Don't have experience with this, and although I'm sure the RRP is inflated, this still seems like a decent deal.
An ideal entry-level soldering station for the hobby user. This station comes with a lightweight iron with anti-slip grip and tip cleaning sponge, with temperature adjustment up to 450°C. It also has a 4mm banana socket connected to mains earth for soldering static-sensitive components.
I have an old $10 soldering iron, and I also have this Duratec 48W soldering iron. The old $10 one works much better than this one. Maybe the tips on these new ones are not made as well as older ones.
Could be that there is not enough mass of metal that is heated on the soldering iron.
If it's less than ideal, the solder may stops flowing when it contacts cold metal that has greater mass (transfer of heat).
the 48watts would seem to be enough to generate the heat required. you probably need a chisel tip to transfer that heat for whatever you're doing
Yup, it's time to upgrade my 20yrs old $10 solder iron.
With inflation that 20year old solder of yours is proabably $100 is todays money!
do you have a link for this?
Anything cheap <$20 red firestick is better than this iron. This is a very poor station iron. Please Stay away.
Firstly, this whole "Temperature Controlled" is a big lie. Inside the control box is a dimmer circuit. There is no temperature sensor feedback whatsoever. All the knob does is control the power going to the heater. It's not going to hold temperature when there is workload. Also, why control the power when you can't do any SMD soldering fine work if you have such big tip. You will be having the knob to the max all the time anyway.
There are many more 'smart' irons mentioned on this page. I find those USB C powered digital smart irons very useful and plenty freedom.
Looks like some Gerry freak still negged you!
You were right, got one, it is JUNK!
I got one of these recently and it’s fantastic, highly recommend
Great find OP, for $20 I'm thinking about using this just for the iron stand, sponge, banana socket and as a back up iron.
Their "deluxe" iron stand is 19 bucks and this looks like it would be much harder to knock over.
a stand has got to be cheaper on aliexpress
Everything would probably be cheaper on ali x !
I have one of these https://amzn.asia/d/dGGpiyq
Having two different solder sizes on the spool is great and makes it really heavy. I bought one of the bronze wool holders and stuck it where the sponge holder is. Also stuck on a little tin of tip cleaner. Mint.
That looks Perfk.
squints Can't tell if guitar pedal or soldering station
It might help you with those blistering guitar solos.
It's a heavy metal station well suited for guitars.
Soldering Iron Maiden
Been great for me building keyboards over a few years, and you can swap out the tips to a shape and size of your liking. I definitely paid more than $20 for it back in the day.
im pretty sure i still have one of these bad boys kicking around my workshop from many many years ago.. $20 i guess cant go wrong for a basic hobby user.
thanks got 1
I'm sure the RRP is inflated
Like everything else at Jaycar.
Thanks OP, grabbed one for my Gameboy mods.
What kind? I’ve done a fair bit of those and didn’t come across any that requires hard soldering. Except for one time I had to replace speaker as it was defective.
Alot of the funny playing GBA SP kits and the Hispeedido V5 kits require soldering to get the brightness switch working. Also converting them to USB-C charging requires a soldering iron.
Also alot of the broken GB's and GBA's just need some parts replaced, so soldering iron is needed for that.
There's a sweet amoled screen mod for gameboy color these days. That requires some soldering.
Hot deal. Thanks op
Thanks OP
Thanks OP. Didn’t need one. Bought it regardless.
I wonder if you will still get tips for this in 40 years, like I can for my 1980s Dick Smith T2200 ?
I’m still rocking my Dick T1976, tried a few tips from Ali but none of the 5mm tips fit.
Also got a T1976, cannot find tips anywhere :(
Also looks a lot tougher than the Jaycar special.
What do people think about this 60w kit from AliExpress for $13.77 which includes various tips?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006530630223.html?src=go…
There are multiple different items to choose from in that listing.
The one for $13.77 (+GST) is for a soldering iron only.
Well spotted. I hate how these sites try to trick you by showing you a large photo for something quite different from what the price is actually for.
You'll get your money's worth that's for sure
I have this. The standard tips oxydise easily, but otherwise for 13 its really good.
I have this as well. The conical tip didn’t work well for small joints. What tip do you recommend?
