On 04/07/2011 12:16 AM, Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

For outside work, I have an old Ungar iron that works very well for
soldering and augment it with a similar vintage SoldaPullit vacuum. The
SoldaPullit's are the only mechanical vacuums that I have used that work
worth mentioning. I also use solder wick for cleanup.

Inside, I use a Pace solder/desolder station.

The Metcal soldering irons truly are the hot setup though. I have never
seen or used a Metcal desolder station.

BobH

I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

On Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:16:16 -0500, the renowned Ignoramus21203
wrote:

I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

There are some cheap Chinese units sold for cell phone modders that
work okay.

Personally, for everyday use, I use a Weller solder station and a Pace
desoldering tool (graphite vane vacuum pump) for through-hole parts.

If you want the best, try to score a used Metcal set. They use RF and
work on the basis of curie point of ferrite to deliver almost instant
heat to the work. IIRC, the desoldering tools require shop air, which
might not be a problem for you.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Ignoramus21203 writes:

I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

I'm very happy with a Weller WESD51 digital tip temperature controlled
soldering iron, and a cheap Radio Shack (but that's redundant, isn't it)
solder sucker.
--
It's time to try defying gravity

You may want to also post to sci.electronics.repair..

Rich

On 4/6/2011 7:16 PM, Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

Ignoramus21203 wrote:

I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

Any of the temperature controlled low voltage stations are good. Weller
is what I have (and old one too). Hackko is good I believe, I've only
used their desoldering stations, but the work quite well.

On 4/6/2011 5:16 PM, Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

any temperature controlled soldering iron - I use Weller, next to me is
one of the first ones that has served me well, ones like the EC3002 are
common at swap meets and are excellent. Get a plunger type solder
sucker (with a teflon tip) and you are good to go - now if you will work
on SMT, then you need hot air, though I've done some SMT repair (Like my
cell phone) with my iron

--
www.wbnoble.com

In article ,
Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:16:16 -0500, the renowned Ignoramus21203
wrote:

I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

There are some cheap Chinese units sold for cell phone modders that
work okay.

Personally, for everyday use, I use a Weller solder station and a Pace
desoldering tool (graphite vane vacuum pump) for through-hole parts.

Well, fixing the Pace would be good, assuming it's at all affordable to
do so - sometimes a problem with high-dollar systems. I've been happily
using a Weller TC iron (tips come in 600-700-800F versions - generally
use the 700) for decades, for general work - and with a new sharp tip,
for SMT work and rework as well.

Given scale of work and budget, I opted for a Aoyue (chinese) hot air
rework station (after making enough money with the old Weller to buy it)
rather than a Hakko - that happens to include a digital TC iron, but
I've never used that part of it (I'm really happy with the Weller). For
that (and others) you can get (extra cost accessory) a "hot tweezer"
iron which is more useful (faster) for two-terminal devices than the hot
air is. If (or when) I did (or do) a lot more of this type of work and
made more money at it, I'd probably get a Hakko and be done with it.

My problem was that a) solder indeed did not want to melt easily and
2) It would not stick to the soldering iron well etc.

Both of these sound like you needed flux and/or fresh solder with flux -
add some and suddenly the old stuff behaves much better. These days you
also have to be aware of the lead-free solders seen on RoHS gear, which
can be irritating to work with and prone to odd failures from things
like growing tin whiskers (crystals.)

Also check board for varnish-like coatings, which you may need to scrape
off the working area if they were applied post-soldering.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

On 04/07/2011 07:29 AM, Ecnerwal wrote:

My problem was that a) solder indeed did not want to melt easily and
2) It would not stick to the soldering iron well etc.

A trick I use when lead-free solder things get difficult, is to dilute
the lead-free solder with leaded. That has a lower melting point, and
so makes the rework much easier.

Jon

Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

all you need is a plain $20 or $30 Weller soldering iron that's blue, a
solder sucker, solder braid and some fresh solder.

that's it. seriously.

you can spend a fortune on a station, and some are really nice, but it's
not necessary for replacing a capacitor. Your technique is going to make a
bigger difference that the soldering iron once you're past those nasty $5
black ones that are held together with 3 screws and use a nail as the tip,
and overheat in like 10 minutes. Those things suck.

keep your tip wet and shiny with solder, and don't hesitate to add MORE
solder to a joint that's hard to heat up or to suck all the solder from,
like with those giant through hole terminals on some filter caps.

Also, solder braid sucks up solder better than a paper towel on water.

On Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:13:45 -0700, the renowned Rich Grise
wrote:

Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

all you need is a plain $20 or $30 Weller soldering iron that's blue, a
solder sucker, solder braid and some fresh solder.

I agree here. And if you can't find "solder braid," try "solder wick." :-)

Cheers!
Rich

I got a pretty nasty bunch of solder wick a while back (I would say it
sucked, but it didn't really- might have been 'Goot' brand, or not).
The Chemtronics Soder-Wick rosin type is definitely good.



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

Rich Grise writes:

Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

all you need is a plain $20 or $30 Weller soldering iron that's blue, a
solder sucker, solder braid and some fresh solder.

I agree here. And if you can't find "solder braid," try "solder wick." :-)

Personally, I think the tip temperature control is worth it. Ends up
with a big ol' high wattage soldering iron that doesn't run hotter than
you want it to.
--
It's time to try defying gravity

Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

all you need is a plain $20 or $30 Weller soldering iron that's blue, a
solder sucker, solder braid and some fresh solder.

I agree here. And if you can't find "solder braid," try "solder wick." :-)

Cheers!
Rich

Spehro Pefhany wrote:

On Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:13:45 -0700, the renowned Rich Grise
wrote:

Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus21203 wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

all you need is a plain $20 or $30 Weller soldering iron that's blue, a
solder sucker, solder braid and some fresh solder.

