Hi Simon,
I am near Eastleigh / Winchester (SO50 6FX) - about an hour from Oxford (where Lydia is).. Would be more than happy to re-solder your LED or whatever for no charge if you drop bye and wait while I repair it.. If interested, my email is my avatar
(I might even be at Lydias next class if I can make it - Could probably bring an iron etc and fix it there - Depends if I am fit to drive and get a car by then..)
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Fred.
OT - Soldering irons..
ps - I have found Antex soldering irons to be the best low cost (£15 ish) irons for general use - when AND ONLY when fitted with the narrowest bit - They are available from Maplin (30W)
But soldering irons are extremely personal! - Most people love Wellers, but I hate them, Antex is deemed cheap and hobbyist, but I love them - And have their most expensive thermostatic workstation with 2 irons (£150+now - I paid about £50 ).. But for many years was happy with the cheap ones. I have used several other "stations" in the £300+ price range and found them all inferior to the antex. Have had my Antex station for perhaps 30 years now, re-fitted the controller into a new box caus it dropped - but the original irons are still in use, all I ever need to replace is the bits.. Same is true for the cheap mains irons - still have my originals (40 years old?)... Not sure if theyr made so well these days though.
"I prefer the ones with a manual dial for the temperature, rather than the ones with digital displays and up/down buttons. " - Dewster
Absolutely agree! _ my Antex is exactly as you describe your Weller..
[at present im negotiating design of a thermostatic portable iron using an E-Cig battery - bought this superb E-Cig which has an in-built MCU controlling charging and user settable voltage or wattage, and senses the coil resistance - realised that this could make it ideal for a soldering iron which could normally be run from a 5V supply in "feed through" mode (simultaneously keeping its 1AH lithium battery charged), but would also be portable.. so contacted the manufacturer...] .. The volume of these being made has brought their retail price down to under £30..
Sadly, the inteface is digital, and I wont be able to change that..