BSARS

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Inexpensive thermostatic soldering station

Posted: 21 Sep 2016 03:03 AM PDT
https://bsars.co.uk/2016/09/21/inexp...ering-station/

Some time ago my Aouye decided to completely pack up, the hot air side
having died a long time before. The lack of a circuit diagram or manual
with at least some service info was going to make trying to repair it too
time consuming and I replaced it short term with a Maplin badged thing that
works but the stiff cable, lack of any callibration on the temperature pot
and slow heat up time made it less than ideal.
LookingÂ* at Hakko irons I found that there are a lot of clones about and
also cloned parts. A 50w 907 handle with ceramic heater and tip can be
bought for £3.49 and a 936 controller panel for £4.99. This just needs a 24
volt ac supply and as I had such a transformer in my shed thought it must
be worth a go. The bits arrived very quickly, from China of course, mains
cable came from a dead tv leaving me to rummage through a box to find a
rocker switch with a neon indicator. The controller panel slots into the
case on the 936 and has no fixing screws so I decided to do the same and
made my case from offcut plywood that I had left over from lining my shed,
just cutting the slots with a hand saw. I had a couple of stands but the
iron fitted neither of them so to finish it off I made a stand from a short
piece of 22mm copper tube and a wire coat hanger and screwed it to the top
of the plywood case.
The finished article heats up in about 10 seconds, has a silicone cable and
calibrated dial making it much nicer to use and different tips are
available very cheaply too. How long will it last? Well with replacement
parts readily available at those prices, I dont see that as an issue.
I may get round to painting the plywood but now its time to investigate how
to replace the hot air as cheaply as I miss that too because if nothing
else it was great for using on heat shrink tube.
M0MJU