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

[Karel Kulhavý <clock@twibright.com>]

On Tue, Aug 24, 2004 at 11:37:28AM -0400, John wrote:
> I bought the Xytronic 379, auto temp soldering station with some
> additional soldering tips B04 and B05.  List price for the 379 is
> USD$59.95.  I paid less as part of a group purchase with others in the
> Do It Yourself (DIY) automotive fuel injection project.  It's called
> "Megasquirt".  See <http://www.megasquirt.info/index.html> for more
> info.  I would suggest calling Howard Electronic Instruments at

Cool, my mom wants automatic garden watering, is it possible to adapt this to
squirt upon flowers? Not every revolution of the shaft, but every revolution of
Earth :)

Cl<
> 1-800-394-1984 and request a printed catalog.  Tell them you are part of
> the "Megasquirt DIY" group and ask what is the special pricing on the
> Xytronic 379.  When I bought mine in March the price was USD$ 37.95.  A
> real bargain.  Also check their web site:
> <http://www.howardelectronics.com/>
> 
> John
> 
> "M. P. Dickens" wrote:
> > 
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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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
> Snip
>