[Nathan]

Hi, I'm a programmer trying to solder. Dangerous combination, I know.

I've got two questions...

One: I bought a cheap soldering iron from RadioShack, and frankly is sucks. What's a good soldering iron to buy on a budget?

Two: This may sound a little odd, but I'm trying to solder the ends of a piece of 1.x mm thick copper wire together. Do I need to get the copper wire hot enough to melt the solder directly, or can I just get some solder on the tip of the iron and then put that on the wire?

Thanks,
Nathan