Doug White wrote in
:

Jim Yanik wrote in
4:

Doug White wrote in
:

Jeff Liebermann wrote in
:

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:56:39 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

I'm willing to spend a couple hundred bucks for a really good
setup. That probably sounds absurd to a lot of folks, but if you've
ever struggled soldering something, & then tried a Metcal, it's
worth a bit of investment.

Soldering is usually not a problem. It's unsoldering that drives
me to spend the money. If your price ceiling is about $200, you're
below the level of Hakko or Weller hot air desoldering stations,
which can cost $500 to $1000 and up with accessories. For cheap, I
suggest: http://www.circuitspecialists.com/level.itml/icOid/7543

This is what you get for about $200:
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/products/full/9766.jpg
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/9766

However, I can't claim much experience with one of these. I've
played with an older model, liked it, but have not torn it apart to
see if it's junk or quality. The availablity of nozzles,
replacement parts, and repair items is reassuring.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm figuring on picking up a used system on eBay, so list price
isn't the issue. As for desoldering, I've had pretty good luck with
the Metcal, liquid flux and solderwick. As I said, I mostly work on
RF stuff, and I typically don't have a zillion leads to deal with
the way the digital types do. Besides, once I have something
unsoldered, I still need to get a replacement soldered down. I
figured once I got a decent iron, I'd look into a hot air pencil. A
lot will depend on how circuit work I end up doing. I will be
assembling more than repairing (I hope).

Doug White


you shouldn't use solderwick(or solderpullts) on SMT boards,you'll
lift the pads.
too much dwell time,applies too much heat to the tiny pads.

You certainly have to be careful. Solderpullets are a menace because
of the recoil.

I've never had any recoil problems. I have two of the deluxe models.

The biggest problem I've had is with specialize RF
material. The copper adhesion is usually much worse than FR-4, and it
toasts easily. I probably won't be working with that stuff much at
home.

Doug White


the main problem shared by both wick and soldapullts is that you have to
keep the IRON on the pad too long.(dwell time)

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com