[Techtalk] Soldering irons (OT?)

[John Clarke]

On Sun, Jan 11, 2004 at 10:54:26 +1100, Rasjid Wilcox wrote:

> I've been to Dick Smith's electronics, and my question is:
> Do I get a 25 watt soldering iron, or a 40 watt?  Particularly with things 

I'd recommend a temperature-controlled iron if you're planning to use
it a lot, especially on sensitive components.  They cost a lot more but
they're worth it.  Any decent one will be able to take different sized
bits depending upon what you're trying to solder.  I bought mine at
Dick Smith 15 or so years ago and it's still going strong.

Practice soldering on junk first - it's a *lot* harder than it looks to
do it properly.  Getting the temperature right, using the right amount
of solder, making sure everything's clean, etc.

> And on a similar vein, muti-meters.  There were some cheap ones (under AUD$50) 
> and there were quite a few expensive ones (over AUD$100).  I'm currently 

AU$100 is mid-range.  AU$300 is expensive.

> assuming that a cheap one is fine for learning with, but is it worth 
> investing in a good one?

You (mostly) get what you pay for.  I had a very cheap meter for years
because it was all I could afford at the time, but it was really only
suitable for basic measurements (e.g. is there something between 4 and 6
volts here, is this open circuit or not, etc).

If you  want the best and are prepared to pay for it (at least AU$250),
get a Fluke, but unless you're going to make a living from it, one of
the DSE meters will be fine.  IIRC, they have a digital multimeter for
about AU$120 which looks pretty well made and is excellent value (they
are a few cheaper ones too but they're not as good value).  I'd have
bought one if they hadn't had offered me the last of a discontinued
Fluke for the same price :-)


Cheers,

John
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