elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 5, 2011 1:13:53 GMT
It's a hot price. I have to look if Maplin ships also to Switzerland. (I really WANT to begin with soldering.) Christian, If they don't or won't ship to Switzerland, I can buy it for you here and ship it to you - you could PP me the cost of the station plus shipping. (One good turn deserves another) EDIT - Just checked the Maplin's website Christian, if you want me to get this for you and ship it over p.m. me and we'll get the ball rolling, Jeff Hi Jeff, thanks for the offer. The Maplin solder station looks really very nice. But it's a bit OTT to order it from UK. I guess the the postage could be quite high and I'm sure there must be good offers nearby my location. I've did some research in the last few days and I'm sure that I will order the solder station here: www.elv.ch/It's a big German electronics seller that has also an office in Switzerland. German prices, but paying in Swiss Francs, cheap shipping and no custom fees. At the moment, this soldering station is my favourite: www.elv.ch/ELV-Komfort-Louml;tstation-LS-80-80-W-inkl-Louml;tkolben-und-0,8-mm-Louml;tspitze,-ohne-Louml;tkolbenablage/x.aspx/cid_74/detail_10/detail2_25302/flv_/bereich_/marke_ These are the other soldering stations they are selling: www.elv.ch/output/controller.aspx?cid=74&rol_id=1&spr_id=1&detail=1&detail2=651&sort=3&URLKAT=&search=&preisfirst=&preislast=&preismax=&preismin=&marke=&bereich=&CRID=IMO the ELV LS-80 is the best compromise and it got good reviews (mostly in German). The general conclusion is that this soldering station is not perfect, but is very usable and offers great bang for the buck. I've already ordered some accessories, but comments about the soldering station above are highly appreciated. I'm not so sure which kind of solder I should buy. I'd like to buy silver loaded solder. Christian
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Post by pcourtney1 on Sept 5, 2011 17:11:56 GMT
Mike's model is very popular all over Europe, it is the ZD-916ESD, you can get them from Komerci for only 55 euros www.komerci.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=343&language=enFarnell and RS sell the ZD-916 as well I believe. I actually have the Maplin model A55KJ, which is probably not as good as Mike's, but I was told by someone that works at Maplin that they showed the ZD-916 to one of their regular suppliers, and said make one cheaper but just as good, and they came up with the Precision Gold Model A55KJ, but sadly it has different tips to the ZD range, because I only solder once or twice a year, it was good enough for my needs :-) Zhongdi Industry in China actually make the ZD-916 model that Mike has, and if you can get one, they are highly reccommended above anything else, value for money they just cannot be beat IMHO, about 5 or 6 of my friends have them, and they have to solder stuff all the time in their day jobs. www.sdzd.com/en/cause_2.aspx
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Post by pcourtney1 on Sept 5, 2011 17:24:02 GMT
I found this Maplin station on special. £40 UK delivered that is the same one as mine, it is in fact "Precision Gold" , which is an exclusive brand name to Maplin, and made by another Chinese company, Mike's is made by Zhongdi Industry, and probably better for full time soldering, but I am very happy with my model A55KJ for 40 quid :-)
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Post by pcourtney1 on Sept 5, 2011 17:31:33 GMT
Order a lf16d tip and enjoy! Best kept secret in soldering what is so special about a 1.6mm Bevel Type tip
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 5, 2011 19:41:28 GMT
Mike's model is very popular all over Europe, it is the ZD-916ESD, you can get them from Komerci for only 55 euros www.komerci.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=343&language=enFarnell and RS sell the ZD-916 as well I believe. I actually have the Maplin model A55KJ, which is probably not as good as Mike's, but I was told by someone that works at Maplin that they showed the ZD-916 to one of their regular suppliers, and said make one cheaper but just as good, and they came up with the Precision Gold Model A55KJ, but sadly it has different tips to the ZD range, because I only solder once or twice a year, it was good enough for my needs :-) Zhongdi Industry in China actually make the ZD-916 model that Mike has, and if you can get one, they are highly reccommended above anything else, value for money they just cannot be beat IMHO, about 5 or 6 of my friends have them, and they have to solder stuff all the time in their day jobs. www.sdzd.com/en/cause_2.aspxOf course, I'd be very happy with the same model that Mike has. I'll have to look on the Farnell website again, they sell also in Switzerland. Almost any cheap solder station is made in China today. Even the ERSA RDS80 is a cheap Chinese model with German branded box. I've seen webpages that show the innards. The (very costly) ERSA iCON solder stations are still made in Germany. I will definitely go the Chinese way, but without a costly German brand name on it.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 6, 2011 20:03:57 GMT
I've compared the prices at Farnell for the solder station that Maplin also sells. It's almost the double price there (177 CHF).
