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Wasted $150 on a cheap soldering station from Amazon last spring
It melted down on my third board repair and took a vintage amp trace with it - anyone else had a budget iron fail on a delicate job?
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hannahsingh1mo ago
Wait, did you check if that cheap station's grounding was actually working or was it just a fire hazard with extra steps?
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seanjackson1mo ago
Man that sucks but honestly you paid the "find out" tax on a $150 lesson. Those cheap stations are fine for like, replacing a switch on a ceiling fan or whatever, but you really trusted it with a vintage amp trace? That's like bringing a plastic spork to a steak dinner and being surprised when it snaps. I've had a $50 iron literally start smoking while I was trying to fix a friend's old stereo receiver, melted the tip and everything. At least you know now that the soldering iron price floor for anything delicate is way higher than Amazon's suggested retail.
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the_xena1mo ago
Found out the hard way too with a cheap iron, now I just borrow my buddy's Weller when I need to do something tricky.
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