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Bought a $180 soldering iron after 15 years of the $20 specials and I feel dumb
I finally broke down and got a decent temp controlled iron last month because I kept cooking connector pins on the bench. First job with it was reflowing a few cracked solder joints on an older comm radio and I didn't lift a single pad, which used to happen at least once a week with the cheap one. The tip actually holds heat when I touch a ground plane instead of dropping 100 degrees and making me sit there waiting. I know it sounds like a sales pitch but I'm genuinely mad I waited this long to spend the money. What's the one tool you guys cheaped out on way too long before finally upgrading?
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aaron_ellis423d ago
The "tip actually holds heat when I touch a ground plane" part got me, because I had the exact same moment with a cheap multimeter. For years I told myself my $15 special was fine, then one day I was chasing a parasitic draw on my truck and the readings kept jumping around like crazy. Finally grabbed a decent Fluke off a guy at a swap meet and suddenly I could actually trust what I was seeing instead of second guessing every number. It stung a little realizing how many hours I wasted chasing ghosts because of a bad meter. The tools don't make you smarter, they just stop you from fighting them all day.
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