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General Vintage Technology Discussions For general discussions about vintage radio and other vintage electronics etc. |
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21st Jan 2020, 9:17 am | #21 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
They do boxes of ten rolls for £40 as well and they take offers!
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21st Jan 2020, 6:24 pm | #22 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 598
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
I bought some Ersin 60/40 solder in a local hardware shop today - same price as Ebay. It works much better than the other stuff so I'll put the new Antex on hold for now and maybe just buy a new set of bits for my cheap iron.
Thankyou again for all the suggestions and comments. |
21st Jan 2020, 7:07 pm | #23 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,007
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Soldering-iron wise - despite a few decades of using Antexes and Wellers, having recently bought a Chinese £40 temperature-controlled jobbie it really is a revelation! Heats up to the programmed temperature quickly, and responds a lot better when delivering extra heat is needed than any of the older irons did.
See https://hackaday.com/2017/07/24/revi...oldering-iron/ |
21st Jan 2020, 9:18 pm | #24 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Oxfordshire/Bucks borders, UK.
Posts: 1,604
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Has anyone suggested a £250 Oki/Metcal yet?
Sorry! Couldn't resist....
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Avometer, vintage Fluke and Marconi collector. Also interested in vintage Yaesu and KW. |
21st Jan 2020, 9:22 pm | #25 | |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Quote:
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21st Jan 2020, 10:41 pm | #26 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 3,687
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
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22nd Jan 2020, 1:16 am | #27 | |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 3,077
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Quote:
My first two irons were made by Antex and I always thought that someone clever at Antex worked out the ideal length for the cable. But then it was as if someone in accounts at Antex chopped 6 inches off that ideal cable length. Mine often seemed to be a bit short on cable length when plugged into a nearby mains socket. I've still got one of my 15W Antex irons here and it still worked the last time I tried it. I've also got a 'new' 25W version somewhere but I've never used it. I think it is the version with the PVC cable but it must be quite a few years old now and it is still in its box somewhere. I do recall that my 15W version used to go through tips at quite a rate. I'm not sure if this was because the tips were made from cheapo materials or if the iron tip runs very hot when left on for a long time. Therefore, if you do buy a basic mains powered Antex iron I'd recommend buying a couple of spare tips. Also, don't buy cheap solder. Buy something branded like Ersin Multicore or Loctite. When I was young I could only afford to buy solder in small amounts... I used to cycle across town and buy one or two metres of solder at a local electronics shop each time I ran out. They did pull it from a reel of decent quality solder though...
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Regards, Jeremy G0HZU |
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22nd Jan 2020, 11:28 pm | #28 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Petersfield, Hampshire, UK.
Posts: 1,043
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Apparently lidl have an iron for £9 !
German made too !! Cheers Pete |
23rd Jan 2020, 1:16 am | #29 | ||
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 18,725
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Re: New soldering iron and solder recommendations please.
Quote:
The Chinese 937's have morphed yet again. The first ones I saw had a knob with a temperature scale, no digital display. Then the "D" suffix with a digital display, up/down buttons and a preset pot for calibration against an external thermocouple thermometer, if you have one. Now the "D" models seem to have the analogue pot, and the digital readout, (plus CAL preset), this seems a good combination because it inherently has a memory. Big Clive once demonstrated a variant of the one with up/down buttons that did remember the last temperature setting when you switched it on, I was a bit disappointed that mine didn't. Actually his is a 936D I didn't notice that. https://youtu.be/XrUjhFUm8OM
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-- Graham. G3ZVT Last edited by Graham G3ZVT; 23rd Jan 2020 at 1:26 am. |
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