Heathkit GH-17A soldering iron tip

[Lee Hart]

The small tip for my Heath GH-17A soldering station burned out. The big chisel
tip works fine; but it's a bit big for IC work. Does anyone have, or know where
to find a replacement tip for it?
--
Obsolete (Ob-so-LETE). Adjective. 1. Something that is simple,
reliable, straightforward, readily available, easy to use, and
affordable. 2. Not what the salesman wants you to buy.
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com

[G. Beat]

Lee -
Tips for the GH-17A by 2 eBay sellers othis past week (seller: partsusa1 in Florida)
Seller also has the spare GE soldering handle.

I found 6 tips below a table at hamfest near Milwaukee, 5 years ago.
A collector from Texas took everything G-17A related I had 4 years ago.

IF you desire to have backup, name station you desire
I likely have it on restored pile or "in queue"
and can drop in mail.

Greg
Chicago

[Lee Hart]

Thanks, Greg. I never thought of checking ebay!

The one they list is the "big" tip. I have that one; it's still good but rather
big for modern IC soldering. The one I want is the smaller tip. That was the one
I used the most, and it burned out.

--
Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.
-- Dalai Lama

[G. Beat]

I checked, the smaller tip (1/8"?) sold a couple of days ago.

gb

[Lee Hart]

>From: "G. Beat" <gregor...@gmail.com>

>I checked, the smaller tip (1/8"?) sold a couple of days ago.

Thanks again, Greg. I'll see if I can set up ebay to search for one for me. The challenge is to figure out what the seller will call it! :-)



--
Excellence does not require perfection. -- Henry James
--
Lee A. Hart http://www.sunrise-ev.com

[Steven Hirsch]

On 07/17/2017 11:55 AM, Lee Hart wrote:
>> From: "G. Beat" <gregor...@gmail.com>
>> I checked, the smaller tip (1/8"?) sold a couple of days ago.

Is there something special about the Heath? After decades of various Weller
irons (most recently a WTCPT temperature controlled unit) I finally took the
plunge and bought a (used) Metcal iron. Without question the best soldering
instrument I've ever used. Nothing else is even close, IMHO. There are
dozens of tip sizes and form factors available.

[Dave McGuire]

I made a similar upgrade, from a Weller EC-2000 to a Metcal SP-200. I
still love the old Weller, but I will never solder with anything other
than Metcal again unless there's some sort of emergency.

-Dave

--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA

[Bob Groh]

I was going to also comment that maybe it was time to upgrade instead of trying to keep the old girl going.  Heck, you could sell it on the Heathkit list (with the bigger tip) or on eBay and recoup part of the cost of a new iron such as the Metcal - controllable temperature, etc and with prices in the $50 to $70 area.  Hey, we should all treat ourselves everynow and then!

Bob Groh

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[Steven Feinsmith]

I still use my Heathkit GH-17A for so many years since 1970's. It still works well but of course, it gets old. Right now, many components are going smaller and more difficult with Heathkit soldering iron tips because they do not design for this application anymore. I forced myself to purchased Hakko soldering kit and it reliably well. This device can start to heat to specific temperature very quickly, it has anti-static feature, can programmable and controlled temperature easily, provided so many different tips. The device is FX-888.

In speaking of nowadays, it is near impossible to find replacement tips. Only that you can purchase from eBay if anyone sells entire GH-17A and make sure it has narrowed chisel tip. Honestly, it is now very rare to find it.

One more thing, be very careful with eBay because almost all sellers tend to sell incomplete equipment and asked for a crazy high price and most of them have no parts replacement available.  You better off to buy brand new. Secondly, do not buy cheap equipment from China. They are dangerous and have no UL approval.

Life has moved on!

Steven

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[Peter Shkabara]

Not being familiar with Metcal, I did a quick google search and came up with stations from $500 to $750!!! What would be so special to warrant such a price? Or am I looking at the wrong thing?

 

Peter

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[Steven Feinsmith]

For the best device, go for Hakko FX-888D, it affordable and well-known soldering company.

Steven

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[Gary Kaufman]

Peter -

You can find used Metcal's at hamfests for typically $100-150.  Worth every cent.

It's a simple enough system - large RF transformer with on/off switch, thin handle/cable and a plug in tip.

The tips heat nearly instantly, and cool just as fast.  Temperature control is intrinsic to the tip (various ranges are available).  Almost any imaginable size/shape of tip. 
They depend on the ability to generate heat quickly, not "thermal mass" so work nicely for vacuum tube gear, chassis ground, thru hole IC's and SMT parts depending on the tip.

