Elektor_Mag_-_January-February_2021

18 January & February 2021 http://www.elektormagazine.com

The display shows the current temperature of the soldering tip in

large digits and below that the set target value in smaller digits.

In addition to the target value, a heating symbol appears when

the iron is heating up. Even when the standby function is active

or when the lock-out function is used, the corresponding symbols

are still displayed.

Due to its weight the soldering iron holder stands well on the table.

It has a number of holes to accommodate spare tips. To wipe the

tip clean there is, of course, the customary yellow sponge. There

is no room for brass wool or the like. If you prefer using such a

bundle of metal wool to wipe the tip you’ll have to buy an extra

container with metal wool.

The soldering iron itself is quite slim and the flexible cable is nice

and long. It is also so flexible that you hardly notice it when solder-

ing. The soldering tips can be changed simply by unscrewing the

metal sleeve of the front part using a plastic nut (Figure 3). It is

because the tip is indirectly heated, as already mentioned, that

replacement tips are very inexpensive — even the original

ones from Weller. They are available almost everywhere

and I have already bought some with other tip

shapes (Figure 4).

Lighting up!

After switching on it took around 35 seconds until the soldering

tip had reached a temperature of 350°C. The 380°C needed for

lead-free solder needed around 5 seconds more. Soldering with

the WE P70 soldering iron works smoothly. There are no problems

when soldering average components and standard copper pads.

With large soldering surfaces you will notice that the temperature

drops a bit and the tip needs a few seconds to reach the set point

again (an active soldering iron reacts much faster in such cases),

but this only takes a short time thanks to its 70 W heating power.

In such cases it is advisable to use a short soldering tip with a large,

bevelled tip so that the heat can be transferred more optimally.

The tip supplied is rather too narrow for this and is better suited

Purchased

So the decision fell for the WE 1010 consisting of a base station with

LCD display and a soldering iron with a power of 70 W. Although

this is a soldering iron with passive temperature control (heating

and sensor are not in the tip itself but behind it) I don’t think it is

an issue (more on this later). The box contains a base station with

matching power cord, a WEP 70 soldering iron, a fairly simple stand

consisting of a moulded base with a holder that is inserted into it,

and a sponge. It all looks rather ordinary but everything is neatly

finished. On the station there is an on/off button, an LCD and some

control buttons (Figure 2).

Unfortunately, the display is not backlit. However, it is very clear

and easy to read, even with little ambient light. Alas the power

switch has no built-in lighting either. Thus you can only see that

the station is on because something is visible on the display and

the power switch, in the on position, shows a red line.

The base station is quite heavy (almost 2 kg) and feels solid. The

1.5 m long cord (with silicone sheath) on the soldering iron is very

supple and it lies well in the hand with its covering of a kind of

pressed foam. The cable of the soldering iron has a 5-pole plug at

the end which is inserted into the socket on the base station, then

locked by turning. The metal part of the soldering iron is connected

to the earthed socket of the mains cable. There is no separate earth

connection on the station.

Operation and use

The operation of the soldering station is kept very simple. With

the up and down buttons the temperature can be set higher or

lower. On delivery it is preset to 350°C. There is also a menu key

with which you can access the following settings: standby time,

the time after which the soldering iron is switched back to a lower

temperature (max. 99 minutes); offset, for temperature correc-

tion and only useful if you can measure the temperature of the tip

(max. ±40°C); switching between °C and °F; and finally the abilty

to set a lock code.

Figure 2: The display shows the temperature of the tip and, below that, the
set value.

Figure 3: You can easily change a tip by unscrewing the metal sleeve.