How fast is YOUR soldering iron?

[WA9SVD]

It MAY be getting too picky, but the "editorial" quality in QST seems to be diminishing.
In the Feb. 2008 Issue, "Hints and Kinks" section, they have published an article about a "TWO SPEED SOLDERING IRON."

Well, my soldering iron has only one speed: that of my arms (or fingers, if grabbed incorrectly.) Otherwise, it's really immobile of it's own accord.

COULDN'T the editor have asked the submitter to use correct terminology? Or doesn't the editorial staff know what that is?

BTW, the "Hint" offered (switching a diode in-line with the heating element) has appeared time and again in the ARRL Handbook. I've used that trick, and a "lamp dimmer" type TRIAC circuit (Homebrew of course, but also suggested in past Handbooks) to keep a soldering iron on "standby."
In addition, the hint provided will NOT work with many of the "controlled" heat soldering stations, or any other type of electronic control, and could indeed cause damage to such circiutry.

I guess that when I'm using the TRIAC controller I could say my soldering iron has continuously variable speed. Or should I say, continuously variable brightness (?) since it was originally intended to be a lamp dimmer.

[WB2WIK]

My soldering iron doesn't like working on half-wave power.:p It likes to enjoy a full wave of current.;)

Seriously, I don't like the "tip" shown in QST because it uses one of those in-line rotary switches that kind of snap onto a zip cord. I've seen those fail by short circuit many times and consider them a hazard. When one fails as a short (oops, the opposite conductor accidentally got "pinched" by the switch and exposed some bare wire) it can be quite spectacular: First, the switch itself kind of evaporates with a puff of smoke, and then sometimes the line cord between the switch and the outlet burns up -- before the circuit breaker blows. Sometimes, the circuit breaker won't blow at all because although there's a short, the impedance between the short and the breaker is too high to draw >15A, which is the typical house circuit breaker value. But the curren't still high enough to cause a fire.

WB2WIK/6

[WA9SVD]

I dislike that style of switch also, as well as any of the ID (insulation displacement) type connectors, particularly at line voltage where they may have to carry significant current. (Even IF they are "U.L." approved.) I usually include a fuse inside projects (even lamp dimmers) for additional protection. Saves on the hassle of home replacement.:D
The rotary switch is indeed a poor choice, but there are line-cord mounted switches that albeit a bit larger, have screw terminals and a "mini-rocker" switch. Much safer and less likely to cause a hazard.

[kl7aj]

It MAY be getting too picky, but the "editorial" quality in QST seems to be diminishing.
In the Feb. 2008 Issue, "Hints and Kinks" section, they have published an article about a "TWO SPEED SOLDERING IRON."

Well, my soldering iron has only one speed: that of my arms (or fingers, if grabbed incorrectly.) Otherwise, it's really immobile of it's own accord.

COULDN'T the editor have asked the submitter to use correct terminology? Or doesn't the editorial staff know what that is?

BTW, the "Hint" offered (switching a diode in-line with the heating element) has appeared time and again in the ARRL Handbook. I've used that trick, and a "lamp dimmer" type TRIAC circuit (Homebrew of course, but also suggested in past Handbooks) to keep a soldering iron on "standby."
In addition, the hint provided will NOT work with many of the "controlled" heat soldering stations, or any other type of electronic control, and could indeed cause damage to such circiutry.

I guess that when I'm using the TRIAC controller I could say my soldering iron has continuously variable speed. Or should I say, continuously variable brightness (?) since it was originally intended to be a lamp dimmer.

Draw, Pardner!

[wa4brl]

Perhaps the question should be: how fast are you with that iron on your hip, pardner?

I remember watching a training film on space-rated soldering techniques. In this movie one of the students showed up to "class" with his Weller soldering gun in a holster on his hip. A real Quick-Draw McGraw, I guess! (I wonder if this classic is posted on YouTube?)

Of course, if you own one of those guns, you know that they come from the facory with two "speeds".

[WA9SVD]

Draw, Pardner!

Don't go there, Eric!

I'm known as the fastest soldering gun in the West! And I've performed fetes with a Weller no mere mortal in his/her right mind would even attempt!:p

[kl7aj]

Don't go there, Eric!

I'm known as the fastest soldering gun in the West! And I've performed fetes with a Weller no mere mortal in his/her right mind would even attempt!:p


You've made the erroneous, fatal assumption that I'm in my right mind. You will lose!


Eric

[WA9SVD]

You've made the erroneous, fatal assumption that I'm in my right mind. You will lose!


Eric

I wasn't referring to YOU!

