Quote Originally Posted by sunvalleylaw
Ya, I did not know what I was doing when I got mine. It is a very inexpensive, dual wattage one. Even by RS website standards, it is cheap.
No need to appologize, I started out on one of those Rat Shack irons, too

One thing that a temperature controlled station does is allow you to make nice, consistent joints.

If you don't want to spend the cash on a temperature controlled station, sometimes you can find a nice non-temperature controlled iron (like a high quality version of the Rat Shack iron) made by Hexacon, Weller, Unger, or American Beauty. The tips tend to last longer than RS irons, but not as long as the temp controlled irons.

tung