But then, it's been a while since I have to change my soldering iron. First because my venerable iron "pencil" JBC just had not negotiated the transition to solder "unleaded" (more corrosive to the tip and especially requiring higher temperature). And we must also say that in the meantime, I got myself a cheap station "noname" replacement. Station that never really gave me satisfaction. In short, I was close to a significant effort to finally have a worthy iron that name.
On the recommendation of an acquaintance on the Internet I decided to i-Con Nano. This is an intermediate station in the range of digitally controlled brand temperature. It comes with an ergonomic soldering iron pencil called i-Tool nano with a maximum heating power of 80W announced. After some hesitation, and despite a range of higher price than what I had anticipated, I still decided banco.
Upon receipt of the package, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The station and iron, although carefully packed are supplied in a white cardboard, no other decoration than just shopping label. And unpacking all really reveals "little": iron itself is hardly bigger than a Wacom tablet stylus, and the footprint of the resort (including support) is only 16 x 14,5 cm. For a few minutes I sincerely thought they made a mistake by buying this iron. That is, until the moment I am actually served me. Like what, like it or not, we are formatted by marketing. In fact, only 10 to 15 seconds after the station is turned on, the fault reaches the set temperature of 350 ° C. And from the first weld, I notice that the heat transfer is excellent. These two qualities combined allow rapid temperature mounted parts to be welded, which avoids (over) long heat the components just to avoid having a weld "cold". The iron itself also proves very pleasant to use. Even during long sessions. Its low weight (30g approx) and its size allow to handle really like a pencil for precise application of the pane.
In this regard, unlike other iron I could buy, the failure ref. 0102CDLF16 delivered with the station is not conical, but of rectangular section (1.6 x 0.6 mm at the end). In use, it is handy for soldering SMD components. So, I had no trouble using it to weld components including metric size 3216 or SOT-23 and SOIC. In the latter case, a failure a little more would have been fine as well (1.2 x 0.6 mm 0102CDLF12). In any case, this little iron Ersa accept any failures of the series 102. It is very rich and whatever your specific needs you will find a suitable fault if comes standard does not suit you. Note that the iron is guaranteed "static" according to MIL-SPEC / ESA (which is not the case of the lower models in the range such as [[ASIN: B005004C5O i-Con Pico]]).
As for the resort itself, the front settings are simple. You must read the user manual as there is a manipulation to set the standby time. A number of additional adjustments need to use additional software and transfer them with a micro SD card. This is a feature that I have not tested, factory calibration suited me perfectly.
In summary, even if its price reserve to intensive use or for the most demanding customers and applications, the station Ersa i-Con Nano reveres a very good buy. That is one of those that you do not regret every time you use it. And that, for a tool, it is priceless!
