Soldering stations comes in a variety of prices and capabilities. The cheaper stations have a power controller, to control the power delivered to the soldering iron. More expensive stations will have a temperature controller near the tip of the soldering iron, and control the temperature using this feedback. The quality of soldering with a station is much higher than with a simple soldering iron. Especially if the station has a temperature controller on the tip. That is because, the solder has a very specific working temperature. This soldering station is based on a PIC16F88.

Source: Giorgos Lazaridis