[Noisebridge-discuss] Temperature Controlled Soldering Irons

[Jake]

I read the reviews on the Radio Shack site and they were bad, some of 
them.  I am going to go out on a limb and say this may not be worth the 
money, although maybe it is.  They are $80/ea at radio shack, which is a 
good place to get something that you might have to return to the store for 
replacement over and over again.  Madell sells them for $67 plus shipping.

I still think we should modify the soldering irons we have already, by 
adding thermocouples and temperature control to them.  Even if we buy 
brand-new power supplies (the key to operating our current irons at higher 
wattage with easy power control) I have been getting ones for $8 which 
would do it fine.  That just leaves a hank of themocouple wire, a 
skillshare of simple thermocouple-amplifier boards, and a large capacitor 
to make the junctions.

Even if it cost as much as the Radio Shock irons, the value to our 
collective education is priceless (plus we can sell Temperature Controlled 
soldering irons to other hackspaces for a profit to support the space).

-jake

PS i am serious
PPS does anyone have some type-K thermocouple wire?

---- original mess ----
Michael Shiloh Wrote:

Don, it's up to $80, but I wonder if this is the same model you refer to:

Digital Soldering Station
Model:64-053   $79.99

On 12/10/2009 02:07 PM, Don French wrote:
> To be more specific, this is the model that I have and recommend:
> http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3132686.  It is on
> sale for $65 right now, a very good deal.  It is a very high quality
> digital soldering station, made by Madell Technologies, a high-end fab
> machinery manufacturer.  It is equivalent to Weller and Hakko units that
> sell for $200 and up. The one thing that Radio Shack screwed up on was
> not including extra tips or even selling any of them in their stores.
> However, these tips are available from Madell here:
> http://www.madelltech.com/nozzles-tips.html.  Search the page for AT201D
> (Madell's model number).  You can also tell your local RS sales person
> to order them by calling RSU.
>
> -- Don
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 5:47 PM, Don French <dcfrench at gmail.com
> <mailto:dcfrench at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     I got a very good temp-controlled soldering station at Radio Shack.
>
>     -- Don
>
>
>     On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 4:43 PM, David Yao <kudegra+nb at gmail.com
>     <mailto:kudegra%2Bnb at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         I'm looking for a place in SF to get stuff to setup an
>         electronics bench at work. I want to start with a temperature
>         controlled soldering iron and controllable power supply. Where
>         can I get these in SF? Or should I just head to Jameco or Fry's?
>
>         -
>         DYao