Elecraft

RS solder station and ESD Equipment

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George Cortez Jr

RS solder station and ESD Equipment

Took a walk throrugh Radio shack today and they had a digital soldering
station for about 69$ in stock
also has a ESD set with mat and hand strap for 25$ (I bought this one)
May be worth a look if you need the stuff now.

George NE2I

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Daniel Reynolds-2

Re: RS solder station and ESD Equipment

It's what I used for K2 #3421 almost two years ago. Both are ESD safe - just
have to use an extra wire with banana plugs betwen the matt and the soldering
iron to get everything at the same potential. I have had no trouble at all with
any of the ESD sensitive devices in my rig (although, I did have a flaky PLL
crystal).

Daniel AA0NI

--- George Cortez <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Took a walk throrugh Radio shack today and they had a digital soldering
> station for about 69$ in stock
> also has a ESD set with mat and hand strap for 25$ (I bought this one)
> May be worth a look if you need the stuff now.
>
> George NE2I
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Post to: [hidden email]
> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
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>
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>

srife

RE: RS solder station and ESD Equipment

I wonder who makes that station for them.

Stan Rife
W5EWA
Houston, TX
K2 S/N 4216

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email]
[mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Daniel Reynolds
Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 11:13 PM
To: George Cortez; [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] RS solder station and ESD Equipment

It's what I used for K2 #3421 almost two years ago. Both are ESD safe - just
have to use an extra wire with banana plugs betwen the matt and the
soldering
iron to get everything at the same potential. I have had no trouble at all
with
any of the ESD sensitive devices in my rig (although, I did have a flaky PLL
crystal).

Daniel AA0NI

--- George Cortez <[hidden email]> wrote:

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Daniel Reynolds-2

RE: RS solder station and ESD Equipment

--- Stan Rife <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I wonder who makes that station for them.
>
> Stan Rife
> W5EWA
> Houston, TX
> K2 S/N 4216
>
>

My guess is that it is a contract out of China. I don't think they are
'rebranded' from another manufacturer (although my knowledge of electronics
tools and soldering stations is quite limited).

I bought the R/S setup (ESD matt/wrist strap and Temp controlled iron) thinking
- "It would be a good experiment for others who don't want to, or can't,
acquire the higher end tools like Weller, etc". Since I know that they worked
for me - I offer my little endorsement - but keep in mind that the soldering
station might not be grounded by plugging it in - you should use an extra cord
that does not come with either the station or the ESD matt & wrist strap. That
cord was easily assembled with some simple wire and a couple banana plugs from
R/S. I think I ran the soldering iron and wrist strap to the matt, and the matt
to the ground plug on the outlet. Most of the time I ran the iron around 700
deg F.

Although it's not really a bragging point - I was able to build the kit
completely from resources I acquired at R/S (including a mini-screwdriver kit,
flush cut diagonal cutters, needle nose pliers, forceps, solder, etc). They're
not the best tools, but they worked - and they enabled me to put together the
'best' little radio.

I built my K2 (#3421) and all of my options (KNB2, KAF2, KAT2, KSB2, KBT2, PLL
stability kit, Dummy Load, 4:1 Balun) with this set up - and the only problem I
had was non-ESD related (flakey PLL crystal started to go out after a few
weeks). This is perhaps more of a testimony to the design of the kit than it is
to the quality of the tools - but it can be done.

=====

For those lurking...

If you are on the fence wondering whether or not to build a K2 - wonder no
longer. 90% of the requests for help you see here are from fewer than 10% of
kit builders (should I dare say 3%?). The chances that you will really need
help are low - and if you do need help - you'll get a reply very quickly from
this group.

For any new builder ... keep in mind the following:
- If you don't know how to solder - practice on one of the mini-kits or a K1
- Inventory before you build
- Use ESD safe procedures
- Build when you are awake and alert
- Check twice & Solder once
- Make sure the K2 works before you start adding options

Finally - have fun! This is one of the greatest little radios you'll ever build
and own.

73,
Daniel
AA0NI

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Daniel Reynolds
> Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2005 11:13 PM
> To: George Cortez; [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] RS solder station and ESD Equipment
>
> It's what I used for K2 #3421 almost two years ago. Both are ESD safe - just
> have to use an extra wire with banana plugs betwen the matt and the
> soldering
> iron to get everything at the same potential. I have had no trouble at all
> with
> any of the ESD sensitive devices in my rig (although, I did have a flaky PLL
> crystal).
>
> Daniel AA0NI
>
> --- George Cortez <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
> > Took a walk throrugh Radio shack today and they had a digital soldering
> > station for about 69$ in stock
> > also has a ESD set with mat and hand strap for 25$ (I bought this one)
> > May be worth a look if you need the stuff now.
> >
> > George NE2I