I was given one shortly after ordering a replacement Weller.  The Weller is still untouched in the box.

- Gary

[Bob Groh]

Yeah, Peter, you were looking at something wrong!  One unit I looked at a couple of months ago is this one:

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-premier-75w-Soldering-Station.html 

There was considerable discussion of this on the 4 State QRP Group forum and there are some reviews out there in the wild.  Cost quite reasonable at $59.  General reviews were positive.  I don't even think the big guys run more than $150 or so.

Bob Groh

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[Dave McGuire]

On 07/17/2017 05:58 PM, Peter Shkabara wrote:
> Not being familiar with Metcal, I did a quick google search and came up
> with stations from $500 to $750!!! What would be so special to warrant
> such a price? Or am I looking at the wrong thing?

Everyone who hasn't used a Metcal says exactly the same thing. ;)

First, these are very solid professional tools, not hobbyist stuff.
Radio Shack (even if they'd still be around) would never carry these.

They change the entire dynamic of soldering. They adapt to changing
thermal conditions very quickly...the "Smart Heat" thing isn't a
gimmick. You can go back and forth from soldering big fat connector
lugs to hair-fine 0.5mm-spaced surface mount components with no trouble
whatsoever. And the tips' plating is unbelievably durable.

I paid about $200 for my SP-200, used, without the handpiece. I paid
another $50 or so for the handpiece. That was about twelve years ago.
I am a consulting engineer; I do embedded systems design, including
building prototypes and doing small (<50) initial production runs, by
hand. I do A GREAT DEAL of soldering. I'm still on the used power
unit, the handpiece I bought new 12 years ago, and I've been through
about 2 or 3 of the two tip sizes that I most commonly use.

No, I don't work for Metcal or anything, but I'm a big Metcal snob. :)

[Dave McGuire]

On 07/17/2017 06:01 PM, Steven Feinsmith wrote:
> For the best device, go for Hakko FX-888D, it affordable and well-known
> soldering company.

Hakko is also very good. A Hakko/Metcal decision usually boils down
to personal preference for individuals, or salesman bribes for assembly
houses. Their light-duty, no-frills very inexpensive models (like the
936) are very affordable, but they have very expensive ones as well.
They are all very good.

Also, Aoyue is a Chinese company that has cloned most of Hakko's major
models of soldering equipment. Not just irons, but IR reflow systems,
hot air systems, etc. I generally hate cheap Chinese garbage, but Aoyue
makes quality equipment. In some cases (Hakko 853 hot-air system comes
to mind) I have tried Aoyue side-by-side with the original Hakko models
they are clones of, and I actually prefer the Aoyue clones over the
top-notch Hakko originals! They are very inexpensive, well-built, and
Aoyue also sells parts to repair/maintain them. You can buy their stuff
via Amazon, or from some US dealers like SRA Soldering Products in
Massachusetts.

(I don't work for them either, but I love their tools!)

[Dave McGuire]

Uhh...those are not Metcal irons. ;) The $500-$750 price tags are for
Metcal.

In our current "price is the only consideration" society, super cheap
tools like this definitely get some attention, but here's one clue: You
will NEVER see one of these on a bench in a professional assembly house.
What you WILL see is Hakko and Metcal. Very little else.

-Dave

On 07/17/2017 06:31 PM, Bob Groh wrote:
> Yeah, Peter, you were looking at something wrong! One unit I looked at
> a couple of months ago is this one:
> https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi-premier-75w-Soldering-Station.html
>
> There was considerable discussion of this on the 4 State QRP Group forum
> and there are some reviews out there in the wild. Cost quite reasonable
> at $59. General reviews were positive. I don't even think the big guys
> run more than $150 or so.
>
> Bob Groh
>
> On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 4:58 PM, Peter Shkabara <kol...@gmail.com
> <mailto:kol...@gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Not being familiar with Metcal, I did a quick google search and came
> up with stations from $500 to $750!!! What would be so special to

> warrant such a price? Or am I looking at the wrong thing?____
>
> __ __
>
> Peter____
>
> __ __
>
> *From:*se...@googlegroups.com <mailto:se...@googlegroups.com>
> [mailto:se...@googlegroups.com <mailto:se...@googlegroups.com>] *On
> Behalf Of *Bob Groh
> *Sent:* Monday, July 17, 2017 2:36 PM
> *To:* se...@googlegroups.com <mailto:se...@googlegroups.com>
> *Subject:* Re: Metcal, was Re: [sebhc] Heathkit GH-17A soldering
> iron tip____
>
> __ __

