i am finding my self in a bit of a quandary i have been soldering since school i am now 24 years past that time and have only used single standalone plug in the wall 25,30,40 watt soldering irons and found i buy a cheap one use for a while and then buy a replacement tips use for a time then throw away and buy a new one at a cost of a £5-15
i find my self in a point that my other half could not find me a Xmas present and have asked what i want in the sales and on looking on line after trying to use my iron again am now looking at a soldering iron and poss hot air station
the stuff i work on might be a bit of help in choosing so most stuff i do is iPods, phones nintendo ds and such and have been playing with ps3 and 360(these i only played with just to get working to give someone a few months to save up and buy a new one as there realy cheap and old ones not realy worth repairing in my view) and most i work with is laptops mostly power jacks (mostly these as have mate that owns a pc shop and if he gets a few jobs in i help him out for a few beers please can i say i do not do this to make money most of the things i do are friends and family and poss a friend of a friend
i reason i throw most of the time is black tips and gets to the point that the heat does not seam to transfer the heat but from what i have seen most other problems i believe i have is cheap tips and poss the wrong mix of iron/solder/flux/
i am asking your option on this as i really need some fair but cheap item that will work well but not go to a professional price i know you get what you pay for normally i buy good quality and keep them for years (buy a hilti drill dont buy another)
so what would i need to pay for a soldering station to get fair quality and the hot air would be a bonus as i think this will help in getting a few of those power-jacks off the board a bit easier poss ps3 and 360 repairs for my kids machines if need be
is it better to get a all on one do the lot station or separate units and what are the benefits and drawbacks
thanks for your help in advance
i find my self in a point that my other half could not find me a Xmas present and have asked what i want in the sales and on looking on line after trying to use my iron again am now looking at a soldering iron and poss hot air station
the stuff i work on might be a bit of help in choosing so most stuff i do is iPods, phones nintendo ds and such and have been playing with ps3 and 360(these i only played with just to get working to give someone a few months to save up and buy a new one as there realy cheap and old ones not realy worth repairing in my view) and most i work with is laptops mostly power jacks (mostly these as have mate that owns a pc shop and if he gets a few jobs in i help him out for a few beers please can i say i do not do this to make money most of the things i do are friends and family and poss a friend of a friend
i reason i throw most of the time is black tips and gets to the point that the heat does not seam to transfer the heat but from what i have seen most other problems i believe i have is cheap tips and poss the wrong mix of iron/solder/flux/
i am asking your option on this as i really need some fair but cheap item that will work well but not go to a professional price i know you get what you pay for normally i buy good quality and keep them for years (buy a hilti drill dont buy another)
so what would i need to pay for a soldering station to get fair quality and the hot air would be a bonus as i think this will help in getting a few of those power-jacks off the board a bit easier poss ps3 and 360 repairs for my kids machines if need be
is it better to get a all on one do the lot station or separate units and what are the benefits and drawbacks
thanks for your help in advance