[ale] WAY OT: Electrical question...

[n4zm at mindspring.com (zeb)]

On Saturday 11 November 2006 05:36 pm, Christopher Bergeron wrote:
> Does anyone know the best way to preserve a soldering iron tip?

I don't know that I can tell you the "best" way, but I can tell you what I do.  
I use a Dreml speed control.  When I'm not actively soldering, I  turn the 
speed control down.  I turn it up when soldering.  Doing that preserves the 
tip and reduces the time to get the iron "up to speed."  I suppose a light 
dimmer switch  might do the same thing, but I have never tried it.

If you want to go really  high end, there are some soldering stations that 
claim to maintain a constant temperature.  Check with Austin Electronics on 
that one.

Regards, Zeb