my expansion slot covers and ran the wire to the chip and grounded the other leg directly to the cover plate, very clean looking that way. I also used a micro gator clip with the flat blades for a non permanent install, just in case...:D You can use either the two leads close to the screw or furthest away the difference being the direction to turn the screw to raise or lower the resistance is reversed.
I will take a pic of the next one I make and post it, it really is clean, only one wire!:slobber:
zachsss626
06-10-2003, 03:36 PM
I have a 25 watt unit from radioshack... same with my multimeter... vanilla stuff, works great. I've soldered 6 total vmods (only been actually doing this for about a week now lol) with it, and it never had a problem with it. I did file down the tip, which is just an added benefit since you don't really need a needle tip if you put some extra solder on the end of the resistor and tin your wire first. I used stranded wire, I think it's a lot easier to use since it holds tin a lot better than solid wire. The vdimm mod is actually pretty easy... the resistor is nowhere near as likely to come off as it's made out to be... all it took for me was adding a little solder and half a second to bond the wire to the resistor. Ok i'm rambling... good luck with your mod :)
uwackme
06-18-2003, 09:31 PM
I have a spare Weller EC3001 I use for SMD rework, if anyone is interested. It's a temp controlled microtip solderstation.... it's $250 new but I'll let it go for a decent offer.
-Jim, uwackme@hotmail.com
Jethro
06-24-2003, 04:01 PM
the 15watter from radio shack works beautifully. I filed the tip down to a nice size and it works great. i can soldierd to the tiniest of legs no prob with it. 15watts doesnt seem to be to much heat and it heats up both the resistor and the pins etc at the same time nicely without burning anything else. Tinning the wire or resistor your going to use makes it go much nicer as well.
lol i used to do these mods with my 35watt trigger insta heatup gun heheh what a diff.
thumbs up for the radio shack ones!
k1114
06-26-2003, 12:01 AM
I have a radio shack 15 watt grounded, and I buy a new 1mm tip every time I do a mod. I usually sharpen it to a very fine point before getting to work.
NickK
07-02-2003, 06:41 AM
Am I the only one that uses a butane powered iron?
http://www.maplin.co.uk/images/catalog/pictures-all/LargeImages/ModuleImages/34959i0.jpg
Solderpro 70 Kit from http://www.maplin.co.uk/
Fast, efficient and controlable - however I would suspect a semi/pro soldering station would easily beat it for prolonged use.
Pita^Norf
07-02-2003, 06:00 PM
Originally posted by NickK
Am I the only one that uses a butane powered iron?
Solderpro 70 Kit from http://www.maplin.co.uk/
Fast, efficient and controlable - however I would suspect a semi/pro soldering station would easily beat it for prolonged use.
I use a 40 watt butane powered one as well, but not that grand looking kit your pictures shows :)
I find that the low powered ones take too long to melt the solder and by the time it has melted it the heat conducted to whatever I was soldering / desoldering would be a cause for concern, but thats just my opinion.