I have old Solder Stations - An ancient ROYEL station (25 years +) with two irons and a desoldering wand - but it needs to be connected to a compressor.
My Weller of 10 years died 3 months ago - So I'm in the market for a new station.
The key is to find an Iron you are comfortable with that stocks tips. Irons are useless if they have no Tips ! Hakko are the best and Weller are excellent to use for Pinball. DSE and Jaycar sell their own brands - and I hear they are quite good.
Adjustable temperature stations are a must if you want to do board work !
I hope that helps.
The DSE one I bought was purely as a replacement for the standard $6.00 one from bunnings (non adjustable) which was junk. Absolute sound advise re the temp controlled stations. I quite enjoy board repair, so for next project I have also picked up a PCB holder with component holder as well.
I've borrowed a small little Bluepoint butane iron as well. Handy if just soldering wires to coils or globes in those spots where you're standing on three legs with a 180deg twist in your back..!
I should get my new station next week. Not having anything to compare to I don't know if its good or junk but well see!
