Soldering irons & stations

A temperature-controlled soldering iron remains the first tool of a retro workshop. This page brings together the stations, including a 2-in-1 iron and hot air model for SMD and BGA rework, a T12 station in kit form adjustable from 200 to 480 °C, two portable USB-C irons, along with the tips and maintenance accessories.

9 items8 available right now
Outils d'atelier 57 Fers à souder & stations 9 Consommables de soudure 8 Kits de démontage 18 Poste de travail 7 Antistatique & ESD 5 Pièces détachées 86 Kits de modding 84 Réparation & restauration 104

Temperature control, tip type and maintenance: what really decides the quality of a solder joint

Temperature control counts for more than the wattage on the box

On a console board, what matters is that the tip recovers its temperature after contact, not that it runs hot at idle. The T12 station in kit form adjusts from 200 to 480 °C and its 70 W cartridge places the heating element and the sensor as close as possible to the point. The JCD C200 cordless iron covers 300 to 450 °C, and the 8 W USB-C iron is aimed at one-off joints rather than copper planes.

Two families of tips that do not mix

The T12 cartridges, available in eleven profiles, and the 900M-T tips sold in packs of five for the 936 and 937 stations are not interchangeable: the first combine heating and measurement, the second are plain tips on a separate element. Ordering the wrong family is the most common mistake. The 2-in-1 station adds hot air, valuable for lifting an SMD component or a BGA package without pulling on the pads.

What it doesn't do

A well-regulated iron does not replace flux: without it the solder does not wet. The T12 station comes as a kit and needs assembling before first use. Finally, neither tip tinner nor the dry cleaning ball will save a tip eroded down to the copper.

Soldering consumables · Soldering and desoldering · Capacitors and recapping · Workshop tools · Workstation · ESD antistatic

Questions fréquentes

What temperature should you solder at on a retro console?
The T12 station covers 200 to 480 °C and the JCD C200 iron 300 to 450 °C, which leaves plenty of room. In practice you stay at the low end of the range for a thin wire and move up for a ground plane. Heating harder speeds nothing up and oxidises the tip.
Is an 8 W USB-C iron enough?
For a one-off joint on a wire or a small connector, yes. To desolder a pin connected to a ground plane or to work through a recap, the power reserve is missing and the tip cools as soon as it touches. It is a back-up tool, not a bench station.
Do you have to assemble the T12 station yourself?
Yes, it is sold as a kit to build, OLED display included. That assumes you already know how to solder or have a second iron to build it with. So it is not the right first purchase if you are a complete beginner.