Exciting! Amazing! The FM-202 Soldering Station!

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
If you find soldering as exciting as I do... and I know you do... then sit back with a tub of popcorn and a cold beer and FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS! Here comes the FM-202 Soldering Station!

CLICK HERE and then click on the FM-202 Soldering Station pictured at the top left just under the Now Showing banner.

Some of you who don't appreciate the fine art of soldering may not enjoy this video as much as the rest of us (and we number in the DOZENS!) but then again you might. This reminds me of the old Phil Hartman and Chris Farley commercial on SNL for Daisy Flanges.

Can soldering be exciting? You tell me.:grin:

I laughed as hard at this as anything else I've seen on here... plus the camera work and hand acting are first rate... really goes with the soundtrack.
 
Way cool! The soldering of the QFP near the end sold me! I am ordering one for every work station at my factory!

Seriously, we do use Hakko stations (as well as Weller) at our facility, and both their soldering and desoldering systems are pretty decent.

The funny thing is that some shooter probally got paid pretty well to shot and edit that little segment. It all comes full circle, this company makes production equipment which is used by the next company to make camera which is used by some production company to shoot a commercial for the company that makes the prodcution equipment.

Kinda of a circle of life sort of thing.
 
Honestly the QFP sold me too.:cheesy: Man when I build my next computer I mean I'm REALLY gonna' build it!

I'd planned to send this as a PM... and if you don't answer me here I will... wink-wink.

Is there anything you can tell me about a quality solder station? I'm not too impressed with most of the Weller stuff compared to Metcal or Hakko... but I'm amazed at how little comparison info there is on the net! So do I gain anything with the FM-202 versus the FM-102 regarding quality or performance? It seems that Hakko has a standard and digital model for each level of station they make. So what's the big deal with digital? How often to you change the temps? I figured everything gets soldered at 750 anyway.

If I'm using WBT Silver which has a melting point of under 500 would you advise that I try to solder at the lowest temp? I would think you'd put more stress on a component by having to hold the tip in contact longer... thereby heating the whole part by convection over time versus quickly heating the leads/pins enough to form a connection? No?

Since I'm upgrading my Weller I just want to know if it's worth the extra for digital input and readout. I understand the tip programing and auto-temp set for a given tip... but really how valuable is that? Can't you just pick up a tip that's normally ran at 750 and uh, whatta' ya' know... set it for 750? Then they even brag about being able to change the temp with the SAME TIP... Didn't they just sell me on the idea that the station sets temp automatically for a given tip?

So what is the deal with heat and fast connecting temps versus lower stresses of lower temps. Am I seeing this correctly or not?

Several of the parts suppliers sound like average joes in this regard and they've not been much help. I get things like, "why do you want to upgrade your weller... are ya' melting the insulation on the wires?"

I've never done that in my life... so these guys are not inspiring confidence. I just want a damn good station that's satisfying to use and will last me a very long time. Now if you can answer some of the dozen or so questions I've got in this post I'll bet you'll not only help me... but you'll ALSO help the one guy who's gonna' find this post by searching the archives in the next 10 years.
 
Well, I was "kind of" joking, but their commercial does a good job of making it seem like a great little tool. You're the first person I've heard of who bought that thing. If you say it's crap, then I'll take your word for it.
 
Isn't soldering the act of just melting little pieces of metal onto wires to attach them to things? How can that be exciting? LOL!
 
That's the joke... follow the instructions in my opening post to watch the "exciting" video... it's funny how they tried to make soldering seem really wacky. I hope everyone at that company laughed at the video... I especially like how the hand model either has Parkensons or else he's a raging alcoholic that's been on the wagon for just two days.

But of course I'm the kind of guy who can laugh at a funeral. If everybody gets my humor 100% of the time I'd probably get bored with myself.
 
NO CA$H said:
Isn't soldering the act of just melting little pieces of metal onto wires to attach them to things? How can that be exciting? LOL!
Click to expand...

Ahhh... but, therein, lies the humor of this thread. :happy:
 
MattinSTL said:
Honestly the QFP sold me too. Man when I build my next computer I mean I'm REALLY gonna' build it!
Click to expand...
MattinSTL said:
I'd planned to send this as a PM... and if you don't answer me here I will... wink-wink.

Is there anything you can tell me about a quality solder station? I'm not too impressed with most of the Weller stuff compared to Metcal or Hakko... but I'm amazed at how little comparison info there is on the net! So do I gain anything with the FM-202 versus the FM-102 regarding quality or performance? It seems that Hakko has a standard and digital model for each level of station they make. So what's the big deal with digital? How often to you change the temps? I figured everything gets soldered at 750 anyway.
Click to expand...


The presence of a digital readout is no guarantee of a good soldering station. Nice feature, but by far from what is really important. My mention of Weller was more for the general public, certainly when you get into Metcal systems, that pretty much defines you as a professional.