Thanks, I grabbed one
Honestly if you are doing any significant level of soldering smaller components or hobbies, get any of the various Yihua soldering irons/kits.
They are pretty well made and I used mine every second day at least (I used to work in the IoT field). Basically in life you’d need two soldering irons: a cheap larger one for anything rough and not precise (e.g attaching lights/automotive towing wires) and a better quality soldering station for any electronics and finer tasks (e.g. PCBs, electronic hobbies, IoTs).
Bigger one - just get any single cord one from Bunnings for as cheap as you can, and for the finer soldering tasks see below.
I have the older version of the 938D, looks like a plus came out.
You’re better off putting the $20 towards something like the below.
Interesting, thanks for the advice. I have a $10 Jaycar soldering iron which I think I've destroyed by overheating. Jaycar say you can't replace the tips on it! So I'm apprehensive about buying another one from them.
I'm also terrible at soldering but would like to get better at it. Does the soldering iron you recommend above make it easier for newbies to solder PCBs and other small electronics because it's more precise than OP's?
I was shocked how much easier it was to solder using a handheld soldering iron with a fine tip.
Recently installed a mod chip in to a PS2 and it worked fine, my hands aren’t the steadiest as well.
I probably have above average soldering skills, but in no way an expert at all.
Nothing will make you better at soldering other than practicing, but it is a lot easier with a better tool. Hop on eBay or AliExpress and get a ton of practice breadboards and spend a couple of hours just soldering wires and components to the boards.
It helps a ton having a finer tip for PCB work, and switching out the tips for the job (larger for thicker wires like speaker) and the like.
Also, try and always use flux - it makes the solder flow that much easier and makes a massive difference.
Agreed.
There is only one tip available on their website for this so I suspect they are clearing this one out. Most Jaycar stuff nowadays is rubbish nowadays and they seem to be reducing their stock count on electronic enthusiast options and increasing the junk.
Much like the Smiling Dick did and we all know what happened there.
$100 if you include shipping for Yihua from ali vs $20 Jaycar.
If you can get by with a 45w one, Yihua on Amazon Australia. Seems to be $65 delivered.
Was on mobile so just used Ali as an example for what to look for and as a personal review on the quality of Yihua - I rate them and they punch above their weight a lot.
Obviously not the level of Hakko, but I can’t justify dropping 6x the price and I’ve not had any projects or tasks I couldn’t do with mine yet.
Cool but once you use a TS101, you can't go back to anything else
This. Also the included tip is just not very good.
I've used a clone of TS100 for years now and recently upgraded to a Pinecil V2, $57 well spent imo (+ BC2 tip).
Would you have a link to the Pinecil V2 you got?
The official pine64 website has them at a discount.
https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-solde…
(USD) $26 + $11 shipping => $37 total => around $57 AUD at today's exchange rate.
No tax was included but had zero issues with the delivery (and I ordered two of them + accessories (tips, cables, breakout, replacement contacts)
EDIT: Also see the long-running Pinecil deal page: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/682405
@drasticmeasures1337: This sounds like the better option for me (soldering noob looking to do some electronics repairs)
I have a micro usb port to replace on a tablet as well as a few other things I'd like to tinker with on game consoles etc.
Time to do some research on tips etc.
@Pandaroo: Ironically the tiny microsoldering tips are actually horrible for microsoldering. But also exactly as Louis Rossmann says. (EDIT: https://www.reddit.com/r/PINE64official/comments/ww4fwu/plea…)
The default tip on these is average but will work for most jobs.
I did the hall-effect sensor mod on my new Pinecil V2 https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil_Hall_Effect_Sensor. The sensor is tiny.
At first I tried the C1 and ILS tips from Pinecil's "Short Fine" tips set. It's crap. There just wasn't enough thermal mass for solder to melt correctly, especially on the ground trace pad. Struggled for a few minutes (yes, used flux). Waste of time.
Used the larger BC2 tip, took just a few seconds to get done.
The V2 also supports USB-C PD (which makes it easy to power with i.e. a 45W+ USB-PD power bank) and cool gimmicks like Bluetooth (for controlling / displaying data remotely via i.e. Chrome) which is nice to play around with.
If you have a 3D printer there're also multiple nice cases you can 3d print for it.