My real problem is that I have to hurry if I want the solder station LS80 from ELV. ELV has still very good prices, but I guess they will rise soon since the Swiss National Bank is taking measures to have at least a rate of 1.20 CHF for 1 Euro. So far the exchange rates is nailed firm at around 1.20 CHF for 1 Euro, but it could also change very fast (again).
I had luck with my ELV order this weekend and the order of a Project Sunrise amp a few days before. Probably I won't see so favourable currency exchange rates in the next few weeks/months.
But the (total) crash of the Euro is not so far away IMO. The idiots in charge (Sarkozy, Merkel, van Rompuy, Berlusconi, Zapatero, Pampadreou to name only a few...) could delay the crash further, maybe it will take several years. But the crash WILL come, no doubt. There's simply not enough money there to pay everyone that has outstanding money.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 20:52:22 GMT
pcourtney1
many thanks for that Komerci.de link, I know what my next purchase will be! Even the P&P isn't outrageous.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 6, 2011 21:37:03 GMT
Mike's model is very popular all over Europe, it is the ZD-916ESD, you can get them from Komerci for only 55 euros www.komerci.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=343&language=enFarnell and RS sell the ZD-916 as well I believe. I actually have the Maplin model A55KJ, which is probably not as good as Mike's, but I was told by someone that works at Maplin that they showed the ZD-916 to one of their regular suppliers, and said make one cheaper but just as good, and they came up with the Precision Gold Model A55KJ, but sadly it has different tips to the ZD range, because I only solder once or twice a year, it was good enough for my needs :-) Zhongdi Industry in China actually make the ZD-916 model that Mike has, and if you can get one, they are highly reccommended above anything else, value for money they just cannot be beat IMHO, about 5 or 6 of my friends have them, and they have to solder stuff all the time in their day jobs. www.sdzd.com/en/cause_2.aspxToo bad they (Komerci) don't ship to Switzerland. They ship only to EU countries, probably to avoid the paperwork for the customs. I'll make a Google search other sellers of that particular model.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 7, 2011 1:04:44 GMT
Done: I've pulled the trigger for an ELV LS80 with the needed accessories.
ELV has a Swiss dependancy, but they sell exactly for the same prices as in Germany. Today, they had still the very low currency exchange rates that have changed in the last 24 hours (1.11CHF=>1Euro yesterday, 1.20+CHF=>1Euro today).
I've bought also a few spare tips in various sizes.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2011 20:48:30 GMT
Done: I've pulled the trigger for an ELV LS80 with the needed accessories. ELV has a Swiss dependancy, but they sell exactly for the same prices as in Germany. Today, they had still the very low currency exchange rates that have changed in the last 24 hours (1.11CHF=>1Euro yesterday, 1.20+CHF=>1Euro today). I've bought also a few spare tips in various sizes. Good to see you're finally going to get started with the soldering. Post some pictures of your finger/hand/wrist the first time you burn it with the tip of a soldering iron You're not in the 'club' till you've managed to burn some part of your anatomy ;D Jeff
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2011 21:14:03 GMT
It's ok, if you burn a finger, another one grows in its place. Ian
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Post by PinkFloyd on Sept 7, 2011 23:10:47 GMT
You are a member of some weird club!
The idea is to melt "solder", not scorch your bellend...
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Sept 7, 2011 23:30:22 GMT
I hope that I can keep my fingers/hands unhurt. I need my fingers, so I'll try to be very careful. The next problem is to find a good place for soldering. My apartment is definitely NOT that place. It's freshly renovated and the property management would kill me if they would know that I'm soldering in the apartment. Certainly, it will take a while to acquire the needed skills. My intention is to practise with PCB's from old electronic devices (especially for desoldering) and, of course, I'll will do also the exercises that are written in the books which I've read in the last few months. Don't expect to see much in the next few months. My free time is limited and I have still a lot of other work to do at home. I have already a few ideas for the first real soldering jobs: – recabling a few headphones (HD-660, SR850, HD681, slightly damaged K500 that needs a new cable) – opamp change in my V-Can's – the crossfeed PCB's which I've bought from Frans a long time ago It's very likely that my first real soldering attempts will be not very successful, I will make small steps at beginning. What you can expect: A lot of questions from me in the next few months...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2011 22:47:45 GMT
New toy in the house....I wonder what it is Attachments:
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