Soldering stations for beginners?

Posted by: @yurkshirelad

I don't have room on my table (no bench for me!) for a soldering iron, but I thought I would ask anyway. It might be a useful question for any other beginners who reside these forums.

What is a good, reasonably cheap soldering station for a beginner?

For example, I watched some reviews and the KSGER T12 soldering station got decent reviews, but it also got many comments that it needed some modifications, to offset poor build quality. Its price isn't too bad, but I wouldn't want something that I would need to "fix" to use.

P.S. I share the dining room table with my wife's home office. That's why I have no space for any more kit. 😀 

 

Is the table sharing 50%-50%, or is it the customary 10%-90%?

20/80 😀 though we've since bought a new table.

I ordered a Hakko FX888D. 😀 

@yurkshirelad 

Good choice.

Buy a small rolling cart like the ones used for printers. It can hold your soldering station and a lot of other associated electronics gear and can be rolled under the table or out of sight when not needed.

That way it won't take up any valuable table-top workspace 🙂

I know I'm going to make lots of mistakes when learning how to solder. Do I need something to remove solder if I screw up?

Posted by: @yurkshirelad

I know I'm going to make lots of mistakes when learning how to solder. Do I need something to remove solder if I screw up?

Only if you need to re-use the part(s) 🙂

The two generally used products are

1) solder-suckers which look like a pointless hypodermic needle. You charge them by depressing the plunger which empties the chamber and then locks in place. Then you heat the solder joint and hold the "needle"opening as close as you can to the hot solder and press the release button on the sucker. This releases the spring-driven plunger which springs back open causing a vacuum which (theoretically) sucks the hot solder into the tube along with the air rushing in.

These work pretty well when you have good access to the solder joint and can get the tip of the soldering iron and the tip of the solder sucker into close proximity at the site of the solder joint.

2) another popular product is a braided copper ribbon which acts like a sponge or towel to suck up the hot solder. You usually add some flux to the surface of the braid and then place it onto the solder joint and apply the hot top of the iron on top of the braid. The theory is that the solder melts, is made more likely to flow smoothly by the added flux and will be absorbed into the copper braid.

This also works pretty well, especially on congested areas where you'd be hard pressed to get the tip of a solder sucker AND the iron's tip into the joint.

Both are relatively inexpensive and both have cases where they have advantages over the other. It's worth getting both and trying them to see which best suits your needs (and talent 🙂

I tried using my Hakko and I quickly realised that I need some kind of magnifying glass as my eyes just can't focus. My reading glasses don't help either. 🤬 

@yurkshirelad 

I know exactly what you mean, I got a couple of cheap headsets with flip-up lenses on a headband for 3 and 9 times magnification.

I find them quite useful, using the 3 or 9 times to solder and check for tracks on PCBs and the 3 times to inspect boards and joints for defects.

This is an image of what looks like the type I bought (but not this model and the mag rates were higher). I bought mine on eBay about 8 years ago and can't provide a link to them ...

"https://www.amazon.ca/Magnifier-Headband-Magnifying-Glasses-Adjustable/dp/B08F6YZLH2/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=magnifier+headset&qid=1635873787&sr=8-8"

Hmm, is it usable with glasses?

I looked at helping hands like https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07TTZCZPR/

@yurkshirelad 

It's awkward with glasses because of the short distance from the eyes to the lens. My eyes are pretty much even, so all I need is magnification. When I try to use my glasses with the headset I find it takes about half a minute to position my glasses and the headset lenses to a "matching" position to see the full area through both of them.

Once I get that set, flipping the added lenses up and down goes relatively smoothly.

The helping hands can help, but I rarely use them. I do most of my soldering with the PCB lying on a silicon soldering mat, so it doesn't slip around. I find the helping hands are VERY useful when I have to solder wires together (or wiring onto header pins) where you need the parts to be held in close proximity at a precise orientation while you have the solder in one hand and the iron in the other.

I was just wondering if one helping could hold a magnifying glass.

@yurkshirelad 

Yes, it could. You'd probably have to make some kind of adapter to use the "hand" to hold the magnifying glass and allow it to be set at any angle. You'd also have to keep adjusting it to focus on the next area of interest.

Another possibility (although much more expensive) is to get an electronic 'scope that'll project the work area onto a screen so you can see a larger field than a glass would offer, but it would not be too useful for working on anything but a horizontal plane.

"https://www.amazon.ca/Digital-Microscope-WADEO-Magnifier-Adjustable/dp/B088CPZNMW/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=soldering+scope&qid=1635877331&sr=8-7"

Those microscopes look very nice, but I can't justify one. I don't solder enough to warrant the purchase. "Yes dear, I really do need it, honest!".

@yurkshirelad 

It'll help her with her needlework too 🙂

A few years ago, my office threw away an old version of one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Magnifying-8-Diopter-Magnifier-Adjustable-Workbench/dp/B08Z7H8TKC

I salvaged it from the trash and took it home. I don't use it often, but when I need it it's perfect.  Mine didn't have a light, but that was an easy enough improvement to make.