Haha. Well, I tinned a few wires. I don't have a smoke extractor yet so I'm still puffing out smoke ringscaution said:Ooh! What you gonna solder first?
MesaAZGuy said:
Much appreciated guys. The holder was a separate purchase and seems to work well. The brass spring seems to keep the tip clean looking.docs said:
Totally agree Floyd. Here's mine, built in vacuum pump (no single shot bulb sucker) and the soldering iron tip is hollow allowing you to place it over a pin, until solder is completely molten, then suck it all out of there, continuously if necessary. Can hook up multiple handles at the same time. Has special handles for picking up components with a vaccum tip, has microchine (like a dremel for cutting traces, etc), can hook up hot air tip for SMD work, has ability to deposit compounds such as adhesive, tweezer tips... heck, there's literally too many accessories to list. Unfortunately, unless you are in government or military, etc, this system is simply too expensive for the average Joe. Over $5,000 new last time I checked for this system.JVC Floyd said:
Ok, the cheap one that I use, for almost 90% of my work is this Wahl Solmax. I bought it probably 30 years ago, still works as well today as day one. Nothing fancy, no digital temp display since that didn't exist 30 years ago, just simple analog dial to select temperature and an LED to indicate whether tip is in heat or idle mode. Still same handle, same tips, etc. It just plain works. As you can see, the fan is quite beefy and as you may guess, is noisy compared to the fan-less systems. There is a carbon impregnated pad that goes over the fan which supposed to absorb the fumes but I've stopped putting in new filters decades ago when I ran out and while I'm sure it no longer actually absorbs fumes anymore (unless I want to buy more charcoal impregnated foam), it's still effective because it draws fumes away so I'm not breathing it direct. Wahl doesn't make these anymore but someone seems to have purchased the rights because I still see new ones today under various names offering this exact same thing for sale. A well known brand (Xytronic) is selling this unit with different model number but it looks exactly the same so I'm sure it is, in fact, even though Wahl brand is not mentioned, the solmax name is still present on the Xytronic model. If mine ever breaks, I think I'll probably still buy another one simply due to my experience with this and the fact I know it lasts almost forever.Jorge said:
Wow! That is the set up of our Genius here!Superduper said:
Thanks Floyd. I am so eager to try this thing out. I'm tempted to buy a kit radio that you solder together. That would be neat.JVC Floyd said:
I need to buy this one.Superduper said:Ok, the cheap one that I use, for almost 90% of my work is this Wahl Solmax. I bought it probably 30 years ago, still works as well today as day one. Nothing fancy, no digital temp display since that didn't exist 30 years ago, just simple analog dial to select temperature and an LED to indicate whether tip is in heat or idle mode. Still same handle, same tips, etc. It just plain works. As you can see, the fan is quite beefy and as you may guess, is noisy compared to the fan-less systems. There is a carbon impregnated pad that goes over the fan which supposed to absorb the fumes but I've stopped putting in new filters decades ago when I ran out and while I'm sure it no longer actually absorbs fumes anymore (unless I want to buy more charcoal impregnated foam), it's still effective because it draws fumes away so I'm not breathing it direct. Wahl doesn't make these anymore but someone seems to have purchased the rights because I still see new ones today under various names offering this exact same thing for sale. A well known brand (Xytronic) is selling this unit with different model number but it looks exactly the same so I'm sure it is, in fact, even though Wahl brand is not mentioned, the solmax name is still present on the Xytronic model. If mine ever breaks, I think I'll probably still buy another one simply due to my experience with this and the fact I know it lasts almost forever.
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