triceratops Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Back in my younger days I used to build various electronic kits (Dyna PAT-4, Heathkit TA-16 Guitar Amp, Anderton devices, etc) and do simple repairs to my cables and guitar amps. I have used a Weller soldering pencil for years and have wanted to eventually get a fancy temperature-controlled soldering station. Now that my Klipsch hobby has gotten me back into messing around with electonics (recently replaced the power supply caps in my Eico HF-81) I again started thinking about getting a better soldering rig. Yesterday I saw a new Weller WES51 Soldering station on sale at a local electronics store. This is the successor to the WES50 and normal retail is about $100. The WES51 is on sale for $80 and comes with a $20 rebate certificate to bring the price down to $60. That seems like a great deal to me, but what do the resident soldering iron experts think? I've heard that Hakko stuff is also well thought of and they have a similar unit for about $90. But the Weller is attractive because it is so inexpensive. Would a WES51 be good enough for use on tweaks or assembly of high-end audio gear? Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions. Best in horns, triceratops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 The WES51 is what I use, and I paid over $125 for it. At the price you can get it for -- it's a no brainer. A great unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Bey Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Weber has been "the" name in soldering stations for years. Snap it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 If I saw that locally I'd buy one for sure. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivendell61 Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Not quite as good a price but Action Electronics has them for $69.00 (including $20 mail-in rebate). They have held that price for a few months now. http://action-electronics.com Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Thanks for the fast response, folks. I thought this Weller would be a good way to go, and glad to hear that Dean likes this model. Over the years, I worked for a couple of employers that had Weller controlled temperature soldering stations for the workbenches, but that was about 30 years ago and I'm sure if I could remember the models they would be long discontinued by now. So I'll jump on the WES51 bandwagon. Thanks again. Best in horns, triceratops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted January 18, 2004 Author Share Posted January 18, 2004 Probably the first duty for the iron will be to rewire a K-77 diaphragm--when I got the 1960 Khorns, one of the tweets was blown. It will be fun putting it right! triceratops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted January 18, 2004 Share Posted January 18, 2004 you can get those diaphragms from BEC, Bob Crites here on the board. He has them on ebay all the time. Also, if you get in a jam for these, I have a pair. I've had them for a year or so, they look exactly like the ones in my 59-60 KHorns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 Tom, Thanks for the offer. Have you measured the resistance of the individual drivers in you 1960 khorns with a VOM? Just curious if you think they are 8 or 16 ohm drivers? Best, triceratops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Do I need to buy a Weller too? sheesh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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