I'm a geek... I went crazy and got a really nerdy toy.

I just went nuts and ordered something I've been eyeing for a long time.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.amazon.com …7&creativeASIN=​B0052M8SZA

Wow nice setup! You gotta have the proper tools for the job, a $10 radio shack iron just doesn't work that nice compared to something a little more expensive. What is the air gun for?

DStanic wrote in post #14179856
Wow nice setup! You gotta have the proper tools for the job, a $10 radio shack iron just doesn't work that nice compared to something a little more expensive. What is the air gun for?

The air gun is for doing smaller components that are on the board, I do a bit of repair work for computers and gaming systems so this will make life a lot easier for me. Also with the air tool I'll be able to start using smaller components in my projects so that I can drop the total size of my boards down and start making things much smaller, which will make my life much easier. granted it will raise the cost of the devices as the smaller the part the more expensive it gets but I think it's worth it in some cases.

nice solder rig, i see a wave solder setup in your future...

rick_reno wrote in post #14180377
nice solder rig, i see a wave solder setup in your future...

Nah. If he's doing SMT then it's got to be an IR re-flow oven.

rick_reno wrote in post #14180377
nice solder rig, i see a wave solder setup in your future...

wave soldering is basically for old tech, through hole components. I don't deal much with those, granted there are needs for them but most of the stuff I do and plan to do is all surface mount with only small amounts of through hole. Most of the LEDs I'm working with are now surface mount, granted I am having to make some through hole setups for heatsinks for them them though. I'm getting a little carried away with my work lately.

mbellot wrote in post #14180772
Nah. If he's doing SMT then it's got to be an IR re-flow oven.

I could use a reflow oven... granted I've been using an old toaster oven to do that kind of stuff but after a while you do need to upgrade to the real thing. I've modified the hell out of my current one though to make boards really easy to reflow from top and bottom. I've even used it for harvesting BGAs by just letting them drop off the board onto some steal wool on a tray, makes for fast simple and effective parts harvesting, lol.

BoneJj wrote in post #14184960
wave soldering is basically for old tech, through hole components. I don't deal much with those, granted there are needs for them but most of the stuff I do and plan to do is all surface mount with only small amounts of through hole. Most of the LEDs I'm working with are now surface mount, granted I am having to make some through hole setups for heatsinks for them them though. I'm getting a little carried away with my work lately.

I could use a reflow oven... granted I've been using an old toaster oven to do that kind of stuff but after a while you do need to upgrade to the real thing. I've modified the hell out of my current one though to make boards really easy to reflow from top and bottom. I've even used it for harvesting BGAs by just letting them drop off the board onto some steal wool on a tray, makes for fast simple and effective parts harvesting, lol.

toaster? you must be single.

rick_reno wrote in post #14185973
toaster? you must be single.

I have 4 toaster ovens... My garage is my space! lol, get out woman! My girlfriend knows that she's not allowed in my garage as it's my work space, I insulated and put in an A/C unit just to make it more comfortable for me, my car, my bike and my toys... lol.

Ok, I took several classes in electronics (and passed, heh heh), but you completely lost me when you started talking re-flow ovens and surface mounting parts. It does make me sad, however, to hear the only type of soldering I know is now only in "old tech".
Makes me feel old...even though I'm barely an adult.

Anyway, congrats on the new doo-hickey! Looks fancy.

Nice... I need me a better soldering thingy... and a multi meter... I shame the EE in me...

Nothing nerdy about it! I have a Metcal SP-200 LINK and Hakko 936 LINK
Nothing wrong with having the right tool for the job! Congrats and enjoy!

ben_r_ wrote in post #14215927
Nothing nerdy about it! I have a Metcal SP-200 LINK and Hakko 936 LINK
Nothing wrong with having the right tool for the job! Congrats and enjoy!

very nice, I need to get a better iron holder. The one that came with the system is pretty lousy! I need one that will actually hold the iron in place, mine wants to come out of it as soon as I put it in there. I think I'm going to have to upgrade to one with the big coil or something that is more upright, so it can't pull itself out of the holder like mine does.

I tell you guys, Since getting this new station, I have had a blast working on all the stuff that I've been putting off. Namely the stuff that has needed repair for, well, years... lmao.

I'm actually going to pull apart the stereo that I gave my father several years ago and fix the connection on the back of the board that requires the occasional pull to one side to get the broken solder joints to connect with each other again, lol. The thing is like 15 years old or more, good ole sony though, puts out some good volume even still. I'm sure it will be much better once the bad solder joints are fixed.

I also have a ton of LEDs and other parts and such to put together as well as multiple other little devices that need to be fixed.

BoneJj wrote in post #14218883
very nice, I need to get a better iron holder. The one that came with the system is pretty lousy! I need one that will actually hold the iron in place, mine wants to come out of it as soon as I put it in there. I think I'm going to have to upgrade to one with the big coil or something that is more upright, so it can't pull itself out of the holder like mine does.

Yea, a good, weighted holder/base is a very nice thing to have! So is a Panavise and its verious accessories!

BoneJj wrote in post #14218928
I tell you guys, Since getting this new station, I have had a blast working on all the stuff that I've been putting off. Namely the stuff that has needed repair for, well, years... lmao.

I'm actually going to pull apart the stereo that I gave my father several years ago and fix the connection on the back of the board that requires the occasional pull to one side to get the broken solder joints to connect with each other again, lol. The thing is like 15 years old or more, good ole sony though, puts out some good volume even still. I'm sure it will be much better once the bad solder joints are fixed.

I also have a ton of LEDs and other parts and such to put together as well as multiple other little devices that need to be fixed.

Yep, soldering is a very important and extremely useful skill to have. My dad taught me very young and its helped me MANY times over the course of my life.

ben_r_ wrote in post #14221067
Yea, a good, weighted holder/base is a very nice thing to have! So is a Panavise and its verious accessories!

Yep, soldering is a very important and extremely useful skill to have. My dad taught me very young and its helped me MANY times over the course of my life.

yeah, a panavise is on my list of toys to get. Especially seeing as I'm starting to do all this stuff again.

It truly is, the problem is that so many people fail at it because they get the cheap equipment that is really not even worth the money they paid for it.... All it really takes is a unit with actual power and if you plan to do more than one type of task you truly need to have an adjustable unit.

I never had anyone to teach me how to do it, I just learned by myself when I was a kid. I bought a soldering iron that had a few settings on it and then slowly learned the tricks on my own. Once you know a few tricks it really really isn't that long until you figure out more and then really get to know what you are doing. It's been so long since I had a proper soldering station and now it's just a blast to have around. It's also extremely rewarding to know that you built your own parts or fixed something that someone else failed to put together properly...