For you AZ peeps needing a good soldering iron...

[yotsuya]

Great price- get it now - pick up only

http://www.frys.com/product/7550776?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[Slippyblade]

Gah, and me with no money this week!  Time to see what I can sell...

[ark_ader]

Call them up and get them to ship it to you.

[wp34]

Dang that's a good deal. No Fry's around here unfortunately.

[mgb]

That is a nice deal. Those irons are pretty consistently $90+ from all vendors.
One of these days I'm get kick my cheap iron addiction and step it up to a nicer iron like this.
I can quit anytime I want.

[05SRT4]

What a good deal. I just paid 96$ for the same one on Amazon after reading a suggestion you mentioned in another thread. Actually used it last night soldering a headphone jack and volume slider in a Tamagotchi.....Yeah I said a Tamagotchi. (a handful of us at work are super board) dont judge.

Anyways so far the best soldering Iron I've used.

[yotsuya]

What a good deal. I just paid 96$ for the same one on Amazon after reading a suggestion you mentioned in another thread. Actually used it last night soldering a headphone jack and volume slider in a Tamagotchi.....Yeah I said a Tamagotchi. (a handful of us at work are super board) dont judge.

Anyways so far the best soldering Iron I've used.

Amen, brother. 

[JimmyU]

It looks like this offer is good for pick-up at any Fry's.

[yotsuya]

It looks like this offer is good for pick-up at any Fry's.

It is. I just sent it out to my AZ homies because we've had this conversation, but if you have a Fry's by you and need a Hakko, this is the one to get.

[jdbailey1206]

This would be a great deal....IF I COULD SOLDER!

[yotsuya]

This would be a great deal....IF I COULD SOLDER!

You can't buy talent.

And actually, having a good tool like this makes soldering much, much easier.

[DeLuSioNal29]

The closest Frys to me is over 600 miles away.   

People I've talked to say Weller is the brand to get.  I've considered Hakko as well.  Which do you guys prefer?

P.S. - Weller tips are cheaper to buy than pricier Hakko tips.

Thoughts?

D

[nick3092]

The closest Frys to me is over 600 miles away.   

People I've talked to say Weller is the brand to get.  I've considered Hakko as well.  Which do you guys prefer?

P.S. - Weller tips are cheaper to buy than pricier Hakko tips.

Thoughts?

D

If you take care of your tips (clean often and keep them tinned), you should rarely have to replace them.

The only Weller I own is a 100/140W gun.  So I can't speak to that.  Prior to that I was using an el-cheapo Chinese solder station form MPJA.  It served me well for about 7 years, then died.  For $50 though, I'm OK with that.  So I bought this Hakko a couple weeks ago on Amazon (no Fry's near me anyway).

Overall it's nice (based on my 2 weeks with it).  The foot print is small, it heats up quick, and maintains the heat well.  The interface is a bit wonky, and the manual that ships with it is garbage.  Download the PDF from their site as it's far more complete.  Adjusting the temp (if you need to do that frequently) can be made easier by setting some presets (up to 5 or 6, I forget).  You can also manually set it, but if you hold down the wrong button (you have a 50/50 chance since there are only 2), you can screw up the calibration.  You can't use manual and presets at the same time, you have to select one or the other, and that is done by holding down a button when you power it on and entering a code, all outlined in the PDF manual pretty well.

Other than that, so far I'm happy with it.

[Jakobud]

Can someone please explain to me why soldering tips are so long? It's like trying to write with a pencil while holding the pencil near the eraser...

[shponglefan]

Can someone please explain to me why soldering tips are so long? It's like trying to write with a pencil while holding the pencil near the eraser...

Heating element.  You're welcome to hold it closer to the tip though...

[dmckean]

Can someone please explain to me why soldering tips are so long? It's like trying to write with a pencil while holding the pencil near the eraser...

Heating element.  You're welcome to hold it closer to the tip though...

Use these:

http://www.constructiongear.com/tig-gloves-kidskin-bsx.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=106456952418&gclid=CNexgIyu1MUCFViUfgodzrkAfw

[RetroGreg]

I need one of these, but I'm not going to be up by a frys. Thanks for posting it.

[yotsuya]

I need one of these, but I'm not going to be up by a frys. Thanks for posting it.

Yeah, you DO need one of there! And a desoldering gun, too! 

[RetroGreg]

Yeah that desoldering gun was NICE!