Weller crosscompatibility or mods?

[JayNi]

I was fortunate enough to score a very capable Weller DS2000 soldering/desoldering station from the dumpster. It only had one handpiece, the soldering iron. Soldering iron did not work and while looking for replacements(EC1201A)  I find that these little suckers are damn expensive (and the desoldering iron 10 times so). Are there soldering pens that could be modified to work with this unit? What makes them so special that they cost over $100 new?  Could a WSP80 be made to work with the station?   I won’t go into the desoldering handpeace here but feel free to make suggestions. Thanks in advance, you guys are great!
www.torontosurplus.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/5044/image/22819/

[The Soulman]

Nice score,
In regards to using a different iron, most weller irons run 24 Volt dc, the problem
may be a different temperature sensors.
And obviously the various power ratings.

Wsp 80 schematics are somewhere online.

[z01z]

I think the handpieces are pricey because they have become rare.
There's some info about the older Weller products here. It at least says that the control board is DS1030, though not much info can be found about it. You could however dismantle the unit and reverse engineer the control board, as it is old, it must be simple.
As for modifying a newer iron, the controller for WSP80 doesn't used DC drive but switching the AC from the transformer with a triac. It's also a 24V unit.
The question remains it the type of temperature sensing element, I have no idea if that's compatible.

Are you sure it's the iron and not the controller that's not working?

[austfox]

It looks like the EC1201A handpiece is a 24V 40W unit that uses the ET series of tips.

I'd be inclined to look at the PES51 handpiece (used on WES51 stations) which is a 24V 50W unit that also uses the ET series of tips. I had a look on US eBay and they sell new for around the US$40 mark. Not sure if they are pin compatible or how your DS2000 controller board will handle the temperature sensing, but worth a shot.

If you've got a complete EC1201A handpiece that isn't working, perhaps it's just the heating element that has failed, and I believe these cost around the US$30 mark? I assume they fail open-circuit, so easy to test with a DMM.