Can anyone recommend good (& cheap) soldering irons and voltmeters/multimeters?

[cowsclaw]

also, where could i get it/them?

thanks

 

[cowsclaw]

anyone?

 

[Syborg1211]

Radioshack has a nice selection of voltmeters and multimeters, but their irons kind of suck.

 

[Bleep]

Well I think Radio Shack sells some pretty good irons, as for multimeter I would go to a Pawn shop and get a older simpson meter.

Bleep

 

[onelin]

home depot has soldering irons... that's where I got mine. Of course, as for 'good' or not, /shrug, I have yet to open mine months later 😀 It was only ~$10 though.

 

[PliotronX]

If you're doing SMD work, get a low wattage one, 15-25w. They should run about $8-12 and you could get them just about anywhere irons are sold. I don't think there's a benchmark established for how good one can be, so just get one where ever convenient 🙂

As for a meter, I got this one a while ago and it's served me well.

 

[madthumbs]

I got a nice butane iron from radioshack for $20... so much more convenient than electric, and you can hold it closer to the tip for better control.

 

[pelikan]

I use the $8. 15W one from Radio Shack for sensitive electronics work because it won't fry anything easily and it has a ground. For fan wires and such I use a $2. 30W iron from the local cheap store.

 

[Jeff7]

I get most of my little electronics items either from Electronic Goldmine or All Electronics. Just be sure to send them a note along with the order giving instructions on what to do if something is sold out - they might just go ahead and ship the remainder of the order if something is out of stock. They both deal mainly with surplus items or special purchases, so their stock fluctuates a lot.

 

[cowsclaw]

hey, thanks to everyone for their suggestions.

 

[isaacmacdonald]

umm... but radioshack sucks. Everything is overpriced. RCA jackets run $1/a piece (only in 4 piece sets). It's crazy. Home Depot has some decent cheap multimeters. I picked a handy one for $8.99 a month ago. Good stuff. Same for soldering, though I can't stress how handy it is to have a real stand for a small iron.