I just discovered that my dual power soldering station that I purchased last year from Radio Shack is in-fact a disposable item! Would you believe that they are still selling an item for which there are no replacement tips!! They don’t carry them in the stores or on-line and it is a non standard attachment and so it not available any where else.
So, I need a new soldering iron. This time I want to get a decent one. My main application for this will be decoder installation and circuit work rather than track-work. Any good suggestions and or good web sites for on-line ordering of such?
Your kidding me? I’ve bought 3 different irons from RS over the years and they still sell tips for all of them. What kind of tip does it have? Did you ask the store manager about one?
If you can’t find one, Wellers are good. I like the Ungers. They seem to heat up quicker and they have a nice variety of tips.
Go with weller! I really like my weller adjustable station… plus, get the 1/32" tip…wonderful for fine soldering! MUCH better than the Radioshack I had previously… yeah and the (RS) one I had, well the tips that were NO LONGER AVAILABLE>>>>ARRRGHHH!!! I think I had the same station you had…got it like 2 or so years ago!!!
Brian
P.S. Honestly, the weller station ROCKS… very adjustable; takes like 1-2 minute to heat up… very solid construction, plus a great brand name behind it.
Buy an ISO-TIP cordless soldering iron. I’ve used this professionally for over 20 years. It works GREAT on track soldering AND delicate decoder soldering. It even includes a light to help you see.
No amateur here… I used the Weller for years soldering fine robotic parts both here in the US and Europe. The cordless is intriguing (I currently use a propane cordless, but I would prefer electric), but if soldering larger pieces may be limited (I have no experience with this model). Also, I doubt the cordless is variable.
The stand IS also the charger. There isn’t an on/off switch, you just press a momentary switch on the iron and in 3 seconds its HOT. I get a good 1/2 hour or so good constant use out of it. That equals to be about a 1 hour project for most people. If you’re going to be soldering for longer periods of time then it makes sense to buy a corded model. I prefer the Ungar myself. But for most jobs this little baby works just great.
I had one of the Wahl cordless units now called the ISO-Tip until the nicads wouldn’t take a charge anymore I think it was a 25 watt iron. It was very good for for circuit board and small job stuff, but I never found it to be a real substitute for a good 40watt iron. If you’re going to be soldering a lot of track or DCC buss lines go with a weller station,
Its equivalent to a 25 watt iron. It works for me on track if I’m only soldering a few joints. If you’re going to be continuously soldering track then I would use a corded iron. Its still worth having because it fits comfortably in your hand and is very easy to use. I recommend 2 irons if you can afford them.
COLD heat…hmmm, well, BLOWS CHUNKS [soapbox]!!! Sorry, but I really hate mine. Tried it for a while and it is SO hard to get to work I almost threw it across the room. I think I have seen others state they have had many problems with it as well. Seriously, I would not use this for rail or other fine work…
My favorite soldering iron is my Cordless BUTANE iron. 20-25 minutes of constant use on a charge, recharges in a sec, and is not limited by a cord!
Best part is, 20 bucks at the old Rip Shack to get one! ALso the side vents on the tip are great for tightening shrink wrap tubing on decoder installs!
Thanks for posting the news about the RS Dual soldering iron station. That explains why I couldn’t find tips for mine a few weeks ago. VERY disappointing news, indeed. [V] Mine station works fine for now. I guess I’ll start saving up for another one - whenever it decides to give up the ghost.
Simon, if you have the extra $$$ on hand, spend it on a good Weller adjustable soldering iron. These will run you about $150 but they are well worth the additional cost. We use them at work and some of them have been around for 15+ years. Wonderful stations! [tup][tup] You can dial them in anywhere from 350 - 850 degrees and the tips ARE replaceable. They come with an LED redout that tells you both set and actual tip temperature.
The Weller adjustable soldering iron stations are available on eBay. You can also buy separately smaller soldering “pencils” (irons) for more delicate jobs. The pencils attach to the base unit with a screw-in connector.
Well, with the news you just gave about the RS model that we have/had in common, I’ll probably go ahead and look at one right now. The cordless ones are nice for portability. I’m not sure how adjustable they are temperature wise.
Not completely - I used it to repair a string of Christmas lights that were already on the house - didn’t need an extension cord ot to take the lights down - mini lights - tried it on 16ga wire, it - well BLOWS CHUNKS on anything bigger than 20 ga up on the house!![:D]