Shall we stage a "Shoot out" at the Elecraft Corral?:D With Wellers at 50 paces?



(Seriously, a long time ago, at a college far, far away, I put together a TTL clock with all 17 IC's and 6 Man-1's [socketed, of course] with a Weller gun, because that's all I had at the time. NOW, I know a person in their right, or even wrong, mind wouldn't be so foolish. i just didn't know any better at the time.)

[kl7aj]

I wasn't referring to YOU!

Should we stage the "Shoot out" at the Elecraft Corral?:D




How about them hot soldering irons (Hazard #3)? Most Amateur Radios are held together with solder. Well, perhaps that needs some elaboration. The parts inside most Amateur radios are connected with solder. Solder is an alloy of lead and tin (though there is a trend these days toward lead-free solder). Solder, as mentioned above, is a good electrical conductor, which makes it particularly useful for sticking electronic components together. Solder melts at a temperature of around 700-800 degrees, depending on the particular alloy. Molten solder can be a hazard, as one might surmise. Not only is it hot, but it tends to roll around a bit. I sport——well, perhaps sport is an inaccurate verb——a small scar on my “procreative utensil” as a reminder never to perform soldering operations at two in the morning whilst clad in pajamas. Many seasoned hams can relate other painful realities——yet it never causes most of us to abandon the hobby altogether. We simply apply more caution——or clothing. For the most part, these injuries are more insulting than life-threatening, but as with all hot objects and substances, due caution is advised. It goes without saying that any instrument capable of creating molten solder in the 800 degree range might itself also be quite warm. And yet, it must be said anyway, because grabbing a hot soldering iron by the business end can be extremely painful and stinky——and done more frequently than one might imagine. Burning human flesh is one of those fragrances best left out of the ham shack.
The best safeguard against this unfortunate event is to use a proper soldering iron “holster,” as inconvenient as that may seem, which makes it all but impossible for all but the most creatively self-destructive individual to burn himself. Haphazardly laying the iron on the bench (we’re all guilty as charged, by the way) is just begging to be burned. When you’re deep in concentration on the circuit at hand, the temptation is to keep your eyes on the work and go into autopilot, working entirely by feel. The iron may be exactly where you placed it thee hundred solder joints before, but the three hundred and first time, you’ll grab it by the muzzle——trust me!
Now, back in the olden days, soldering irons were frightful beasts. They resembled medieval maces as much as anything. They had a huge five-pound blob of copper you heated over your gas stove, which held the heat long enough for you to march across the floor, down the stairs, and across the basement to your work bench. You could probably do about thirty solder connections before they cooled off enough to need reheating, whereupon you’d have to march back across the basement, up the stairs, into the kitchen, and repeat the process all over again. In the olden days, hams got their exercise by marching all over creation with red hot, five-pound soldering irons. You weren’t as likely to die of hardening of the arteries, but you had a better chance of burning your foot off.
So, as you can see, in some ways, ham radio has improved. Well, it’s gotten safer, anyway. Maybe.


:)


Eric

[WA9SVD]

Only ONE scar to brag about? slacker!:D

Almost as bad is wearing shorts (not necessarily underwear shorts) when soldering. Then again, solder burn holes in jeans don't eventually heal, skin usually does.
But the fastest Amateur Operator I've ever seen was one who dropped a soldering iron... had moves that even Superman would have envied. (Still has the burn marks in the floor to prove it, although the XYL wasn't too impressed!)

[KI6NNO]

Heheh, you should try welding and forget to close your collar... :eek:

I count five different irons I currently use now.
140/200W craftsman for UHF connectors,
60w plug in for general stuff
Hakko 936 for SMT
A small and a large butane iron for places where there isn't power.

There's also a 100w monster from the '40s that my dad gave me, a crap Rat Shack iron or two in there, and a red weller rechargeable that won't hold a charge any more. (It seemed like a good idea at the time - and was until it stopped holding a charge and I found out the wonders of butane...

I don't see the point about modding an iron when a new one in that class is so inexpensive. :confused:

[PA5COR]

How fast is YOUR soldering iron?

Wich one of the 12 i have?

;)

[k3wrv]

GEEZ! I feel dissed. Mine take entirely too long to warm up (except for the one that has an allegator clip on it that punches through Romex (or whatever) and heats up really quick! But it doesn't work well for CMOS stuff. Too much AC on the tip.

I DID like the kind yoiu heated on a gas stove (or even a wood or Corn Cob stove if you were careful. But never tried them on "sensitive parts" like a 4044 memory chip.

de Bob

[kc4umo]

How fast is YOUR soldering iron?

