List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $45.38
Today's Bonus: 24% Off
So apparently, I screwed up and didn't submit my review the second time (GG amazon. I really have to hit submit twice?) So, here it goes again. I bought this kit to start my own at home soldering station. I'm getting my Ph.D. in EE (electrical engineering), and as an experimentalist, have to solder all of my own circuits on a very regular basis. I had an idea of what I wanted, and what to expect from a soldering iron. I'm also currently taking an applied electronics course and the teacher recommended the $15 started kit by Elenco. I didn't want that one for two reasons. 1) It only has one temperature, and you can't control it with a knob. 2) It doesn't come with a closed stand, and I'm a klutz. Having the hot iron covered when not in a use was a requirement for me.
I stumbled on this kit in my search, but was hesitant. It was only $50, so how good could it be? And there were no reviews for it. I couldn't even track down a detailed list of what came with it, or even the specs on the soldering iron. But it's Amazon, and they've gotten a lot of my money: I figured if it was awful, they'd let me return it and refund me, so what the heck?
So here we go. This is what you get for your $50.
1) Adjustable soldering iron with interchangeable tip. It does come with an extra tip (a wedge shaped one). The temperature span on this guy is from 350 F to 900 F (150 to 450 C). Unfortunately, there are no temperature written on the station itself; it's color coded only, though in the manual, it does give you the approximate temperature of each block. I'll probably end up writing it on there in marker.
The base is made of a cheap plastic, but honestly, this doesn't really matter to me. The only problem I had with this was the holder has to be attached after you get it, and I was afraid I was going to break the plastic where it slid into. Fortunately it didn't, and everything works great.
It does come with a sponge, and don't be fooled like me. It looks small and dinky when you pull it out, and I was quite unimpressed. However, I didn't have a spare, and so wet it anyway. It blew up like a balloon and is actually the prefect size for this soldering iron.
My only real issue with it is the cord from the iron to the base is a bit thick and tough. I suspect that this will loosen up in time, and be more manageable, but it gets a bit twisted at the moment, which can be quite frustrating. However, it works great otherwise. It heats nicely, and I have no issues with my solder or flow.
There is one anomaly with this station. It has a place where a banana plug can be inserted. There is nothing about this in the short manual that comes with it, and I haven't played with it. It may be so you can measure the voltage, and/or temperature of the station, but I'm a bit at a loss of what its purpose is.
2) Lead-free solder. If you've never soldered before, go buy yourself some 60-40 Tin-Lead Rosin solder. Yes, it will have lead, so don't put it in your mouth, but it will make your life a million time easier. Lead-free solder is a b**** to work with, especially if you're new to the field of soldering. If you're doing circuits, it's completely pointless to fight with it.
3) Voltmeter (with batteries, woot!). This is one of the additions that made me get this kit. I don't own one of these, and I was stoked to find it in this kit. The meter itself isn't bad; it is cheap, but it does the job. The knob is a bit stiff and hard to turn, but I can measure voltage, resistance, and it even has a place to test diodes. It also came with its own little manual. I have one beef with this guy: when I was measuring some resistors, it didn't tell me when I was over 1k. So, reading 70,000 ohms, it told me 70, instead of 70k. So there is a bit of interpreting going on here, and maybe there's some hints in the manual, but who reads those.... :)
4) Wire cutters/strippers. These babies work fantastically. These are my favorite kind to use, and these guys are sharp and handle well. No complaints, only joy
5) 20 Resistors (2x's 100,150,200,220,330,56k, and 1x's 18k,27k,39k,47k,100k,120k,470k, and 680k) 1/4W and 5% each, 2 electrolytic capacitors, each 10uF, 16V, and 2 NPN, 2N3904 Transistors.
6) 2 LED's and 1 switch
7) PC board to practice soldering on. Most of this is just for practicing, and has nothing to do with actually building a circuit. It does have a part where you get to actually build a circuit and light up your LED's.
8) Desoldering wick--personally, I don't like this stuff. Give me a good ol' solder sucker any day.
9)16-pin IC socket, but no IC.
10)3 feet of 22 Gauge, single strand write.
11) Battery snap (battery not included)
12) Color code calculator to help you determine resistor, capacitor and inductor values quickly.
13) Misc (and very pointless) tools. I don't understand why they give these to you, and beware, they're sharp. I would not give these to children, should be you buying this for children. This kit would have been greatly improved if they had chucked these and tossed in a solder sucker, or even needle nose pliers, or both.
14) Detailed instructions on everything. These are great and invaluable, even for somebody with experience. It has a detailed section on identifying resistors, capacitors based on colors and number markings, how to solder properly, how to use solder wick, and more. It tells you how to solder properly, even advising you on tinning your soldering tip (which most people don't actually know to do). It gives pictures to help along as well, and overall, I'm impressed. I feel that if I were a beginning, I could easily get a good start on soldering from this kit, and the instructions contained within.
Overall, I'm giving this kit 4 stars. It has some pointless components, but overall its a great at home soldering station, and comes with some good basics. It's a good alternative to buying an expensive station (the one we have at the lab that I would love to have is $200), and it comes with some good basics, like the voltmeter, and a few resistors to start your collection. It is missing a solder sucker and needle nose pliers, and I recommend picking those up in addition to this kit. If you're looking to start an at home station, or learning to solder, this is your stop imo. I'll use this station until it dies, and by then, I'm sure I'll be able to afford my extremely expensive dream station.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I never review products simply based on the fact I am not getting paid for it. That said, I wanted to write a short spiel on this one in particular. The kit is great, fantastic really. I discovered though that they send 'lead free solder.' This stuff is JUNK. You have to get the iron all way to the top to get this to melt. This poses a problem for most PCB (printed circuit boards). I more than once melted the contact pad off of the practice area of the circuit board. Once I discovered the junky solder and high heat settings, I went and picked up some good old fashioned 73/27 solder. This stuff melts at a lower point, and it does not get the board or components as hot as fast. It is a good basic set to teach you how to solder. I would recommend it for anyone old enough to understand the dangers of how the iron gets.
No comments:
Post a Comment