[Rat Salad]

 
My old station blew out (used a lot for RC cars and misc repair.  I got a buddy can get me same (nice) price on a pace ST50 or Pace ST30.  Mostly the same (auto shut-off and all).
 
Anyone think there is a benefit or one type digital or analog over the other?

 

[deltaydeltax]

I have a Pace analog station, and a Pace digital station. I greatly prefer the digital over the analog. The digital has a feature which allows you to set a temperature and lock it so someone else can't come along and change it.

 

[Rat Salad]

Thanks.. I will end up with the digital.. 

 

[wdahm519]

I've used both extensively, and I don't really care.  Digital is nice to have I guess, but you pay for it.

 

[jr41]

When I brought my station I wasn't fussed whether I ended up with a digital or analogue one. In the end I went with a digital one because it was only a few £ more than the analogue. I'm glad I did too, because digital has a useful feature. On my iron, the digital readout displays the current tip temperature. When soldering something into a pad on the ground plan for example, a lot of heat is typically drawn out of the tip, and you don't want to move onto the next pad until the tip is back at the desired temperature. The digital read out tells you this and so stops you moving onto the next pad before the tip is up to temperature, which would result in a potentially messy/cold joint.

 

[Rat Salad]

I am getting a demo from a distributor and they are offering same price digital vs analog.  I will pick up the digital today Thanks!

 

[iamthecheese]

I just got a new digital station. It's nice being able to see the temperature readout of the tip and adjust by a single degree. It's up to you though whether you prefer a dial or some buttons to set the temperature

 

[deltaydeltax]

Another feature I like is the auto off with the digital station. Some analog have it too. It's much easier to look at the display and see a lower temperature due to auto shut-off.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

You really need a good digital to analogue iron converter for an optimum soldering experience.
 
(In seriousness, I'm fine using an analogue one since I never need to get particularly accurate anyway. If you're keeping your iron at specific temperatures +/-1 degree then you're possibly missing the point. The live readout would be useful, though.)

 

[Rat Salad]

I got the ST50 with the T100 iron  Really a nice unit.  Gotta repair some RC cars foir a race my son is running.  
 
Then gunna try and make some fancy interconnects for my DAP to Headphone amp.  Amazing how much they charge for those!

 

[deltaydeltax]

I've used the ST50 and TD-100 pencil. A nice combination. I had near thirty different tips for the TD-100. I hope you enjoy your new setup.

 

[TheLaw]

Meh. Digital is nice, but for hobbyist type work, your temperatures aren't as crucial and I think something like a WLC-100 is more than adequate for most people. If not that, Hakko has a new cheap station. I forgot it's name, but it's nice.