Hi guys,

First a bit of background -- I've got an Antex 660TC soldering station=20
and two TC50 soldering irons, which have served me well for more years=20
than I dare count. However it has some little quirks (probably due to=20
old age)...

My biggest gripe is that after a few hours, the yellow plastic section=20
of the soldering iron is too hot to hold comfortably. This is a real=20
pain during long rework, repair and "crash-and-burn" test sessions.=20
Interestingly the second (newer) TC50 handpiece seems worse in this=20
regard. Tip temperature is set to 350 Celsius at most (usually ~325C=20
when I'm using 60/40 SnPb).

A secondary is that it doesn't have anywhere near enough grunt to solder=20
DC power connectors, e.g. the Switchcraft RAPC722. That said, this is a=20
minor annoyance -- I have a gas soldering iron ("120W equivalent") which=20
can solder these, and >90% of what I do now is small SMDs.


I had a look at a Pace WJS100 at the Farnell trade counter today and=20
started considering an upgrade. There's almost no weight to the=20
handpiece, and it looks pretty decently made. The gold paint finish is a=20
bit garish though (five quid says it'll be worn and scuffed to hell by=20
the end of the first month in any reasonably well-used electronics lab).=20
The ST100 is nicer (and comes with two irons and stands) but doesn't do=20
ISB and costs a fair bit more...

I also had a look at one of the Metcal Smartheat stations, but wasn't=20
impressed about having to buy separate bits for different temperature=20
settings. I can see where that would help (production lines), but on my=20
lab bench I like being able to start at a baseline of 335C (for SnPb)=20
and increase from there as necessary (I usually increase by another 25C=20
or so if I'm using desolder wick or soldering heavy ground planes).

Thing is, I don't want to plunk down =A3250 plus VAT on a soldering=20
station on the basis of marketing newspeak and paper specifications.=20
Does anyone here use or own a Pace?
How do they compare to the likes of Metcal, Antex and so on?

Thanks,
--=20
Phil.
piclist@philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/

--=20
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