I agree here. And if you can't find "solder braid," try "solder wick." :-)

Cheers!
Rich

I got a pretty nasty bunch of solder wick a while back (I would say it
sucked, but it didn't really- might have been 'Goot' brand, or not).
The Chemtronics Soder-Wick rosin type is definitely good.


I use one of Kester's mild RMA rosin liquid fluxes and some 1/8"
braid to wet wick solder off joints. It's a lot cheaper and does a lot
less damage to a board.


--
You can't fix stupid. You can't even put a Band-Aid™ on it, because it's
Teflon coated.

I took a picture of what I have. It is called "APE SMD-2000M"
soldering/desoldering station.

A few years ago, I could not make either of them work, so I just kept
them in a corner.

Perhaps, now that I have a little more experience fixing stuff, I
should take another look at those stations.

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/APE-SMD-2000M/

http://igor.chudov.com/manuals/SMD_2000M_Manual.pdf

i

On Apr 7, 10:16*am, Ignoramus21203 ignoramus21...@NOSPAM.
21203.invalid wrote:
I worked today to fix my BIL's plasma TV. I had to replace a couple of
bad capacitors in the power supply. Working with a regular soldering
iron was rather unpleasant and inconvenient. So, I want to ask, would
anyone recommend a decent soldering/desoldering setup.

i

Its possibly not your soldering iron, those things are just *******s
to work on. And its because they now use (mandated) lead free solder
which is a real bitch. Its not real solder. Military, medical,
aviation are exempt, its just too flaky...
What you do is:- flood the connection with regular solder, you then
got a chance to get it out. But for caps I wouldn't - the boards are
(invariably) double sided which are awkward at the best of times. For
things like power supply caps, crunch them off the board and discard -
then pull each remaining pigtail out with a pair of long nose pliers,
after doing step 1 of resoldering with "Real" solder to try and get a
better flow.

And - a decent HAKKO clone can be had for 40 dollars here, does the
job well, lots of tips available. I have even used a chefs propane
blowtorch on occasion - works well with a bit of practice.....got lots
of specialised and just plain brutal soldering irons, collected them
over a lifetime of radio work. But, still looking for a kerosene
blowtorch type that rests horizontal and heats up about half a pound
of copper bit - great for soldering downpipes and guttering.

Of course, if you REALLY want to, you can spend thousands of dollars
on specialised equipment designed to do this sort of job you
mention........but I dont think thats the way its done here! G

Am surprised you got it working that easy - they mostly take out a few
controller IC's at the same time. BTW - were the faulty caps near
anything that was getting hot?....

Andrew VK3BFA.

On 4/9/2011 1:24 AM, Ignoramus30421 wrote:
I took a picture of what I have. It is called "APE SMD-2000M"
soldering/desoldering station.

A few years ago, I could not make either of them work, so I just kept
them in a corner.

Perhaps, now that I have a little more experience fixing stuff, I
should take another look at those stations.

http://igor.chudov.com/tmp/APE-SMD-2000M/

http://igor.chudov.com/manuals/SMD_2000M_Manual.pdf


Looks like the cat's meow for both through hole and SMT. Go for it.

Kevin Gallimore

On Apr 9, 11:09*pm, axolotl wrote:
On 4/9/2011 1:24 AM, Ignoramus30421 wrote:

I took a picture of what I have. It is called "APE SMD-2000M"
soldering/desoldering station.

A few years ago, I could not make either of them work, so I just kept
them in a corner.

Perhaps, now that I have a little more experience fixing stuff, I
should take another look at those stations.


Iggy,
Looks impressive indeed - like one of those projects we can all get
going real good if we just do......(however long it takes) G whats
the hand-pieces like, what sorta tips did you get, is there a cleaning
kit, etc etc.? - does it work - its obviously had a hard life - this
new thing - is it going to help, or get in the way. And not meaning to
be rude, honest, but you DO know how to hand solder, the basics is
being able to do it without a complex machine. Getting in the way,
mostly. Needing maintenance.
I got trained in the Aviation industry on How to Solder
Properly....thought I knew how before I did the course. Nearly went
insane making up wire grids, 1 inch square, then soldering every
intersection. 3 months of it. There was a glass case in the foyer -
some bloke had gone nuts, years ago, and built a Really Impressive
soldered wire frame Spanish Galleon from all the practice attempts
littering the place up..

I got machines like that - Chinese knock-offs of HAKKO, usually.
(Yours look a tad more classy - production line stuff, or high level
servicing.) Good luck with it. My stuff is the soldering equivalent of
the 9 by 20 generic lathe. They work ok, saved me neck a few times,
but for 80% of the time, the plain ordinary temperature controlled
iron for $40 just chugs along. I know how to solder, who cares if its
got a bull**** temperature readout.****ed off with Weller - went great
for 20+ years, nice iron. Then started dying, all the new spares were
crap, didnt last. Even bought a new one, same thing - just crap. The
other 20% - well, usually a $10 100w beast got ages ago - half inch
tip... lethal design, but gets lots of heat into a joint.
Relic Scope irons here in Oz..- crude but effective technology using
a carbon tip pushed against the rear face of the bit - 3.3V, 30 amps
peak. You could get them hot enough to light a cigarette. Anything in
the car, no worries. not too good on transistors and IC's though.....I
had a version of one in my cable jointers van - big lead acid 6v
battery. 30ft of cable to the iron. Worked well, if you looked after
the battery. I did, knew about SG and stuff like that, had hygrometer,
voltmeter, kept an eye on it. Could work all day if it had to. Had
enuff grunt. Was Good.

Andrew VK3BFA.