What soldering iron, and where to buy one?


Regarding the stand sensor, I'd worry that means I couldn't use my own stand. I've had the same stand for decades now, and it still rocks. It's an idea though - a few hobbyists dial down their irons when they're not actively soldering, which is where an analogue dial or user configurable presets come into their own, but I suspect I'd be a little frustrated by the iron not being ready when I pick it up if there's no way of advance notifying it that I'm about to start working after a break. I wouldn't worry about power use too much - 60W is still only 250ma at UK voltages (plus transformer losses, of course). Having your iron on *and heating* for 8 hours a day is only equivalent to using your electric cooker for less than ten minutes, at least going by fuse ratings.
 
I'm more worried about tip corrosion that electricity usage.

And assuming the stand sensor is a single wire which is shorted to earth by the iron, it shouldn't be hard to get working with other stands.

Dialling down the temperature when not in use is a good idea, but only if such an action is convenient - I'm not convinced that it is with these new fewer-buttons-means-better-UX designs.

Why can't I just have one button for every operation I need to perform.

  • hotter
  • colder
  • preset 1
  • preset 2
  • preset 3
  • program preset
  • toggle on/off
That's an extra four buttons. Costing £1 tops.
 
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