Soldering stations have three properties to consider. One is thermal mass, the next is regulation, the final one is heater output. The methodology of regulation can be anything from completely unregulated to sophisticated feedback devices that employee sensors that send temperature information back to a controller. A lot of the Weller systems use an interesting property of temperature affected magnetism. These types have a soldering tip that in effect is set to a certain temperature (and stamped with a number on the back end, 7 = 700F, 8 - 800F).

The second property, thermal mass, is equally important. Consider the difference between soldering a very small surface mount package and soldering a decent size connector to a cable. The iron can be well regulated but when exposed to these two different situations, the abrupt increase in load when attempting to solder a large mass will cause the temperature to droop much quicker.

Now if the regulation stage is sensitive enough (and isn't too disconnected from the actual tip in terms of thermal resistance) then the power of the heater will be asked to address the increased load. If fast enough and if powerfully enough, then the thermal mass will be fairly unimportant. This is how the Metcal's work, but they are pricey.

What we are really discussing is something known as the "profile" of the soldering cycle. It is the temperature expressed over the time of the soldering cycle.

If you have an soldering station that either lacks enough heater power, or has a poorer performing regulation design, then more thermal mass will help to stabilize the "profile" over the soldering cycle. By thermal mass I mean to include the mass of the tip used with the heater. So you can increase the thermal mass (as well as the contact area) by using a larger tip.

You also have to consider the types of materials and components that you intend to solder. It is very different working on small surface mount devices than the example of a cable and connector.

The other thing to consider when soldering wires (especially heavy ones) is that you can use a solder pot to "pre tin" the end of the wire prior to attempting to solder to a connector.

MattinSTL said:
If I'm using WBT Silver which has a melting point of under 500 would you advise that I try to solder at the lowest temp? I would think you'd put more stress on a component by having to hold the tip in contact longer... thereby heating the whole part by convection over time versus quickly heating the leads/pins enough to form a connection? No?
Click to expand...


The lowest temperature that assures good heating is usually the best, but this isn't necessarily the lowest tip temperature. Consider your example of WBT silver (I believe that this is a utetic alloy) with a stated melting temperature of 500F. If you have an iron with the tip set to 500F then as soon as you apply a load to it, it will drop below the wetting temperature of the solder. Now with enough time, the iron will react and pull it back up (regulation) but this can take some time, and while waiting, the leads and pins are being heated and their thermal resistance is being overcome by the applied heat. If you had a tip set to 700F then you might be able to accomplish the same joint in less time and impart less heating to the area outside of the actual soldering.

A good rule of thumb is what ever temperature that results in less heat spreading is the best.

Technique is something to consider as well. Someone who solders for 8 hours a day tends to get pretty good at it.

MattinSTL said:
Since I'm upgrading my Weller I just want to know if it's worth the extra for digital input and readout. I understand the tip programing and auto-temp set for a given tip... but really how valuable is that? Can't you just pick up a tip that's normally ran at 750 and uh, whatta' ya' know... set it for 750? Then they even brag about being able to change the temp with the SAME TIP... Didn't they just sell me on the idea that the station sets temp automatically for a given tip?
Click to expand...



Consider what you will be soldering and if it is a varied set of conditions, you may find that a single station may not suffice. As I mentioned above, the digital readout isn't what is important. At a minimum, get a decent number of tips that are appropriate for the tasks you will undertake.

MattinSTL said:
So what is the deal with heat and fast connecting temps versus lower stresses of lower temps. Am I seeing this correctly or not?
Click to expand...



You are seeing this correctly. It about control and cycle time.


MattinSTL said:
Several of the parts suppliers sound like average joes in this regard and they've not been much help. I get things like, "why do you want to upgrade your weller... are ya' melting the insulation on the wires?"

I've never done that in my life... so these guys are not inspiring confidence. I just want a damn good station that's satisfying to use and will last me a very long time. Now if you can answer some of the dozen or so questions I've got in this post I'll bet you'll not only help me... but you'll ALSO help the one guy who's gonna' find this post by searching the archives in the next 10 years.
Click to expand...


If this question comes up again in less than 10 years I will be more than a bit surprised. I bet guys like Hudson will read this and say "what a bunch of nerds, talking about a soldering iron when they should be out shooting a film..." and in a way he would be right. This is a bit of an eclectic subject to say the least.

As for buying something that will serve you for the next 10 years, well that will depend upon how much soldering you do. In a production situation, we don't expect that type of life, but for your applications, it might just make it.

What do you have for a budget on a station (don't forget to account for the expendables costs as well) and how do you intend to use it? That might give me a bit more of an idea for a specific suggestion.
 
How could you watch that video and NOT laugh at it!?

Does anybody actually remember the Daisy Flange commercial from SNL? It's Phil Hartman talking to us in his usual style as if he's explaining cold air leaking through a window... but there's cartoon cutaways and all sorts of stuff as he's explaining the most technical crap ever... and the music and diagrams are all set up like any standard ad.

"Our Daisy Flanges don't lose any backflow pressure up to 100 RQM's... 200 RQM's... and would you believe up to 300 RQM'S!!!"

I like my humor like I like my women... sophisticated and dry.
 
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