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Soldering Station - Was going to get a CSI Model (Circuit Specialists) but... - Page 2

post #16 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
I'm sure its not supposed to go 'offline' like that!

its a digital display and its supposed to just display the set and the actual temp (move the knob and its 'set' and release and it times-out to show 'actual').

I might have a bad pencil and that's why it goes offline but still - I consider it junk and won't waste money on no-name brands on irons again.
Mine does the same thing, but it's because the pencil is broken. I accidentally broke the heating element trying to put in another tip, and once I tried to install a new element I screwed something up. Now it does what yours does. It still works fine actually, the "off" business has yet to even be noticeable while I'm soldering..it's just losing a connection with the element somehow if it moves a certain way.

I wouldn't mind so much...a new pencil is pretty cheap. But it's ** $12 ** UPS shipping no matter what you buy from them. Good lord.
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post #17 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by holland View Post

not much tech in soldering stations, there's nothing unique about the technology. it's all just preferences. to be honest, it doesn't much matter what's used. all you need are tips and temp control. i can tolerate slow heat up, though the quick heat up of the hakko and the csi stations are nice.
Not true. The Pace irons I have are pretty damn advanced for what they are. The Pace and Metcals have temperature feedback. Some of the Metcals even have a monitor to keep your solder from reaching the point of oxidation. One of my Pace station even has a Dremel type tool with feedback on one of the channels. If you accidentally start to cut traces you don't want to cut, and electronic brake kills the cutting tool.

There are definitely some advanced ones out there.
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post #18 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:12pm
I've been using my CSI 2A for about a year and a half and have had no problems. i would recommend buying a few tips from them right off the bat. I'm very happy with it. knock on wood. ;-)

Digital Display Soldering Station (CSI-STATION2A)
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post #19 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by slowpogo View Post
Mine does the same thing, but it's because the pencil is broken. I accidentally broke the heating element trying to put in another tip, and once I tried to install a new element I screwed something up. Now it does what yours does. It still works fine actually, the "off" business has yet to even be noticeable while I'm soldering..it's just losing a connection with the element somehow if it moves a certain way.

I wouldn't mind so much...a new pencil is pretty cheap. But it's ** $12 ** UPS shipping no matter what you buy from them. Good lord.
ah, good to know. ie, that yours also winks on and off.

did anything ever fix it? new tips? new pencil? I'm willing to try tips+pencil from that company OR get tips+pencil from hakko and hak it (grin).

maybe I wasted time replacing that pot on the display but it sure felt loose and wiggled around A LOT. hard to find a cheaper pot than the one they used inside ;( it almost fell apart in my hands when I removed it. but the new pot didn't really help - maybe not even a little bit.

I guess it might be worth some new parts before junking it and going the $80 hakko route (sigh). that's just such a lot of money for what is 50 year old tech (ie, heating elements).
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post #20 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:57pm
(doublepost)
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post #21 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:57pm
also, what's the deal with 'lead free' soldering stations?

is there any magic to that or is an adjustable temp iron all you need? is there some special way lead-free solder needs to be treated during soldering or something?
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post #22 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
also, what's the deal with 'lead free' soldering stations?

is there any magic to that or is an adjustable temp iron all you need? is there some special way lead-free solder needs to be treated during soldering or something?
I believe the only difference in lead-free vs. traditional soldering stations is that lead-free solder generally takes a higher temperature to flow....therefore, a lead-free soldering station must be able to regulate that higher temperature. I imagine any temperature controlled station with enough headroom qualifies as a lead-free station.
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post #23 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:07pm
thanks. kind of confirms my suspicion that its 'rebirth time' on a sales level with the ROHS movement in the industry a 'good' time to sell you the same old iron again but with ROHS on the front panel.

I tend to prefer knob-adjustable stations and so I guess ALL of them are inherently lead-free-capable.
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post #24 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamess71 View Post
I've been using my CSI 2A for about a year and a half and have had no problems. i would recommend buying a few tips from them right off the bat. I'm very happy with it. knock on wood. ;-)

Digital Display Soldering Station (CSI-STATION2A)
Have you tried any Hakko tips on it?
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post #25 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:13pm
linuxworks,

The only thing that blinks on mine (digital) is a little dot on bottom right corner of the LCD, indicating that it is heating.

I assume that's not what your referring to, right?
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post #26 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:21pm
I don't have a dot, period! lol

there are 3 digits and after some idle time it blinks and displays OFF. I then jiggle the knob and it comes back (which is what made me think it was the pot that was faulty).

there's no dot on mine. is yours station 2a?
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post #27 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:49pm
I purchased one of these 929C's real cheap from MPJA.com

MPJA - Power Supply, Power Supplies, Security Cameras, LCD, Fans, Etc.

It's been good so far, light use for about 6 months. I can say it's night and day, better than the cheap Weller I purchased at Home Depot. As a beginner, it's a small silly thing, but knowing when my iron is at temperature and being able to know generally what temperature the iron is at with repeatable results made soldering WAY Easier.

My personal opinion is that iron's without temperature controls are for pros.
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post #28 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
I don't have a dot, period! lol

there are 3 digits and after some idle time it blinks and displays OFF. I then jiggle the knob and it comes back (which is what made me think it was the pot that was faulty).

there's no dot on mine. is yours station 2a?
Funny thing just happened, then you said "damned thing" I thought you meant damned as in me (my nick name) and thing as in the station I suggested (the one I have) :P.

I have Aoyue 2900...

Aoyue does make the csi you have but, it's not based on the same model from the looks of it, the iron on yours is more like the irons on the 9xx series from Aoyue: AOYUE SOLDERING,DESOLDERING,HOT AIR REWORK,INFRARED SOLDERING,REPAIRING SYSTEM

I chose the 29xx series because I wanted a slimmer iron and I liked how the heating element is part of the replaceable tips.
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post #29 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega View Post
I believe the only difference in lead-free vs. traditional soldering stations is that lead-free solder generally takes a higher temperature to flow....therefore, a lead-free soldering station must be able to regulate that higher temperature. I imagine any temperature controlled station with enough headroom qualifies as a lead-free station.
The melting point of lead free solders isn't as high as some may think. I solder between 575F and 650F. Pull some datasheets from Kester, Multicore and various other mfrs. You'll see you don't need an 800F iron to melt lead free solders provided you have a good station with controlled temp feedback.

Lead free solders and leaded solders vary a little on temperature. They vary a lot on the amount of flux they are cored with, and the lead free solder is also much more corrosive. Lead free solders have way more flux so you're going to have more exposure to colophony You're going to go through more tips with a lead free solder than you will with a leaded solders. I've had chunks of the nickle plating eaten off by lead free solders.

http://www.techni-tool.com/NEWS/2008...er-Results.pdf

http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/62847.pdf

Rosin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rosin & colophony contact allergy. DermNet NZ

I'll see if I can find some old tips lead free solder ate through.
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post #30 of 50
12/11/08 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaMnEd View Post
I have Aoyue 2900...
ok - so we have diff stations.

Quote:

I chose the 29xx series because I wanted a slimmer iron and I liked how the heating element is part of the replaceable tips.
that sounds like a good idea. I read that csi is including spare heating elements in their stations but when I ordered mine (3 yrs ago or so) I didn't get a spare heater. maybe its just the heater that is wonky on mine.

at some point it may make sense to just get a hakko and KNOW that I don't have to troubleshoot my own iron anymore (sheesh).

I mean, time is money, to some extent. if I spend time running around for repair parts and that still didnt' fix it, how dumb was that?
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