>
> I was going to also comment that maybe it was time to upgrade
> instead of trying to keep the old girl going. Heck, you could sell
> it on the Heathkit list (with the bigger tip) or on eBay and recoup
> part of the cost of a new iron such as the Metcal - controllable
> temperature, etc and with prices in the $50 to $70 area. Hey, we

> should all treat ourselves everynow and then!____
>
> __ __
>
> Bob Groh____
>
> __ __

>
> On Mon, Jul 17, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Dave McGuire <mcg...@neurotica.com

> <mailto:mcg...@neurotica.com>> wrote:____

>
> On 07/17/2017 04:43 PM, Steven Hirsch wrote:
> > On 07/17/2017 11:55 AM, Lee Hart wrote:
> >>> From: "G. Beat" <gregor...@gmail.com

> <mailto:gregor...@gmail.com>>

> >>> I checked, the smaller tip (1/8"?) sold a couple of days ago.
> >
> > Is there something special about the Heath? After decades of various
> > Weller irons (most recently a WTCPT temperature controlled unit) I
> > finally took the plunge and bought a (used) Metcal iron. Without
> > question the best soldering instrument I've ever used. Nothing
> else is
> > even close, IMHO. There are dozens of tip sizes and form factors
> > available.
>
> I made a similar upgrade, from a Weller EC-2000 to a Metcal SP-200. I
> still love the old Weller, but I will never solder with anything other
> than Metcal again unless there's some sort of emergency.
>
> -Dave
>
> --
> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
> New Kensington, PA
>
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--

[Terry Gulczynski]

Agree with Steven on the Hakko FX-888 soldering station. Mine has been
in use for maybe 4-5 years. Include the far-too-expensive Hakko 808
desoldering tool (thanks Jack!) and you would have an excellent set of
soldering equipment.


Terry

[Norberto Collado]

I like this one and especially with a power cord that WILL NOT burn through.

Norberto

[Lee Hart]

Bob Groh wrote:
> I was going to also comment that maybe it was time to upgrade instead of trying
> to keep the old girl going. Heck, you could sell it on the Heathkit list (with
> the bigger tip) or on eBay and recoup part of the cost of a new iron such as the
> Metcal - controllable temperature, etc and with prices in the $50 to $70 area.
> Hey, we should all treat ourselves everynow and then!

I have other soldering stations. I just happen to like the Heathkit, because I
built it and like using it. And, it still works! :-)

Interestingly enough, I have half a dozen other newer soldering irons, guns, and
stations. They are either dead, or I can't get parts, or they are just plain
harder to use for various reasons. But the Heath just keeps going and going.

Also, I don't solder enough to justify spending hundreds of dollars for a Hakka
or Metcal. My wife can think of lots of more important things to spend the money on!

[G. Beat]

The 6 volt GE 6A-203 soldering iron disappeared in early 1980s.
I was told they were mfg. in Syracuse, NY area and historically used within GE (appliance mfg., etc.).
I have found tips usually around old GE towns, or estate sales of long-time employees.

A victim of Jack Welch's (Neutron Jack) sweeping changes (1980s) from industrial manufacturing conglomerate
to a services company focused on Finance (GE Finance), Media (RCA/NBC), and select industries (aircraft engines, MRI/CT health-care).
GE's former corporate spokesman from 1950s, Ronald Reagan, became US president in 1981.
====
There are 3 standard approaches used to heat soldering iron tips: Resistive Coil (Weller, others); Ceramic (Ungar, Hakko); and Induction (Metcal).
The OKI/Metcal is an interesting unit -- Induction heating via RF (1907 US patent) and Magnetic Switching (Carl Weller's 1959 patent).
--

[G. Beat]

Lee -

Pull up eBay auction number: 152607669985
Looks like everything you need (good selection).

Greg

[Steven Hirsch]

On 07/17/2017 05:58 PM, Peter Shkabara wrote:

> Not being familiar with Metcal, I did a quick google search and came up
> with stations from $500 to $750!!! What would be so special to warrant such
> a price? Or am I looking at the wrong thing?

You are looking in the wrong place :-). Previous generation Metcal irons are
plentiful on eBay and at electronics flea markets. Going rate for a working
unit from reputable seller is perhaps $150-200.

And, yes, they are worth every penny - in my opinion.

[G. Beat]

Success ... Lee has NOS tips coming for his GH-17A.