Bosch Balderdosh?

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Get this from CPC.

TENMA - 21-10115 UK - SOLDERING STATION, DIGITAL, ESD, UK - £35.94

I've given my Weller TCP iron the sack...

Mine, not Bosch, also has an indicator. It can be operateed out of sight of the door, so the indicator is useful. You want to make sure it's open before dashing through the rain and finding the door still shut..

i'e had to since the bit seems to have "welded" itself in place.

Seems a good price, is Tenma a "heard of" manufacturer? Or would it be wise to stock up on spare bits and elements when buying one, rather than risk disappointment later on?

They probably bought it off the shelf in any case and the chip it talks to. Brian

I got mine at a similar discount from Maplin as I needed something hot enough to do Lead Free (+ was emergency, so Maplin distress purchase....).

Does have some issues if you read reviews on Amazon, but I'm not fussed as some. Yeah lead could have been a bit longer, could have had rubber feet, etc...

Overall it does the job, for a tenth of the original price of my Weller station. In one of the reviews above, it gives the link to an excelent value set of bits.

Notice they sell a variety of spare bits - but not a replacement element?

I've seen designs where an LED has been used a voltage reference/current limiter, it may be doing more than just showing a button press...

The Hakko clones off Ebay are usually ok and at least parts and tips are available.

To be a voltage reference, it has to be someways in paralllel and not in series.

Current limiting? Not like an incandescent bulb, an LED will keep drawing current until it melts!

Current limit in the sense that it was used as a voltage reference for a current limit circuit - guess it was cheaper than a Zener and it performed two functions ;)

Adrian C put finger to keyboard:

uk/dp/SD0173805

"Imported temperature-beard materials with long life" ???

Produces lots of whiskered joints then.

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I had that happen on a door chime remote.

David

Sorry, Avast crap fixed (hopefully)

David

I learned to solder with one of those, with a bit that was probably 2 decades past being worn out. It does mean I can solder with just about anything now, including a screwdriver held in a gas flame, although I do prefer my nice temperature controlled iron.

I've still got a 25 watt Solon. In the bottom of the 'seldom used' drawer. ;-)

Strangely, the iron I bought just after it in the early '60s - Antex - is still the make I prefer to this day, being so small and well balanced. But I'd guess this is a personal thing.

I had to buy a 200v element for mine when I went to university - the town having 200v mains. It lasted quite a few years on 240v and was somewhat hotter than normal.

Clearly, as far as this group goes, the Internet is NOT an indication of a young person :-)

(The body of an old man; the mind of a youngster)

your body is 10 years younger than mine!