Wich one of the 12 i have?

;)


Darn, you got me beat by 1....

[ab1ga]

I don't buy it for one second. Pajamas and shorts, my eye.

I think 'AJ and 'SVD got burned while soldering nekkid.

:p

[kl7aj]

I don't buy it for one second. Pajamas and shorts, my eye.

I think 'AJ and 'SVD got burned while soldering nekkid.

:p


The secret is out. :(

[wa4brl]

For your benefit COR:

Nekkid is a southern (USA) colloquialism. There is more to it than being different pronunciation of naked. "Nekkid" means you are getting naked for mischevious purposes. You know you are going to have a good time if you are getting nekkid (except to use a soldering iron.) :-)

[WA9SVD]

I don't buy it for one second. Pajamas and shorts, my eye.

I think 'AJ and 'SVD got burned while soldering nekkid.

:p

I can't answer for Eric. But in a thread long, long ago, on an Ikonboard far far away...

There was a fellow who admitted to just that.

"Burned once, appropriately dressed twice."

But shorts are often the normal attire in So. Cal for at least six months of the year. Sox are optional, but black sox stand out as the mark of a tourista.:D

Up yonder Eric's way, that might qualify for one, maybe two days a year. Then again, folks up there probably think temps in the 40's or 50's are an unbearable heat wave!



ERIC: Just teasin'. Out here, they refer to temps in the 50's or 40's as "frigid" in nooz casts. Back in Chicago, such weather WAS a heatwave in the middle of Winter; cold was below Zero, which most "6 Landers" can't even comprehend. Just TRY and get a VW Beetle with a regular "Die Easy" Sears battery started when the temp is -19° F!
BTW, seen any good Auroras lately?

[kl7aj]

I can't answer for Eric. But in a thread long, long ago, on an Ikonboard far far away...

There was a fellow who admitted to just that.

"Burned once, appropriately dressed twice."

But shorts are often the normal attire in So. Cal for at least six months of the year. Sox are optional, but black sox stand out as the mark of a tourista.:D

Up yonder Eric's way, that might qualify for one, maybe two days a year. Then again, folks up there probably think temps in the 40's or 50's are an unbearable heat wave!



ERIC: Just teasin'. Out here, they refer to temps in the 50's or 40's as "frigid" in nooz casts. Back in Chicago, such weather WAS a heatwave in the middle of Winter; cold was below Zero, which most "6 Landers" can't even comprehend. Just TRY and get a VW Beetle with a regular "Die Easy" Sears battery started when the temp is -19° F!
BTW, seen any good Auroras lately?

It was 46 below last week. Today, it's a balmy 29 below. :)

eric

[N2RJ]

I have an Edsyn 951sx soldering station that reaches working temperature in about 10-15 seconds.

[W1GUH]

And before electricty, you needed to heat the soldering iron in a wood or coal fire, usually with a bellows to build that radio.

[W3MIV]

It MAY be getting too picky, but the "editorial" quality in QST seems to be diminishing.
In the Feb. 2008 Issue, "Hints and Kinks" section, they have published an article about a "TWO SPEED SOLDERING IRON."

Seems a perfectly reasonable, if odd, description to me. Given the fact that a higher wattage choice would heat "faster" than the lower wattage selection, the term "speed" would seem to fit. Yes, I would consider the criticism to be "too picky."

[W2ILP]

An expert disagreed with QST about the percentage of energy that would get to the soldering iron. He expects thast QST will change what is in the article in question because he believes that an ideal diode would reduce the energy by 50% rather than the pertcentage stated in the QST article. I tried to explain that the addition of a diode in series with the line was irrelevent. The fact is that there is some decrease in energy (power/time) getting to the iron with a diode in series...but the theoretical percentage difference with or without the diode is moot.

How FAST is your iron?

If you want FAST use a soldering gun.

If you can't wait for a conventional iron to heat up from ambient room temperature keep it running with a diode in series with the line all day and when you switch the diode out it will take less time to heat up than it would take from room temperature. Is this supposed to be a way to conserve energy? Nope! BUt it may make for a good tip.

w2ilp (Irons Lead Points?) Tin the copper tip of your soldering iron when you phase the lead out!

[k4kyv]

I use a TV service isolation transformer, with high, medium and low voltage taps, in the low tap to run my soldering irons. I find that with full line voltage none of my irons will stay tinned, then they won't take solder and the tips burn up in no time. Run them at about 100 volts, and they stay tinned and the tip lasts many times longer.

The biggest problem I have with my soldering gun is that no matter how careful I am, I tend to put the damn thing down and melt a hole in the plastic handle of one of my screwdrivers, or damage something else, with the hot tip before it cools down. I need a holster for it.

