I’ve been looking for a while, but our only good soldering station, the Weller WES 51 has been missing since the learn to solder event. Can folks please help me locate this?
The old Weller WTCPT iron was brought back (but is not working). However I have not been able to find the WES 51 since before maker fair.
This is our main soldering iron, and since the xytronics iron broke down, it has been our ONLY iron other than radio shacks and other more junky irons we do learn to solder with. I didn’t send this out till now because I thought I would simply find it in the mess or that it would show up somewhere.
We need this soldering station! Please take a look around.
Have you talked with Ian? I believe he helped pack of the Learn to Solder stuff at maker faire. Might help establish if it was at maker faire, or was missing from earlier.
I’ve looked for it at Hive on 3 separate days between maker faire and today. Even though I’ve gone through all of our electronics stuff to start cataloging and organizing it, I haven’t found it. I’ve ended up soldering with a radio shack iron from the learn to solder pile or just going up to my office at UC…
All the L2S stuff is in a corner in the lounge in boxes, because we didn’t want to put it back in the “in progress” electronics space as requested. I don’t know what that iron is, but if it was at either of the L2S it would be in one of those boxes, or perhaps already back int he electronics area, with someone putting the “nicer” irons back. Since the latter ins’t the case, maybe check those boxes?
Sorry didn’t check the lounge. We went through a couple boxes of L2S stuff that was in the meeting area. Would someone mind looking in the lounge and putting the iron on the sparkling clean bench? I am home with broken ribs and won’t be in for a bit…
Anyone is free to use the area while it’s being rearranged. I left out the digital scope, hot air rework, now the soldering iron will be back. If you need a power supply, etc, they are above on the pallet rack above the bench.
There were 2 wellers at the Maker Fair - One with a chris@davis sticker on it( I think that’s right) on it and then another with broken pins in the connector for the wand. Both made it back to the Hive.
Also the WTCPT (with a temp controlling tip ironically) was the iron with the broken pins in the connector - that would be why it’s not working. A replacement cord - I don’t think the pins are replaceable - should be about $30.
Clay, replacing the WTCPT cord was on my to-do list. Do you think it would actually benefit more from a whole replacement wand? Those irons are work horses. I know a guy who has one that’s lasted 25+ years.
It’s a curie point iron, the temp is controlled by the magnetic reluctance (or lack thereof) of the tip.
that’s why I love that iron - it’s a straight workhorse and tips, replacement and/or repair parts are inexpensive and readily available. There’s a reason it’s the most cloned unit and that it’s still around after being introduced some 35+ years ago. If the heating element is good - I’d just do a new cord, unless there’s other damage I don’t know about.