Hello everyone,
I just bought a sp404 og in dire need of new potentiometers which implies soldering.
I have no idea what to get equipment wise.
Good peeps of elektronauts what type of soldering iron should I get?
I found sp parts on eBay so that part is covered.
Thanks!
Philippe
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Are you planning on using the iron for other stuff or just a one off repair? The reason I ask is that if youāre looking for a decent iron that should last years Iād suggest a Weller. You can replace pretty much everything should you need to and thereās a wide range of tips available for most of their irons. Personally I use a WTCP station which Iāve had for donkeys years. At work weāve just shelled out and replaced out ageing WTCP station for a newer (more expensive!) Weller model. Hakko is another good brand to consider too. A colleague has one on his bench that he swears by
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Just got a Hakko Fx888d which I found to be the sweet spot for progressing from low quality or underpowered irons which were hampering my soldering. The device is very funky and impeccably designed functionally speaking and well made, but the colour/form is too āplayfulā ā¦ but the reviews made it pretty much the only choice for me.
Having said that, if itās not going to be a regular thing, buy something less spendy.
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Take a look at this discussion: How To Get Started In Soldering | Hacker News
Note: donāt get strung out by the word āhackerā, this is just a pretty well informed discussion forum of the venture capital company YC Combinator, not some darknet forum
I have spent way too much money into top notch solder stations in my live, but when it comes to useage, I use my TS100 and PINECIL v2 more or less 100% of the time. They are precise, small, are USB or 12V powered. Dunno when I turned on my Weller the last timeā¦
Today I would rather buy a PINECIL than the TS100, because they changed MCU and that didnāt make the Ts100 better 
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Thanks everyone for you super informed answers. I have a fair bit of machines some of which are more than 10 years old so I could very well consider going down the regular route. Iāll have a look at the links and suggestions and get back to you!
Thanks again!!
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That looks more square than I expected, howās the ergonomics?
For some reason I thought I had something against this one, but nothing is jumping out at me. Maybe they changed whatever it was I didnāt like about the design, or maybe Iām misremembering.
Looks very inexpensive, so Iāll probably give it a go since Iāve been meaning to get something more portable. Strange they donāt seem to have a case for it.
I think they come in some kind of box.
I like them way more in my handy than most soldering station, where many are really think and all have thick cables.
Both are D shaped, second has some rubber around the area for your fingers.
Both work with 5.5x2.5 DC jack, ts100 struggles a little with some usb sources because of usb micro, pinecil uses usb-c and works greate with powerbanks that deliver enough power.
They come with one tip, there are some sets with different tips available. ts100 and Pinecil v2 share the same tips.
Ah, i would like to add: I use both (with different tips) for all purposes. I solder SMD as well as solder connectors to 5mm thick cables for RC Batteries.
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For general synth repairs I use a soldering station with temp control and a range of tips, for things like potentiometers, switches and jacks you need quite a bit of surface area on the tip, so that heat transfer occurs quickly, usually a medium sized chisel bit. For regular through hole work a small chisel bit is best, for SMT a fine pointed tip is best. I also have a hot air station which is essential for some work.
Ah, so itās only squared off on the top? Thatās fine then.
Yeah, Iām thinking power bank. And the ts100 seems pricier than it needs to be. So thatās out.
The only reason I want a case is Iād like to throw it in my bag and not have to worry about the tip scratching stuff up. Plus it would make sense to have a couple of small spools in it for solder and braid, and maybe some mod wire.
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i personally have used this for a few years now. i prefer gas. IRODA SolderPro 120K Cordless Butane Gas Soldering Iron 4-in-1 Kit 30-120W | Switch Electronics
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Pretty good video here about the Pinecil, and useful info for beginnersā checking resistance, fixing errors, etc.
I only solder a couple times a year so I picked up this one for my last project. Worked well!
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I got a YIHUA 939D+ years ago and itās been solidā¦ nice flexible burn resistant style cable on it, price is nice. Mostly used it for modding gameboys and the occasional fix.
As it doesnāt sound like youāve done any soldering before this, I can only recommend that you start with something like this $12 adjustable temperature iron kit and a soldering practice board, so that way if soldering turns out to be not for you, you still have money left to pay someone to fix the 404 and not accidentally add additional cost onto the repair.
Incidentally, I bought one of these $12 kits and it works fine even compared to some ābetterā irons, but not when compared to a āgoodā iron.
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I recently got a Pinecil and itās really fantastic.
I have one of those kits. It works surprisingly well. The temp control is not calibrated, meaning the sticker on that dial has nothing to do with real life. That did contribute to a mishap once, but it wasnāt bad enough that Iād warn people off of these things. But still, might be worth spending 2x to get something better. Thatās still cheap to me.
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To piggy back on this post a bit is there any reason to not go for a cheap multimeter just for basic trouble shooting finding continuity type stuff? not really sure of all the features fancier ones give you.
Iām not a multimeter expert but most of the importance is less in the features and more in the potential resolution of the reading before an order of values is dropped from behind the decimal point, thus how refined of a reading you require for your application. Thatās what is meant with the ācountsā rating, itās the highest possible numeric reading before the meter drops one numeric position from the tail end of the reading. Features are just that, what you donāt/wonāt need, you wonāt miss.
Search multimeter counts explained on youtube, there are some good videos.
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