Recommend me a Soldering Iron/Kit

[gsethi]

I need to solder a USB female connector on the printer PCB (it broke).

and my 5yr old soldering gun is not in a mood to work anymore. So i need soldering/desoldering equipment. any recommendations ?

Thanks in advance

EDIT: Would be helpful if the same place has the USB-B female connector. I am looking at www.Jameco.com but they have too many soldering irons and I am confused.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I've been working with electronic equipment for about 5-6 years now. I've always preferred a "pencil" style soldering iron. A decent $25-35 soldering iron from Sears or even Radioshack is usually pretty good. Just make sure you get a tip the fits your needs - a tip with a very thin point is usually best for soldering small connections.

Other than that, the normal solder suckers are pretty good, but I always liked braided copper wick, if the component can stand the heat. It smells good when you heat it up for some reason too...

 

[Ika]

Soldering guns are far inferior to soldering irons (pencil-type) when it comes to electronics.

If you plan to use the full capabilities of your iron, go big and get a Hakko 931. The benefits of this kind of soldering station is that the electronics are off in the base, so the pencil part of the iron can be thinner (and therefore make it easier to use). The 931 is very well-regarded by many DIYers as one of the best soldering stations you can buy for the money.

If you don't want to spend so much money on a soldering station, though, go with something like a Hakko Dash (20 or 25 watts). Nice, inexpensive iron with a good variety of tips. The Dash is also very well regarded as a great value soldering iron.

 

[Blain]

I like the Wahl ISI-Tip 7670, because I can use my own rechargeable "C" batteries. If it drops in charge I can just slap a couple more in and go. I don't have to wait for a recharge cycle.

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'm curious - what do the rest of you use for desoldering? I really prefer braided copper wick, but you often have to heat the part too much to do anything on sensive electronics. Regular solder suckers are messy, and the bulb types are too slow and iffy for my taste.

 

[Modelworks]

If your just going to be soldering the occasional stuff then go for the cheap pencil type irons, 30 watt or less.
Pick up some desoldering braid/wick and some solder and you should be all set.

I use both desoldering wick and a desoldering pump to remove solder.
A tip for using braid :
If your trying to remove solder from an area that really doesn't have much solder , it can be hard to get the solder to flow into the wick without overheating.
Quick fix for this is to apply more solder to the joint, then use the wick, it should all come off then.

I've been soldering stuff for over 20 years and used everything from a 5.00 iron to a 1500.00 one.
As long as your not soldering smd you should be fine with the lower end irons.


And remember when soldering to heat the part and not the solder.

 

[daytrader7]

Im learning on a a Madell QK936A and I think it is very good.

 

[Ika]

Originally posted by: CurseTheSky
I'm curious - what do the rest of you use for desoldering? I really prefer braided copper wick, but you often have to heat the part too much to do anything on sensive electronics. Regular solder suckers are messy, and the bulb types are too slow and iffy for my taste.

Simple. braid + bulb.

but question... how can the bulb type be too slow? It's instant suction... if you have THAT much solder, I feel dearly sorry for the electronics you're working on.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I use this one

Text


It's overkill for the amount of soldering I do, but I likes me some tools and gadgets

 

[CurseTheSky]

Originally posted by: Aflac

Originally posted by: CurseTheSky
I'm curious - what do the rest of you use for desoldering? I really prefer braided copper wick, but you often have to heat the part too much to do anything on sensive electronics. Regular solder suckers are messy, and the bulb types are too slow and iffy for my taste.

Simple. braid + bulb.

but question... how can the bulb type be too slow? It's instant suction... if you have THAT much solder, I feel dearly sorry for the electronics you're working on.

I've used bulbs with an iron attached (touch it to heat the joint, then use the bulb to suck up the solder). Those work fine, but I've had a lot of poor experiences with the line between the iron and bulb getting clogged. The bulbs I was thinking of are the ones that simply have a plastic tube with a bulb on the end. You use a regular iron to heat it, then the bulb to suck it up. Maybe I don't have a steady enough hand anymore, but the latter never seems to work well enough for me. I much prefer the plastic pump-type "solder suckers" over the bulbs.

 

[Synomenon]

Weller is pretty good. Got a nice one with a soldering station and pencil type iron at Fry's for ~$40.00. Used it heavily the first year I had it. Had it for a couple of years now and it still works perfectly.