Soldering Station

[shmuppyLove]

I've come to realize that my good ol' Radio Shack 15W hobby iron just isn't cutting it any more, and I should really invest in a proper variably-controller soldering iron.

It's still basically just hobby work I'm doing, but I would really prefer to have a good station with a stand, cleaning thingy (brass curls I think they are), and a third hand with magnifying glass.

I'm in Canada, so obviously local is good, but where would be a good place to pick up something like this?

[matrigs]

i can highly recommend hakko soldering stations, for example :

http://tooltronic.com/products/solderin ... -16d-tips/

very high quality, great ceramix heaters etc. and a huge array of different tips. you might want to go with the slightly more expensive
digital version with a temperature lcd but after a while you will know what temperature to choose for what soldering job.

i know it's pricey but it will be cheaper than buying another dozen of radio shacks.

[kyuzo]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation and have been trying to convince myself to buy this weller one:

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Dig ... 718&sr=8-1

I know Dave_K got one (http://arcadefever.blogspot.com/2012/01 ... ution.html) and a few of my friends swear by them... Any opinions on that vs the hakko one?

[Dave_K.]

I bought the Weller digital WESD51, but only because I had credit card points I needed to spend before xmas or I lose them, and that was the only one in their rewards program. Of course Weller is top rated and dependable, but I've herd good things about hakko, and Fry's Electronics seems to have a wide selection of hakko tips for them, especially a nice SMT drag soldering hoof tip I wish I could find for the Weller.

I also recommend a digital soldering station, so you can fine tune the temp.

[angryswede]

I bought the Weller digital WESD51, but only because I had credit card points I needed to spend before xmas or I lose them, and that was the only one in their rewards program. Of course Weller is top rated and dependable, but I've herd good things about hakko, and Fry's Electronics seems to have a wide selection of hakko tips for them, especially a nice SMT drag soldering hoof tip I wish I could find for the Weller.

That Weller seems to have a good selection of tips too. I have the cheaper whs-40 and while it does the job, the lack of available tips kills it IMO. The WESD51 looks like a huge step up from my model and well worth the extra money.
Other than Weller, I read recommendations for the Hakkos all the time.

(anyone using the whs40 and know of any fitting tips, please let me know!)

[alamone]

If you don't mind getting some off-brand station, you can get one of those X-Tronic kits that are floating on ebay.
I got one and I'm pretty happy with it; my only complaint is since the hot air gun is permanently attached,
it tends to flop around and get in the way. But for around 100 bucks you can get a nice temperature controlled
soldering station with hot air for surface-mount chips.

[antime]

I'm in a somewhat similar situation and have been trying to convince myself to buy this weller one:

http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WESD51-Dig ... 718&sr=8-1

The plain old analog version is probably better value for money.

Of course Weller is top rated and dependable, but I've herd good things about hakko, and Fry's Electronics seems to have a wide selection of hakko tips for them, especially a nice SMT drag soldering hoof tip I wish I could find for the Weller.

You probably want something like this one then. Weller have their own hoof tips ("Single flat Tips") but they lack the solder reservoir.