[Elecraft] Good deals on vacuum desoldering equipment?

[Harry Yingst]

I pieced together a de-solder station with surplus items off of ebay
(Vaccume unit and Pace handset).

It was probably one of the best investments I've ever made.

I used to hate having to de-solder using the braid, etc. method.

Now it is a simple task.


If your really on a low budget you can get the de-soldering irons with
the rubber bulb (I think Radio Shack still sells them) I had one in the
past and with practice you can get pretty good with it.







--- Scott T Emery <emery@nas.nasa.gov> wrote:
> 
> 	Desoldering is a fact of life for me. I am happy to say that when
> I initially built the kit I had maybe a dozen desoldering jobs in the
> process,
> either to correct errors or just following instructions. As I add
> things to
> my K2, especially when I upgrade it from A to B (budget constraints
> and 
> priorities have delayed that inevitability), I will do a considerable
> amount
> of desoldering.
> 
> 	Soldering is a dangerous activity. Health aside, one is applying
> heat to a valuable PC board and valuable chips and introducing the
> possibility
> of damage from Electrostatic Discharge.  Desoldering brings up all of
> the
> same issues, and may add some mechanical stress at these elevated
> temperatures.
> 
> 	I have a vacuum desoldering station which is basically a little
> glass tube with a teflon tip attached to a vacuum pump which was
> given
> to me.  It is the neatest thing since sliced bread, even if it does
> require
> frequent cleaning.  Since I have had the chance to use one of these
> things
> in addition to some of the other desoldering systems out there, I
> always
> recommend it highly.   But I imagine that it is a relatively
> expensive
> piece of gear (relative to a good soldering iron, solder, nips,
> etc.).
> 
> 	I have seen earlier discussions of "all in one" desoldering
> stations,
> where the soldering iron and the vaccum pump are an integrated unit.
> The
> trade-off between convenience and complication seems to favor
> complication.
> 
> 	There are some excellent resources for the K2 builder on the
> elecraft web site. Questions about soldering stations, solder, tools
> and
> specific useful techniques are answered there. I don't see a
> discussion
> of desoldering at various price points.
> 
> 
> 1) What is the current thought on the best desoldering practice.
> (i.e. am I
> 	way off in my vacuum desoldering craze)
> 
> 2) What is the best value in a vacuum style desoldering station if
> one
> 	insists on getting one (mine will break down eventually).
> 
> Scott Emery
> AD6RY
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=====
Harry - AB2PN

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