Yeah if you're doing electronics work (ie things that don't need huge amounts of heat and giant tips) then don't go with dinosaur tech like this Duratech. There are FAR better options these days.
Agree! Don't waste money on product that lies. This Duratech is not temperature controlled.
I bought a Philips in 1987, red handle, and it's still perfect.
An originally $87 soldering controller doesn't have a temperature display, is this from the 90s?
It doesnt even have a temperature sensor how is it going to display anything?
This isn't a temperature controlled iron it's a power control knob that controls the wattage.
If you want temperature controlled there are many soldering iron for under $15 shipped on Aliexpress. And they are the common 936 iron tip which is available plenty.
This is quite cheap but also… yeah it's cheap.
The tip is not very good. You'd want a BC2 and not the tiny one. Otherwise it's easy to ruin traces/pads with these tips as they often don't transfer heat fast enough especially if you're just starting out.
I'd recommend a TS10x clone or a Pinecil V2 instead if you're planning to solder more than twice a year and any kinds of repairs.
Should be fine for a quick and easy DIY work though like soldering wires together etc.
Haha classic.
This or the 60w soldering station for $39 on Amazon. First time buyer.
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0BN1BG11V/ref=ox_sc_ac…
$41.80 delivery, even for Prime member. Noice!
What a scam haha
I got that one and seems decent (but I'm a total noob and haven't done any heavy soldering), heats up quickly, temp seems reasonably accurate, tips that come with it are pretty terrible but that's to be expected, also no auto off feature so if you forget and leave it on it will stay on which is probably not great safety wise, so just be aware of that.
That deal is also not very good because it's jacking up shipping to compensate, however it goes on sale pretty often.
The deal is also on Jaycar eBay $20 with flat $8 shipping
Hmm I am in need of a soldering iron but I've been holding out for one of the Ryobi battery ones to go on sale. Any idea how this might compare (apart from being mains powered, of course).
There's probably very little difference in performance between the two.
The real question is whether you're regularly soldering in places where there is no mains power. If so, a battery one is the only option. If not, then just get a regular soldering iron and keep things simple.
I never solder anywhere except at my workbench, so a battery-operated soldering iron just seems silly. If your soldering jobs were in roof cavities or in tight spots for automotive electrical work, a battery-operated tool may make sense.
The Ryobi one came in handy when soldering wires at my car during a car audio upgrade and my dashcam install.
I hope your bank approves this loan.
This looks like a better option. Free shipping as well.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/166257809712?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mk…
Postage:
AU $14.88 Standard Parcel Delivery. See detailsfor delivery
Located in: Sydney, Australia
It says "Free Standard Parcel Delivery" for me.
Though, I don't think it's a better option.
Why is this a better option? The one that is similarly priced is not temperature adjustable.
Neither is the station in this deal. It's power controlled not temperature control. It's a lie.
The ebay iron looks the same as this one I got last year on special for under $5.00 posted.
I have this paid 70 for it and found it very average
for 20 probably worth it
but I would recommend a pinecil US$26 https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-solde…
Good deal but I'm a bit worried about having a wet sponge on top of the power cord. I know it's a common design, but still …
You arent supposed to have the sponge soaked and dripping wet.. Just damp.
I know. But I can imagine people trying to wet them by trying to pour water on them (although if they work with a soldering iron, they probably should know better than to pour water, even in small amounts, directly over the top of a live wire, even if it is "enclosed").
Thanks OP, I've got a Duratech soldering iron (in the style of a Hakko 936) that's been going strong for about 18 years.. albeit not daily use, but I've left it on overnight a few times..
Nice, thanks.
Bought that one for $89 last year, could not be happier. I have used it multiple times and it's great to be able to do my soldering outdoor under our pergola.
https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-18v-one-soldering-iron-too…
These aren't good don't recommend. Get a pinecil.
Was using a cheap soldering iron from Bunnings for my Gameboy mods/repairs. Ended up getting a Hakko and my god you can tell the difference. Don't cheap out guys.
i think a good starter soldering iron would be a chinese T12 clone like quecoo t12-955 or ksger 2.1 with multiple tips, around US$40-50 on aliexpress. get a handle where you slide the tip in, not do up with a nut
Thanks op. Anything beats my $10 solder.