One thing I like about a soldering gun is that it heats up rapidly, and with point-to-point wiring, the tip can be bent as much as 90º to make it fit under other wiring or components, making it easy to work on a circuit without burning the insulation off surrounding hookup wires or damaging other components in the circuit. When finished, the tip can simply be bent back straight.

I recall a cartoon showing a guy pointing a soldering gun next to another person with his wallet in his hand, and the caption read: "Stick 'em up or I'll fill you full of hot lead!"

I recall a few years ago that the administration at a high school in Illinois had the soldering guns removed from the electronics lab because the school district's new zero-tolerance policy forbade any kind of gun on school property.

[G0GQK]

How fast is my soldering iron ? Mine will do 0-60 in 6 seconds.

G0GQK

[WA9SVD]

The secret is out. :(

I really didn't want to know that. But isn't it cold enough there to make ALL utensils rarher inoperative for at least a short time until they reach operating temperature?

Heck, that's too cold to even wotk on PL-259's without gloves.

[WA9SVD]

[mistaken quote Sorry.

[WA9SVD]

An expert disagreed with QST about the percentage of energy that would get to the soldering iron. He expects thast QST will change what is in the article in question because he believes that an ideal diode would reduce the energy by 50% rather than the pertcentage stated in the QST article. I tried to explain that the addition of a diode in series with the line was irrelevent. The fact is that there is some decrease in energy (power/time) getting to the iron with a diode in series...but the theoretical percentage difference with or without the diode is moot.

How FAST is your iron?

If you want FAST use a soldering gun.

If you can't wait for a conventional iron to heat up from ambient room temperature keep it running with a diode in series with the line all day and when you switch the diode out it will take less time to heat up than it would take from room temperature. Is this supposed to be a way to conserve energy? Nope! BUt it may make for a good tip.

w2ilp (Irons Lead Points?) Tin the copper tip of your soldering iron when you phase the lead out!



HUH?????????


What comment in this thread had anything to do with "percentage of energy" or anything about it. WHAT are you talking about? It's impossible to agree, disagree, or even debate your comment if we don't know from wence it came. At least give us a reference so we can understand YOUR position.

[ab1ga]

I don't buy it for one second. Pajamas and shorts, my eye.

I think 'AJ and 'SVD got burned while soldering nekkid.

:p


I've seen it all.
The Alaskan fessed up.
The Californian talked about the weather!

[K8MHZ]

I am but a shadow of my former self.

Back in the day I used to be able to solder bark to a piss elm tree. Now I am lucky to put a transistor in a perf board without sticking all three leads together. 2 out three at least gives me a permanent forward bias....I can work around that with a toggle switch and shaky hands!

[AC0FP]

I'm not intimidated by the others posts. I solder 0402 parts almost every day, or at least when the "guys" who work for me are running a little slow in the tasks assigned to them (they hate it when I show them up). Old tube stuff with solder lugs, no problem!

I get the dual "Metcal" (OKI) irons in my holsters, challengers get "whatever".

:)

[kf4vgx]

How fast is YOUR soldering iron?
Real fast when I dropped it on my toes:D.

[WA9SVD]

Perhaps the question should be: how fast are you with that iron on your hip, pardner?

I remember watching a training film on space-rated soldering techniques. In this movie one of the students showed up to "class" with his Weller soldering gun in a holster on his hip. A real Quick-Draw McGraw, I guess! (I wonder if this classic is posted on YouTube?)

Of course, if you own one of those guns, you know that they come from the facory with two "speeds".

Yep, I have a Weller, for over 40 years now. but it doesn't have any "speeds." It DOES, however have two power selections, 100 and 140 Watts. So those COULD be described or translated as "temperature" settings. But it still remains motionless and has no speed until I or someone else picks it up. Then again, it can have considerable speed if someone picks it us, even if it's not plugged in.

[WA9SVD]

I've seen it all.
The Alaskan fessed up.
The Californian talked about the weather!

WHAT??? Are you a "peeping tom?" You ain't seen nuthin'.

[WA9SVD]

I have an Edsyn 951sx soldering station that reaches working temperature in about 10-15 seconds.

Umm, can you translate that into "Bird Watts?"

[K8ERV]

And before electricty, you needed to heat the soldering iron in a wood or coal fire, usually with a bellows to build that radio.



Before electricity you would not need to build a radio---

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[N2RJ]

Umm, can you translate that into "Bird Watts?"

I don't know how many watts, but it goes from 250 to 850 degrees F at the tip.