Soldering Station Review
As part of building my workbench I thought it was time to invest in a soldering station. Attempting to solder with my $10 radio shack iron and it’s 1/2 melted tip, while holding solder, a wire, and trying not to move the prototype board on my desk was trying to say the least.
I wanted a half way decent soldering station, but didn’t really want to pay what the Weller stations were going for. I few months ago I attended a hack day event here in DC, and the local group was using an Aoyue station. If it could survive the abuse that they put it through on a daily basis I figured it would last me forever. It’s even better that you can find them for under $40 online.
Aoyue Soldering Station
To make the job even easier I went off the recommendations of the ladyada website in their advanced electronics kit. I ordered both the panavise jr. and the helping hands. With these two clamps I was able to make quick work of several arduino shields. It makes a huge difference in both the quality of the job and the enjoyment to have the right tools!
Look Ma, Two Free Hands!
In the picture above you can see how with the two vises I now have 2 free hands to solder with, one for the iron and one for the solder. The panavise jr. is rock solid and really holds the smaller boards in place. With a little fidgeting the helping hands can hold just about any component in place while you solder it. I’d highly recommend this combination!
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