Soldering Station - What to Buy?
- Thread starter Kevin L
- Start date
drvnbysound
Senior Member
It definitely took some time to do. The main gauge cluster and A/C controls alone took me pretty much (2) full days... removing the panels from the car, tearing down the clusters to the circuit boards, removing the old LED's... you get the picture. I cross cars off my list when there are no easy to moderate solutions to change the OEM radio
Thanks!
I haven't updated it in some time, but I've got other car related work that I've done posted in my Showcase thread if you care to see more. I'm hoping to get around to finishing the hatch area of my car in the next 6-8 months, but we'll see. Since I started retro-fitting my home with structured wiring about 8 months ago (when it was cool in the attic like it's starting to get again now) I've pretty much been solely focused on home related projects... adding Zwave devices, SageTV, and currently working on getting my Elk installed and setup. That said, my wife really wants me to build a workshop in our backyard so I can move all of my tools out of our garage - for some reason she wants to park in there :unsure:
I'm thinking the same thing. Long gone are the days of little bulb "condoms" to change the dash light colors....
drvnbysound
Senior Member
Ha! Funny you mention that. After showing some friends what I had done, one of them decided he wanted to change his - a 2008 Toyota Tundra. He tore the dash apart, hoping for LEDs that could be a direct replacement. Unfortunately, he came across a few incandescent bulbs and there was no way LEDs would illuminate the entire dash (too directional). He ended up trying the colored "condoms"... It didn't work out so well, you could see some decent hot-spots and tell it wasn't anything close to OEM :unsure:
I was changing dash bulbs 20 years ago when I first got into car audio. It was amazing how many people wanted their dash lights to match their new Denon or Nakamichi tape player....Those were the days...
kwilcox
Active Member
Since I started this thread, I just wanted to update. On BSR's suggestion, I ordered the Hakko FX-888 Soldering Station. Last weekend I used it to solder wires onto a PCB in a Liftmaster Smart Control for my garage door so I could finally automate the door without resetting the clock on the control. I practiced for a while on a junk board before doing the real thing. The Hakko worked great, and so does the Smart Control now.
The Hakko may have been a lot to spend for the very occasional use it will get, but it's nice to have a quality tool when you need it.
Thanks to BSR and the rest for all your suggestions. This is a great community.
Kevin
The Hakko may have been a lot to spend for the very occasional use it will get, but it's nice to have a quality tool when you need it.
Thanks to BSR and the rest for all your suggestions. This is a great community.
Kevin
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
FYI: Frys has the Hakko FX-888 Soldering Station on sale for $70.
I like XYTronics soldering station, I have 169D, the newer one is LF1600
https://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/LF1600.html
For smd parts, this one is good:
http://www.xytronic-usa.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=202
Very stable temperature and ESD protection.
https://www.howardelectronics.com/xytronic/LF1600.html
For smd parts, this one is good:
http://www.xytronic-usa.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=202
Very stable temperature and ESD protection.
pete_c
Guru
Kevin, your OP got me to set up my old workbench in the basement.
I set up my old old workstation and soldering station in the last few weeks. I was soldering on the kitchen table for the last 10 years or so. Recent little project was to solder a 40 pin ZIF pata connector to a motherboard. It involved initially removing a zif connector from another board baking (low on the WAF - but she didn't anyways) it for a few minutes (which I have never really done) and then soldering it to the motherboard. It was easier than I though using solder flux.
I have two lamps on the workbench which help a bunch. One is a circular magnifying glass with a fluorescent lamp on it and the other is just a 2 bulb fluorescent lamp. I did also attach a touch screen LCD, small computer, switch et al on the workbench.
I set up my old old workstation and soldering station in the last few weeks. I was soldering on the kitchen table for the last 10 years or so. Recent little project was to solder a 40 pin ZIF pata connector to a motherboard. It involved initially removing a zif connector from another board baking (low on the WAF - but she didn't anyways) it for a few minutes (which I have never really done) and then soldering it to the motherboard. It was easier than I though using solder flux.
I have two lamps on the workbench which help a bunch. One is a circular magnifying glass with a fluorescent lamp on it and the other is just a 2 bulb fluorescent lamp. I did also attach a touch screen LCD, small computer, switch et al on the workbench.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
That looks like a nice unit, especially the SMD attachment.
I bought a powder-coating sprayer last year on closeout. Didn't think my wife would appreciate using our oven for baking, so I picked up this convection oven at Newegg. Much better WAF.
Kevin
Kevin, I have been looking to do this for some time. Do you have any info on what you read or used to make this work? What kind of opener?
Thanks,
Steve
Hi, Steve,
I have a Liftmaster 3800 opener that uses the 398LM control panel. I found the instructions for modification on the Autocloser website. It's pretty easy to do if you have the soldering skills. Since I lacked the skill, I practiced on a junk board.
HTH,
Kevin
I have a Liftmaster 3800 opener that uses the 398LM control panel. I found the instructions for modification on the Autocloser website. It's pretty easy to do if you have the soldering skills. Since I lacked the skill, I practiced on a junk board.
HTH,
Kevin
