[Coco] Its about that day again (soldering)

[farna at amc-mag.com]

I've only used a cheap pencil type soldering iron on my CoCo projects -
$20 or less. For standard ICs and components you can get by with one just
fine. I've done many repairs and re-packs with just that 45W pencil. A
40-60W is what you want. The lower wattage ones take too long to heat
solder and will try your patience. A guy who used to do a lot of CoCo
repairs and build a few things for the CoCo told me once there are two
ways to solder components -- slow and steady or quick and fast (low watt
pencil or high watt). Some people used 20-25W pencils and swore by them,
but you have to hold them on the joint for quite a while to soften and
remove or solder to. A quick touch with a 40-50W and you're done. You'd
think the higher wattage would be more harmful, but you only touch the
joint for a second and heat doesn't sink up into the component, solder
absorbs most. With a lower watt gun you have to hold it to the joint 3-4
times as long and the component can actually get hotter.

Sure, a station with a temp controlled iron is better, but if you're just
doing a little soldering the 40-50W pencil is all you need. I use a manual
"solder sucker" to de-solder joints when necessary, but remove most ICs
destructively (cut pins, hold stubs w/needle nose pliers, heat and pull).
A pencil could lift traces on some of these new boards, but CoCo boards
are the old thick variety and are pretty robust. You won't have a problem
with any etched single or double layer board, I wouldn't think. There are
some home brew boards that have pretty thin coatings that could be a
problem, but in general if the solder is hot (liquid) enough you won't
pull a trace. You can tell when it changes color (becomes shiny) that it's
liquid.

Here's a good guide:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Pick-the-Best-Soldering-Iron/

Check Amazon for "soldering station". You c an get variable temp pencils
from around $20 and up. The lowest cost ones just have a high to low or
numbered setting, no temp associated with the controls. There are a few
with temps on the dial or digital readouts in the $40-50 range. Of course
you can spend a lot more! There are even a couple hot air re-work stations
with pencil and hot air gun under $70. Read reviews, and determine what
you need and how much you can/want to spend.