Soldering gear thread

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
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That would explain it then……. :wink: … Thanks again for sharing, you have some nice equipment.

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Thanks again my friend. I’m still active and love the latest equipment. One thing I need to do is get a scope. It’s the one thing I haven’t had in my personal arsenal in all these years.

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I’ve been building audio kits since the late 60’s. Most of it professionally working as a technician in a stereo store, and then working in the printing industry fixing DC motor controllers and control circuits. I’ve been retired since 2013. Since then, I’m not as active a I used to be. I still fix tubed audio equipment on occassion. Mostly for myself and a few freinds.
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Now your talking—Tube Audio Gear—I use to be heavy into Vacuum Tubes —Still have a Dynaco 70—Citation V and a pair of 845 SET amps—Bottlehead preamp——nothing better

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Now your talking—Tube Audio Gear—I use to be heavy into Vacuum Tubes —Still have a Dynaco 70—Citation V and a pair of 845 SET amps—Bottlehead preamp——nothing better
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My first kit was Dynaco MKIII 60 watt mono power amp and a PAM 1 Pre-amp I built to use as a bass guitar amp around 1969. I later built 2 Dynaco Stereo 70’s and a PAS 3X preamp. Then I went on to build several Heathkit’s. The list goes on and on. I still use tubed audio equipment these days. Solid state doesn’t come close sonically.

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Albeit I've had an early heater failure (don't really know if no tight fitting low quality aftermarket tips may have played a role there), these work nicely if you invest in some genuine T18 or new old stock 900M tips:

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What is that clear device on the right of the picture sitting in front of the hobby charger?

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Indeed it looks like a battery holder.

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It’s an adjustable battery cradle I got from fasttech a while back.

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http://www.ebay.ca/usr/playtle

This is the user/shop I bought the portable hot air from, the model I purchased is no longer in the shop (or not available in the market I searched a moment ago, you could search through ebay Germany, UK, US etc - it might show up). AFAIK the price was 36.00 EUR purchased through the Canadian ebay checkout process. The power module does 110V/220V, however the handle does either 110V or 220V (need to select handle when purchasing).

If you want only one station I would confirm what was said above - either go for a single soldering iron or a combo unit (hot air and soldering iron). I needed a second station for travel or moving around and as a backup.

The temperate setting is very accurate and there is less risk of burning parts. Last LED reflow took literally seconds, I have never done it that quickly.

Only the “chirp” (confirmation tone when you press a key) is not great, the tone changes whenever I press something. Otherwise great unit. Perfect for reflowing emitters, driver boards, PCBs, other projects, heat shrink, working on my car or anything else.

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Thank you MILSPEC, I appreciate the effort & info. . :+1: … :slight_smile:

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The Bakon BK950D looks interesting strango, I’d like to have one of those for the portability of it. But so far all I have been able to find is the 220V version.
I am gonna keep looking though. :wink:

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found comparable units, please note that these are not sellers I have bought from so I can’t say anything about customer service or delivery times! But the product appears to be the same or very similar.

33

Really like your setup!

Found a few like yours:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/The-Latest-version-OLED-Digital-T12-soldering-station-automatic-sleep-buzzer-DIY-soldering-station-iron-With/918038_32732961928.html

And some other sellers:
https://www.aliexpress.com/premium/STM32-soldering.html?initiative_id=SB_20170609114336&site=glo&g=y&SearchText=STM32+soldering&tc=ppc&CatId=144003&isrefine=y

Are these the same as yours?

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Thanks MILSPEC…… :+1:

I found this to for a portable solder iron. It says it is 110 - 240 V.

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Manual from my Bakon says “Input Voltage AC100-240V 50/60Hz”

36

While looking for the 8018LCD hot air gun, found this ad a while ago:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/220V-240V-450W-450-Degree-LCD-Adjustable-Electronic-Heat-Hot-Air-Gun-Desoldering-Soldering-Station-IC/32272327737.html

It is claimed to be an improved version of the older “low quality” model, about 50% more expensive.

I've taken a brief look at the review list, but found not even a single review for the “improved” PG8018LCD unit. What is more, tons of reviews are from the standard 220V 8018LCD, but I've not seen it in stock yet, only the 110V unit is. WTF?

37

The first one is smth different:

- 4 pin iron socket (mine has 5 pins)

  • different info on the screen
    so far it might provide different (more weak) functionality

Proper version should be described as STM32 controller. The latest revision is 2.1S I believe.
e.g
finished station: Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com
or DIY set:
Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com
Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com

as I’ve already said it would cost more if buy from aliexpress

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If someone is looking for a hotair station or a portable version please check this picture and the comment i put on it. Because then you can not say i did not know it could kill me :disappointed:

And this you can find also at many stations. It is absolut dangerous if you did not know it. There are some stations out there that are direct connected no plug. So no chance of getting in contact with mains Voltage. Second big risk is if internaly ground is not connected with the metall part of the heat gun head (and thats happening a lot!). Why is it so dangerous?
If you get a short between one of the heating coils and the metal of the heat gun head you could get a nice shock if you touch it. Because without grounding the metal no fuse would blow in case of a failure.

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:open_mouth: …… Dang…. :open_mouth: … :person_facepalming:

Thanks for the heads up. :+1:

40

I like 120 volt shocks. Wakes me up in the morning :laughing: