Soldering Irons

I have done a lot of electronic soldering and over the years, I have had a number of soldering irons, but when I worked at TI, I became really fond of the 15 Watt Antex model 'C'.   The Antex model 'C', is only 15 Watts, but it heats up quick and makes beautiful joints.   I bought one and have used it ever since for most electronic soldering.   I do have an 80 watt Weller that I use for larger jobs, like soldering several 12 Awg wires together and a 100 Watt, magnetic induction Weller gun for larger jobs but its very slow to heat and sometime doesn't get the joint hot enough to wick solder.  
back to the Antex, the only problem with the Antex is I have trouble finding the 1/8" (nomal electronics) and 3/32" (fine work) chisel tips and the Irons themselves (made in England) are pricey!   Anex used to make a 1/16" nickel chisel tip, but I didn't see one on MM Newman's site.   Antex 1/8" chisel tip at Amazon for $11.96.   I just recently found the MM Newman company, in the US, that imports and sells the tips for about $5.68 each, they also seel the irons.   I mostly use the 86-NC 1/8" nickel plated chisel tip and the 2-NC 3/32" nickel plated chisel tip.   Newark also has Antex, but a little higher than Newman.    

For a long time I have heard a lot about soldering stations, so I decided to buy a Weller WE1010NA Digital Soldering Station.   Most of the reviews were good, but a few said they didn't get as hot as advertised.      

  When I have used the cheapie irons, especiially on larger wire etc., I have a lot of problems getting the joint hot enough to make the solder wick.   So I did some checking and found how to measure 600 - 1000° soldering iron tips with an Arduino and a thermocouple.   I thought this would be a good thing to know about all my irons.  

My Weller SP80 (left), the Antex 'C' (center), and Antex 'C' tips.   bTW, notice the velcro strips around the cables, I ordered a roll of velcro from Amazon and cut off a piece everytime I find something that needs bundling

Closer look at the Antex all chesel tips.   The Antex iron with a well used 1/8" tip on the left.   Next is are a 1/8" tip, a 3/32" tip, and an approximately 3/64" (.051") tip. I bought these long long ago, and I don't remember what the smallest tip is.

better pic of 80 watt Weller and 15 watt Antex chisel tips.

Weller 1010NA, on the bench heated up.   I've only used this thing a couple of times but so far I really like it.   When you start soldering the reading on the control unit drops and shows it reheating, which doesn't take long.

Weller 1010NA with the iron on the bench so you can see it easily, the cord is very pliable which makes it easy to get into almost any spot.

And naturally, a chisel tip.

I bought a type-K thermocouple and a MAX6675 amplifier.   I'll hook up an Aduino Nano to them and have a program print the '° F' every second or so.      

/*H***************************************************************
* MAX6675 k-type Thermo converter
* reads data from module and shows temperature values in F
* Modified from Example code http://www.ladyada.net/learn/sensors/Thermo
* Refer to http://www.SurtrTech.com for more details
****************************************************************/
#include <max6675.h>

//******************* DEFINES *************************************

//******************* VARIAbLES *************************************
#define ThermoDo    4 
#define ThermoCS    5 
#define ThermoClk   6 
MAX6675 Thermo( ThermoClk, ThermoCS, ThermoDo);

//******************* PROTOtypeS *************************************
  
/*F***************************************************************
*
*****************************************************************/
void 
setup() 
{
	Serial.begin( 9600 );
	delay( 500 );
}
/*F***************************************************************
*
*****************************************************************/
void 
loop() 
{
//   Serial.print( "C = "); 
 //  Serial.print( Thermo.readCelsius());
  // Serial.print( "\t");
   Serial.println((String)+Thermo.readFahrenheit() + "° F");
   delay( 1000 );
}