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ncttrnl
05-26-2007, 11:44 PM
I'm looking for a decent hobbyist soldering station.

Anyone got an opinion on the Weller WES51?
scottd1975
05-27-2007, 12:13 AM
we have that one at work actually i use it alot. not too bad its easy to move i just dont like the way the sponge is setup. The soldering iron it self heats up fast and is easy to clean. ours came with 5 different tips.
Firefly4322
05-27-2007, 12:13 AM
Personally I never used that one but I have used METCALs they are pricey but they are very effective and you can interchange the tips easily and I liked how they felt when I was using them as well. Made me very confortable.

**Metcal was bought out by OKI
http://www.okinternational.com/soldering
I have used the SP-200 and the MX-500
ncttrnl
05-27-2007, 09:51 AM
Personally I never used that one but I have used METCALs they are pricey but they are very effective and you can interchange the tips easily and I liked how they felt when I was using them as well. Made me very confortable.

**Metcal was bought out by OKI
http://www.okinternational.com/soldering
I have used the SP-200 and the MX-500

Looks like I'm gonna be checking ebay then.

The basic Metcal SP200 is 3X the cost of the Weller WES51 but searching around on google people are saying its worth it.
Paul
05-27-2007, 09:56 AM
I've had good luck with weller's in the past, but I'm a big fan of Hakko soldering stations.

Great temperature control and fast heat-up.
SYNYSTAGLI
05-27-2007, 12:33 PM
hmmmmmmmm........I'll see what I can come up with.....;) Whens the cutoff date?
MikekiM
05-27-2007, 03:47 PM
Very happy with the Hako unit I use for soldering ECU chips. Temp control works well
FunkTron
05-27-2007, 03:55 PM
good thread Tony....I was just about to start looking into a station myself.

:tup:
Firefly4322
05-28-2007, 09:40 AM
Looks like I'm gonna be checking ebay then.

The basic Metcal SP200 is 3X the cost of the Weller WES51 but searching around on google people are saying its worth it.

I forgot to mention I was using them when I was working in electronic assembly a number of years back. I would take my home projects to work and do them there because it was better than my weller and radio shack irons. Well, I really liked them.