Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin
Oh yes, an Antex type iron is hopeless for desoldering ICs, though they are OK for fitting new ones so long as they're not surface mount. On the rare occasions I have to remove a dead IC I snip the legs from the body with sidecutters then desolder each leg separately.
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I would agree with that, although I have never found desoldering easy and anything beyond 14 / 16 pins usually fails for reuse. I must say though I have used Antex XS25's (and smaller earlier models in the past) with excellent results. I find the main point about soldering surface mount components is technique rather than specific equipment. I get few problems to the limit of my eyesight as these are hot enough for quick soldering. I have used Weller at work and, although nice irons, seemed to give no appreciable advantage to my approach.
I do power my Antex via an isolating transformer on reduced voltage for longer life.