Soldering Station

I need a new soldering station to replace one I lost during a move.
This is for hobby use in microcontrollers and general analog/digital
work.

Is a Metcal MX-500 a reasonable choice for these applications? I know
it's more expensive than other stations, but I've heard good things
about it.

Anything else I should consider?

 

[Rich Webb]

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:28:55 -0700 (PDT), sodaant@gmail.com wrote:

I need a new soldering station to replace one I lost during a move.
This is for hobby use in microcontrollers and general analog/digital
work.

Is a Metcal MX-500 a reasonable choice for these applications? I know
it's more expensive than other stations, but I've heard good things
about it.

Hop over to http://www.howardelectronics.com/ and
http://www.web-tronics.com/soldering-equipment---supplies.html for some
other options. I've been pretty happy with Xytronic gear plus
Web-Tronics has some "house brand" equipment that looks pretty good.

If you're setting up a new station, it's probably worth it nowadays to
go ahead and get a hot air + iron + desoldering-iron.

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA

 

[DJ Delorie]

sodaant@gmail.com writes:

Is a Metcal MX-500 a reasonable choice for these applications? I know
it's more expensive than other stations, but I've heard good things
about it.

That's what I use for my hobby work (uC+A/D, just like you). I got it
only because it was on eBay (used) for the same price as a new SP200.
I eventually added the talon (not available for the SP200) which
quickly turned into my favorite non-iron tool.

Also, I'd been using an old Radio Shack iron for many years (decades?)
and decided it was worth spending extra for better tools.

 

[John]

It's a great choice but you can get a good iron for less. I couldn't
be happier with my new Metcal PS-900 though. It rivals an 80W pencil
iron on the big stuff (with their large chisel tip) and is delicate
enough for SMT work. No temperature adjustment needed either!

John