Soldering Station Questions

[Ziggywho]

I currently obtained a soldering station Pace MBT 201A/PPS 80A for free with no tools and I was wondering how to decide which tools to get. I am looking partially for a decent desoldering iron. I've seen the sx-70 but it's expensive for me right now at close to $200. Is there a certain standard of desoldering iron that works with this station? Are pace tools the only compatible tools? I'm trying to stay under $100 for a moderately decent desoldering iron. Would I be better off selling the Pace station and getting a cheaper desoldering station? Thanks in advance for any help given.

-Zachary

[nanofrog]

I'd give Pace a call, and see if the SX-80, 90, or even 100 will work with it (nozzles changed to reduce clogs; don't know about the connector pin-out). Hopefully one of these will work with it, and you find a used one on eBay (i.e. saw an SX-80 w/o nozzle for $39 starting and no bidders).

Otherwise you'll have to wait for an SX-70 to show up at a decent price or unload the MBT and get something else. For a station, you could consider a ZD-985 or a self-enclosed gun version such as the S-993A (quite a bit cheaper). There are threads on both of these in the forum if you search.

FWIW, if you're not doing a lot of desoldering marathons, you would be better off just using a decent manual desolder pump (i.e. Engineer SS-02) and some decent desolder wick/braid.

You'll need decent wick regardless (Chemtronics, MG Chemicals, Techspray, or Multicore [aka loctite/Henkel]). Genuine Goot is good stuff too, but as it's so counterfeited, best to skip it unless you're ordering directly from Japan.

BTW, selecting your country in your user profile will help others with links, particularly those regarding pricing & A/C input voltages for powered equipment. 

[Ziggywho]

Thank you for the help. I will contact Pace and get back to you on if it's compatible with the sx-80 and higher.

[trapc45]

The makes two different kinds of hand pieces. Most of the older equipment uses SensaTemp models with an all black twist lock connector. The newer stuff uses IntelliHeat models with a blue twist lock DIN connector. I know the newer power sources can drive SensaTemp hand pieces with an adapter, but I am not certain about the other way around. Pace makes a good product, but it is quite over priced in my opinion. That being said I have an MBT-350 on my bench and just added a PP-30 to drive their pulse heat tools. Defiantly look on the flea bay for used or milsurp stuff. I got the 350 complete with hand pieces new in the box for a song. Buying their consumables (tips and filters) can get spendy though.