Difficult for Newbie?

[Laudanum]

The gas irons are cool for portable use but I think most would agree that a station is best for the bench and working on the kits.  One doesnt have to have a digital temp readout, just a decent adjustable.  I have an older station with LED bar indicators and I would probably miss not having some type of temp. indication for reference but I wouldnt have to have it.   Mine is not nearly as precise as a good digital temp. readout but I know the station well and it has worked perfectly for me for the past dozen years or more.   The entry level Weller station (WLC 100 I think it is)  does the job fine in the $40 range and I know it's a very popular recommendation for those needing a good kit for little money.   You can do better as you spend more but point is, you dont have to spend a bundle.   I would agree with you on the non temperature adjustable pencil irons not being a great choice.   I went through a lot of those things before I finally bought a decent station, I wouldnt use one for a kit.    I had a cheap gas run iron years ago and I dont think I would have built a kit with it.  Not the one I had anyway.   I used it for some wire soldering in the car (for car stereo) and fixing things like boat trailer wiring and things like that.  But if one had a decent one and was familiar enough with it,  Im sure it would work for a kit.   Im no expert on any of this stuff, so just my 2 cents.

Anyway, sounds like you have some soldering under your belt which, I think,  really helps.   The instructions are so detailed that you dont need to be able to read a schematic (I cant) or even be able to fully understand the circuit to be able to build the kit.   Some manual dexterity and soldering experience make it a bit easier to get it working on the first flip of the switch.  That and something to help those of us with failing eyesight to see some of the smaller details.   And again, lots of good people here to help with any problems or give tips and advice along the way.   You'll do fine.  

[sanadsaad]

David,

I am a physician. Never soldered anything in my life before. Discovered my love for HiFi a few months ago and found this website and forum. I practiced soldering on a cheap Mintyboost charger kit and went straight to the Crack. The manual is amazing, full of detailed instructions and pictures along with it. Get good tools and you're golden. A Weller iron, a Fluke meter and Cardas Quad eutetic solder alongwith maybe a "third hand" tool for PCB soldering if you splurge on the speedball upgrade. Also, a good wire stripper. Go through the build logs and the stickys here in the crack forum. Go through the manual thoroughly and then start building. Start a build log and let us know as you progress. The members here are amazing and literally dont rest till your cracks pumpin music(Yes, i said it). Congrats on your buy!

[Grainger49]

I think the problem MagicCat has seen is with a cheap soldering pen.  I have been using the same soldering station by Weller since about 1976 and it heats extremely fast.

A good meter and a good soldering station are two tools you should have if you intend to stay with the hobby.  Recently I have seen two builders who thought they had problems that simply had a cheap meter.

But the #1 problem is always solder joints.  Don't buy a $6 soldering pen (soldering iron).

[2wo]

I have to slightly disagree about using an inexpensive meter and yes I swear by the Fluke 87. But the measurement errors I saw were errors of interpenetrating what the meter read, not a meter error. This takes a little practice and even the best equipment can't take you by the hand.

I remember a few years ago I was installing a large chemistry system in a new lab. I did a quick check of the power outlet, 232, close enough. When it came time to fire it up, nothing happened. When I rechecked the power, it was 232mv.

I do agree that a few extra dollars spent on a good soldering iron/station is money well spent...John         

[4krow]

I got into the wrong truck once, boy was that lady surprised. Quality eye wear is worth it.

[earwaxxer]

Yea right Greg, blame it on the glasses! I've done that before. 'Really ossifer, I lost my glasses at the (belch) bar, thats why I was on the wrong side of the road.. seriously dude'.

[MagicCat]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who has fallen foul of poor tools. I have all the tools less a Fluke and actual solder station. My Father in Law may have a Fluke, if not I'll pick up one used, and a good soldering station I'll be able to buy no problem. Can't wait for Christmas now.

[4krow]

I will say this, as much as it might be tempting to wander from the original design to satisfy your creative needs, stay the course. When all is done, then additions or variance can be made.

                                Dr. F(name withheld by request)

[Jim R.]

David,

I know that the Salomon soldering stations are fairly popular in the UK and I had one and liked it a lot.  Alsothe Hakko fx-888 is a really nice station for not a ton of money.

Welcome aboard, and just be forewarned, the sound you'll get will be somewhat shocking in how good it is, and more importantly, this can easily turn into an addiction :-).

There are a number of bottleheads in England and Scotland here on this forum, so hopefully they'll chime in with more parts sources that will be more useful to you.

Welcome again,

Jim

[RayP]

I have found the following article on meters useful and I use the multiple cheap meters approach when testing. I admit I get scared when testing amps, particularly powering up the first time.

http://www.tubelab.com/MeterUse.htm

ray

[MagicCat]

Thanks so much guys for all the replies. 

Just wondering if the Crack will be OK with my new headphones? They're Grado 225i's. I just got them in the mail today from the States, and, WOW they're amazing. Currently I'm running them just from my MacBook using lossless files. My plan is to add the Crack, and a USB DAC. Already I'm hooked though!

I used to have an amazing Hi-Fi rig that I had to sell. I felt the easiest way to get close to my music again was with a good headphone rig, and you know what? I think I'm right 

[Jim R.]

David,

Actually, the Crack is not the best match for Grados as they are lower impedance cans.  Crack is designed for higher impedance headphones -- say 120 ohms and greater.  The s.e.x. kit is a more typical match for the grado headphones.

-- Jim

[MagicCat]

Ah, thanks Jim. This is why forums and communities are so helpful and useful. 

[MagicCat]

Oops, just the price of the S.E.X kit..... Damn. I'm sure it's worth it, but more than I was planning on spending.

[Jim R.]

David,

Well, there are a few things you can do to the crack to get it to perform a bit better with low impedance cans -- like increasing the size of the coupling caps and a change to the charging resistors, but some folks with more experience with that should chime in as I've never done that.  There are a few folks using Crack with low impedance cans, it's just mot optimum and high impedance cans will just perform much better -- think 250-600 ohms, with probably most of us using something around 300 ohms(sennheisers, beyers, etc.)

Hope this helps,

Jim