Re: Soldering irons [was Re: gEDA-user: Free Dog meetings at MITstarting this September!]

["M. P. Dickens" <mpdickens@tlanta.com>]

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DJ Delorie wrote:
| Ah, but which soldering iron?  I'm in need of an upgrade at the
| moment...  Nothing fancy, but able to safely handle surface mount
| parts.


Hello DJ,

Both Metcal and Pace make the best equipment. In addition, Pace and
Metcal equipment heat accurately, come to temperature *very* quickly and
have digital readouts that are dependable. The price points of both
manufacturers are similar. With that said, my company has units made by
both manufacturers and we have found the units manufactured by Pace to
be more reliable than those made by metcal.

The trade off is that Metcal equipment has a better ergonomic design
regarding the hand piece than what Pace sells, but the Pace equipment is
sturdier. So, I suppose you can say Metcal is easier to use, but pace
equipment lasts longer (Much longer, in our experience...). Some weeks,
our stations run 12 to 15 hours a day. So, in our case reliability is
more important than ergonomics.

Best regards


Marvin Dickens
Alpharetta, Georgia  USA
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