$10 soldering station from MCM
Oct 18, 2007 at 4:51 PM Post #31 of 43
Got the MCM last night. It's good for $10, but not sure I would pay full price for it since the Hakko clone from CircuitSpecialists is better.

I got all the tips, and they are all fairly small. It takes a good amount of time to heat up and due to the temperature range (100*F to 800*F) the iron is really only useful around 2/3 to Max dial settings. My Hakko clone heats up to 550* in less than a minute. My ECG is about the same amount of time as the MCM.

I like my ECG J-060VT better for temperature control as the range is from 464*F to 800*F. The ECG has bigger tips, so I think the MCM is better for small work, with a shorter iron it's also easier to control.
 
Oct 19, 2007 at 12:39 AM Post #32 of 43
now you told me that.... too late, mine is already shipped. I probably should have saved the $$ for a more serious station, I already had 4 irons after all ($1 store 20w & 30W, Weller 40w with big chisel tip, and radioshack desolder iron with a red bulb).

On the other hand, 100-800 C is not a bad feature, with the right tip I can use the lower temps for plastic works.
 
Oct 25, 2007 at 3:03 AM Post #33 of 43
got mine, it takes a long long time to heat up (is it really 50W?), but the temp control appears to be working well, the picture on the instruction paper shows temp markings in degree F.

Will be a great station for mid size projects. I am impressed by the quality of the tips more than the iron.

Thanks OP for posting the info.
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Oct 25, 2007 at 3:54 AM Post #34 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif
got mine, it takes a long long time to heat up (is it really 50W?), but the temp control appears to be working well, the picture on the instruction paper shows temp markings in degree F.

Will be a great station for mid size projects. I am impressed by the quality of the tips more than the iron.

Thanks OP for posting the info.
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Instructions? Man, I threw all that stuff out, great. So...where's 550, 600, 650 and 700?
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I used it to build my CK2III this past weekend (still need to case it up and wire). It's OK, and hard to dial in the temperature. The tips are small but due to the size and weakness in heating up I was able to apply solder but it didn't flow right. I use it around 3/4 dial (last notch before max) but a hair over. Sometimes I had to turn it up to about 7/8 (soldering the heat sinks down). That's with the default tip, probably should have used the chisel for that, but the heat up times are killer. I can change the tips on my ECG while hot (unscrew and pull out with pliers). I haven't quite figured out how to do that nicely with the Tenma, as I don't want to damage the knurl.

In contrast, I use my ECG at about 1/3 dial for all soldering, and 1/3 to 1/2 for desoldering. My CSI Station 1A, well, I just dial it.

I am eyeing that CSI soldering/desoldering station for $199.

Definitely thanks to OP for the $10 deal.
 
Oct 25, 2007 at 7:20 AM Post #36 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by holland /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Instructions? Man, I threw all that stuff out, great. So...where's 550, 600, 650 and 700?
smily_headphones1.gif


I use it around 3/4 dial (last notch before max) but a hair over. Sometimes I had to turn it up to about 7/8 (soldering the heat sinks down). That's with the default tip, probably should have used the chisel for that, but the heat up times are killer.


you should have read the instruction paper carefully.... 3/4 is 650-700 F, about right for normal work. To desolder large 40/60 joints you need almost 800 degree F, that is pretty much full throttle dude
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I am actually very impressed by the tips now, they are better than tips on the Weller digital station I used at work. I bought three chisels points, will save the original cone shape only for small SMD. I can probably do SMD with chisel point but I will need to use the fine tip somewhere anyway....
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Have fun
 
Oct 25, 2007 at 1:54 PM Post #38 of 43
I probably shouldn't recommend stuff that I've never used, but I figured for $10, this thing had to be better than the crap RatShack irons with their really crappy tips. I personally use a Hakko 936, so I wasn't interested in one for myself.
 
Oct 25, 2007 at 5:23 PM Post #39 of 43
Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif
you should have read the instruction paper carefully.... 3/4 is 650-700 F, about right for normal work. To desolder large 40/60 joints you need almost 800 degree F, that is pretty much full throttle dude
wink.gif



Thanks AudioCats. Reading instructions, what a concept, who would have known! (I tossed it without even looking, on/off, dial, what else is there...shame shame shame).

Are there 2 on/off switches? My temperature dial clicks when I turn it all the way minimum, it's also a different color band than all the others. I've not tried it as I leave my dial alone and use the main on/off, but I am curious as to the purpose of the minimum position clicking.
 
Oct 25, 2007 at 6:28 PM Post #40 of 43
The dial's click was what got me to read the instruction, but they didn't mention anything about it on that piece of paper. I think they stop marking the temp # because the actual iron temp doesn't quite match the marking. The marking in the picture is about 50 degree F off (the iron temp is lower).
That might explain the low price, plus they really do take a long long time to heat up, I really suspect they are not 50W at all, more like 20-25W.

The cord between the station and the pencil is way too stiff, I will recable it soon using soft wires.....
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For $10 or $15 they are great, I wouldn't buy it at the normal $25-$30 price though.
 
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