[Elecraft] WTCPT Soldering Station

[G. Beat]

> Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 20:11:36 -0500
> From: Ed K1EP <spam snip>
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Weller Soldering Station
>
> I would also second that about Greg.  He has a vast knowledge of Weller 
> irons
> and is a great person to do business with.
>
> Ed

Thank you for the kind words.
BTW, thanks to Ed's keen observation last year, I discovered that Weller now 
"swags" the ends of their replacement heaters (e.g. EC234, TC208) made in 
Mexico (since  2002).

Weller did make a some production, assembly and fabrication changes to 
comply with the "No Lead" initiatives for production electronic assembly. 
This was likely one of those changes -- be interesting to see if this 
prolongs heater life.

What this means is that original BA60 barrel nuts made in the 1960s and 
1970s will also require replacing - if you replace the heater.
I experienced this situation when restoring a 1967 black bakelite TCP-1 iron 
(my holiday restoration project) - that had all original parts.  Poor sole 
put the wrong tip into this beautiful station ... welded this homemade 
copper tip to the heater -- still worked -- but not temperature controlled 
!!

I need to work with Tom Hammond and Elecraft staff to update the soldering 
station (and accessories) list.

Greg
eBay is a great source of abused equipment --- looking for foster care!