lektor January & February 2021 17My first Weller was a WTCP soldering station with the famous
Magnastat soldering iron. The temperature was controlled by a
magnet in the tip that lost its magnetic attraction above a certain
temperature (Curie effect). The tips were for sale for different
temperatures so you could ‘set’ a certain temperature. My Weller
(Figure 1) has 10-1978 as the production date on the nameplate, so
it is more than 40 years old, but it still works very well. Now that
I’m doing some more electronics work at home I thought it was
time to buy a more modern soldering station. I wanted one with
a display that shows the temperature and an iron that is a little
easier to handle than the old Magnastat.
These days you can buy very nice soldering stations, mostly made
in China, for a modest outlay. But I also took a look at the Weller
options to see if I could buy something there for not too much
money. In addition to a few hobby stations Weller has a basic version
in its Professional series for around €150, which was what I had
budgeted for a new soldering station. The advantages of such a
Weller version over Chinese alternatives: reliability (hopefully),
long-term support and a very flexible and heat resistant cable to
the soldering iron. I hope that, with such a new soldering station,
I’ll be using this one for a number of years too.
Weller WE 1010
Soldering Station
By Harry Baggen (Elektor)
The choice of
soldering irons
and soldering
stations is enormous
but, for many electronics
enthusiasts, the name Weller
will immediately spring to
mind. Weller’s soldering
stations are widely used
and the prices are not
bad. In this review we look at the cheapest soldering station in the professional series,
the WE 1010. With its price of just over €150/£130/$170, this station is also of interest to
the serious hobbyist.
review
Figure 1: My old Weller soldering station is over 40 years old and still works!