[sdiy] weller soldering tip

[Dan Gendreau]

Tom Fitzgibbon wrote:
> thanks for all the tips about stripboard, schematics, etc.
> all your info will come in handy down the road.
> Now, on to a new question
> I have a 20 watt weller soldering iron (orange model)
> and the tip is nearly burnt to a crisp. I cant find one locally
> and I am having trouble getting one online because i dont know the
> model number of what im looking for...

I have an orange Weller soldering station(unregulated). Its a model WLC100.
If this your beast, they have replacement tips on the same page:
http://www.rpelectronics.com/English/Content/Items/WLC100.asp

> also-
> what are the advantages of upgrading to a regulated power soldering
station?

IIRC, An unregulated iron loses heat as you are soldering, so the
temperature moves around a lot on you. A regulated(aka temp controlled) iron
can sense heat loss and adjust to always keep the tip at the selected
temperature.

RP also has some regulated stations here:
http://www.rpelectronics.com/English/Content/Divisions/Div_84_140.asp

The prices look reasonable to me, but shop around. Someone on the list may
know where to get soldering stations cheaper. Anybody suggestions?

And speaking of stripboard, another list member, Brock Russel first pointed
out RP electronics to me because they have big pieces of stripboard(8x15")
fairly cheap.
http://www.rpelectronics.com/English/Content/Divisions/Div_88_140.asp

Sorry for sounding like a commercial and all that. heh
-Dan G.