WorkBench Wednesdays | Bald Engineer: James Lewis' VCP Profile | Project Videos
Need to rework through-hole components? Check out this Weller WX-Series soldering gear. It includes a 120 Watt de-soldering iron (WXDP120), 65 Watt (WXP65) iron, and a larger 120 Watt (WXP120) iron. James re-caps a Commodore 64 with the help of this WXR3 soldering system. It takes no time to remove components like capacitors and swap them in with modern replacements. As a bonus, he ends the video by re-working a Raspberry Pi to have a socket header instead of pins! WX3 Pump On/Off Delay In the video, James mentions the WXR3 has a user-configurable pump delay-off and delay-on time setting. His suggestion was to automate the desoldering process. An additional reason for the pump-on delay is to prevent clogging the WXDP 120. A delay-off time of a few seconds ensures that all of the molten solder is sucked into the glass tube before the pump shuts off. Without the delay-off, solder could become trapped in the tool leading to a clogged condition. |
Supplemental Material:
Bill of Material:
| Part | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weller Soldering Tools | |||
WXR3001N Station Bundle (WXR3, WXP65, WXDP120, etc.) | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
WXR3 Base Station | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
| WXP65 - 65W Iron | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
| WXP120 - 120W Iron | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
| WXDP120 - 120W De-Soldering Tool | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
| ZERO SMOG EL Filter | Weller | 1 | Buy Now |
| Soldering Supplies | |||
| De-Soldering Wick 484-2 (0.05") | American Beauty | 1 | Buy Now |
| No Clean Flux Pen | Kester | 1 | Buy Now |
| SnPb Solder 0.02" Rosen Core (SPC22130) | Duratool | 1 | Buy Now |
| IPA Wipes (8421-WX25) | MG Chemicals | 1 | Buy Now |
| Other Tools Used | |||
| Handheld DMM (72-7780) | Tenma | 1 | Buy Now |
| PCB Holder | Panavise | 1 | Buy Now |
| 5 Piece Plier Set (1PK-5015) | Duratool | 1 | Buy Now |
| 4 Piece ABS Magnetic Storage Trays (D03162) | Duratool | 1 | Buy Now |
| Components | |||
| GPIO Socket Strip [SSW-120-01-F-D] | Samtec | 1 | Buy Now |
| Raspberry Pi 3 B+ | Raspberry-Pi | 1 | Buy Now |
| C64 Capacitors - Partial List | |||
| 100nF Radial Ceramic Replacements (Decoupling) [K104K15X7RF5TH5] | Vishay | 50 | Buy Now |
| 10uF 25V Polymer Electorlytics (Decoupling) [A758BG106M1EAAE070] | KEMET | 25 | Buy Now |
| Bulk Capacitor #1 (16V) [A750MS477M1EAAE015] | KEMET | 1 | Buy Now |
| Bulk Capacitor #2 (12V) [A750MS477M1EAAE015] | KEMET | 1 | Buy Now |
| Bulk Capacitor #3 (5V) [RNL1C222MDS1] | Nichicon | 1 | Buy Now |
| Bulk Capacitor #4 [A750EK107M1CAAE018] | KEMET | 1 | Buy Now |
Additional Parts:
| Product Name |
|---|
Thermal Paste |