[Elecraft] Calibrate Solder Station

[Don Wilhelm]

Walter,

I use a Hakko 936 constantly, and have never calibrated it with any 
degree of precision.  I 'calibrate' it whenever I solder.
I watch the solder flow.  If it can adequately heat the solder pad and 
make solder flow in a 2 to 3 second window, the temperature is right.  
The actual temperature required will vary dpeandong on the area of 
copper on the PC board (more area sucks away the heat and requires a 
hotter iron), the diameter of the component leads (same reason), the 
ambient temperature, and a myriad of other variables.

If the solder does not flow out to a nice solder connection in 2 to 3 
seconds, I move the iron temperature dial up a bit, but if it flows more 
quickly than that, I reduce the temperature.  No expensive calibrating 
equipment is needed.

The above criteria is valid for thru-hole construction, and following 
good soldering techniques, which means that the solder is applied to the 
solder pad and component lead on the side away from the tip of the iron 
(the soldering iron can be 'wetted' with a small bit of solder).  If you 
have questions about the proper soldering technique, refer to the 
soldering tutorial on the Elecraft website.

If you are heavy into SMD construction with sensitive components, then 
more exact temperature calibration may be in order, but that is seldom 
encountered in amateur radio type construction.

73,
Don W3FPR

Don Nelson wrote:
> Walter V. Gilles wrote:
>   
>> Greetings,
>>  
>> I'm going to purchase a solder station, probably one of the popular Weller or Hakko units, with additional tips.  Both manufacturers sell accessories to calibrate the stations.  Some recommend performing a temp calibration whenever you replace the tip or the iron.  All well and good until you see the cost of these calibration (test) units.  Would it be prudent to forego the calibrations altogether, and just swap tips as needed, and rely on the initial cal to keep it in the ballpark?  I'm guessing after getting used to the station, you will have a sense of proper temp for a particular job, and could just tweak the temp setting up or down as needed without really getting into the calibration arena.  Just wanted to see what folks thought about calibration and if it was worth it.  Thanks.  73
>>  
>> Walter, WB2IDK (ex-N0DZJ)
>>     
>