Soldering iron / station requirements

[BastienVH]

Hi everyone,

I'm new on the forum, but have been reading alot about Mysensors the last couple of months and have decided to take the plunge: I want to start building my own sensors.

I am currently using OpenHAB on a Rasppberry Pi for my home automation (together with some 433 MHz plugs and Milight-lights), but want to add some sensors to the network.

I don't have a soldering iron, but want to order one online.
What soldering iron are you using?
I know I should buy one with temperature control, but what size should the tip be?
I used my dads soldering iron to solder pins onto an arduino nano, but that tip was way too big.

I'm not looking to spend too much money, because I still need to order arduinos, sensors, cases, ... ;-)

Would this be usable for example?

Thanks for your suggestions!

[sundberg84]

Hi!

I use one that looks exactly the same... it works on components with legs, but smaller ones are hard. I dont know how much difference it would be with an more expensive station.

This one works for me! :+1:

[mfalkvidd]

I have one just like that. It has replaceable soldering tips. I bought a 0.4mm round soldering tip for soldering smaller stuff. Doesn't seem like Conrad has smaller tips but maybe you can get them somewhere else (if you notice that you need them, start with the one that's included)

[aproxx]

Depending on the country you would like to ship the soldering station, this one might be a good option as well:
LINK
But the shipping cost is highly dependent on the selected country, so it is better to check the shipping cost first.
It is a decent copy of the well known Hakko 936 soldering station.
I bought it about 6 months ago, and I'm absolutely happy with this one. And because it's a copy of a well known soldering station there are a bunch of different solder tips for this one available on AliExpress.

[BastienVH]

Hi,

Thank you so much for your replies.
This community is so awesome!

Shipping cost to Belgium is only 6.49 for the Hakko-clone, so I think I'm going for that one.
It also has a small tip, which should come in handy for electronics-soldering.
What size solder wire do you use?

[Anticimex]

@BastienVH I use 0.8mm wire. I have found it suits me for all-around soldering of both through-hole and SMD.
For tip I would recommend a chisel tipped one. That provides the best heating and you can turn it depending on the area you solder in. Very rarely I change tip to a pointy one, but for sure, it is good to have the option to switch tips. They eventually wear out.
Of course, it is a matter of personal taste as well :)