Multimeter and soldering iron advice

[Fungus]

Which kind of hakko would you reccomend?

One with a twisty analogue temperature knob. The digital ones are pretty but far less practical.

(I know, I own one  )

[nctnico]

But how is the availability of Hakko tips in Europe? I used to have a Hakko clone (unfortunately) but the tips where hard to come by.

[Old Printer]

From reading through your questions about soldering equipment I think you could use a good basic course on the subject. Dave did an excellent 3 part series some time ago. This is the first video:

links to the 2nd & 3rd will be in the previous video. Watch them a few times each and I think 90% of all your soldering questions will be answered, the rest will come with practice. As a hobbyist, I have the Hako 888D and like it a lot for a $100 USD station.

[rsjsouza]

Which kind of hakko would you reccomend?

One with a twisty analogue temperature knob. The digital ones are pretty but far less practical.

(I know, I own one  )

I have a Hakko FX-888 and I am very pleased with it, but I always found it lacked thermal mass for the large PC motherboards and other GND planes.

However, to help with this I just found out they sell a larger hand piece called FX-8805 that seems to have a larger thermal mass when compared to the standard FX-8801 that comes with the FX-888. This makes a nice addition to this model - although it is an expensive one. Oh well... Perhaps SWMBO could get me one for my birthday...

[IanB]

I have a Hakko FX-888 and I am very pleased with it, but I always found it lacked thermal mass for the large PC motherboards and other GND planes.

I have found using the largest chisel tip helps a lot with this. When using it on something that sucks the heat out the station goes to full power and I have been able to heat up a whole banana plug/solder cup or largish sheet of copper to solder melting temperature.

[Fungus]

I have a Hakko FX-888 and I am very pleased with it, but I always found it lacked thermal mass for the large PC motherboards and other GND planes.

Every soldering iron has its limits. 

On an analogue iron you'd twist the knob to the right to get the full wattage and faster heat transfer. On the FX-888 you have to press some awkward sequence of buttons which I can't remember.

I have found using the largest chisel tip helps a lot with this.

Yep. You have to transfer the heat out of the iron as fast as possible to keep the heater at 100%.

If it's something you need to do a lot you might consider something more powerful though, eg. hot air, which heats up a whole area.

[nctnico]

Turning the temperature up is bad practise! There is no substitute for using the right sized tip. From what I've seen many people use tips which are way too small and just crank the temperature up to try and compensate but usually the end result is a ruined PCB.

[simone.pignatti]

for sure there are several topic  in the other section of the forum. I agree with ntcnico, turning up temp is not recommended. it is much better to use the FX-888D with the preset mode so you can move quickly between favorite temperature based on the work you want to do.
be aware all soldering station are calibrated with the standard tip, when you change the tip (smaller or bigger) you are supposed to calibrate it again to get the best temperature accuracy. Hakko still offer a "analog twist" soldering station called FX-950, it fits T15 tips and they are very high performance but also more expensive then T18 (15 Vs 5 euro)

[cdev]

You can use a preheater of some kind.

I have a digital hot plate that has a large slab of uniform heat - it can heat up the work piece so that it takes less heat from the soldering iron to get it the rest of the way there.

I also like the fx-888d

[rsjsouza]

I have a Hakko FX-888 and I am very pleased with it, but I always found it lacked thermal mass for the large PC motherboards and other GND planes.

Every soldering iron has its limits. 

I agree. I didn't say there wasn't but I was pointing a fact about such popular station.

On an analogue iron you'd twist the knob to the right to get the full wattage and faster heat transfer. On the FX-888 you have to press some awkward sequence of buttons which I can't remember.

As others have said, not quite a great idea. I would rather try to keep the temperature as steady as possible by other means instead of exposing the area to thermal stress caused by the 100+ of °C of variation. 

I have found using the largest chisel tip helps a lot with this.

Thank you, that is what I have been looking for. I got a T18-D32 to put this in practice at the next opportunity.

You can use a preheater of some kind.

That is a good idea as well. I have a cheap heat gun that I may eventually turn into a PCB pre-heater.

[james_s]

I'm a big fan of Fluke and Hakko personally. Sure there are other good options, and yes Fluke in particular is expensive but I use my multimeter almost every day, I've had it for years and I plan to keep using it for many more years. Spread out over the total time of ownership and the amount of use it gets, the ~$300 I paid for my 87 is peanuts.

When looking at soldering stations be sure to check out the cost of consumables. I have an old Edsyn soldering station that works well but tips are harder to find and a lot more expensive than Hakko tips. Weller is another reputable brand that I've had good experience with. With any of these watch out for fake Chinese clones, especially Hakko.

[Old Printer]

Ditto on the Hakko fakes, YouTube is loaded with stories. I made sure to buy mine from a registered Hakko dealer. I also wish they still made the analog version, but I am still happy with mine. As for DMM's, I have had a RadioShack true RMS meter for a good 15 years that has been accurate and 100% dependable. No need to spend any more than $75 for a decent meter for a beginning hobbyist. Right now I would probably buy a decent Brymen and a cheaper 2nd meter. Really should have 2. Use the $ saved toward a scope, but that's another argument

[cdev]

The "946C" model preheater I found seems to typically be sold for at least $25-30 more but I actually found it searching for "digital hot plate" or "electronic hot plate".

Although they don't seem to be selling  the same item now, ebay seller 'imagicnest' has a lot of soldering tools.

You can find a lot of lab heaters for around $50 which will get a board hot enough. Lab hot plates can get quite hot and can be precisely controlled.

So I would consider buying one of them. You can probably find one for $35 if you look on the used market. Corning makes some nice ones.

You'll find the blue one I have if you search for "946C Electronic Hot Plate" "946 Precision Electric Heating Preheating Plate Station for BGA SMD PCB 110V" or similar.

Apart from the bright blue my preheater looks a bit like a Hakko 853 preheater without the built in vise - I have to use my own metal stick vise, which then heats up with the work so once the PCB is attached, I have to turn it off and wait a few minutes to remove it.

But, - its surface is fairly large, its accurate - and it didn't cost $1700!

My main concern was that it wouldn't smell, and it doesn't. 

It's quite well made.  I paid very little for it compared to what some sellers ask.

You can use a preheater of some kind.

That is a good idea as well. I have a cheap heat gun that I may eventually turn into a PCB pre-heater.

[james_s]

Hakko quit making the analog model? That's irritating, I hate pushbutton digital controls for things like that. If it has to be digital then a rotary encoder is the way to go.

[simone.pignatti]

yes and if I remember correctly is from 2011/2012

[Old Printer]

Hakko quit making the analog model? That's irritating, I hate pushbutton digital controls for things like that. If it has to be digital then a rotary encoder is the way to go.

Maybe when the warranty on mine expires I'll look into adding a rotary encoder. Maybe by then someone will have done all the leg work for me

[newbrain]

I'd go for Ersa. According to my own experience the tips last much longer than JBC's.

QFT
A small sample of Ersa durability: I had, a long long time ago (1978?), a pencil 15W Ersa soldering iron.
The iron is long dead, but its tip has been transplanted on two other (cheaper) irons - with some mechanical effort.
The last iron with that tip is still in my tool box (in Italy). The tip coating is still as new: we are talking about 40 years.

I now have the Hakko FX-888D. If used in the preset mode (look for the magic key sequence to switch the mode) the UI is perfectly fine, after all who really needs a continuous temperature regulation? For 99.5% of my use, three presets are enough and you can have up to five, IIRC.

For the Hakko you could check Batterfly: no shipping fees to Italy.
I got a very good service from them: courtesy (I asked to hold my delivery for some days as I went to an unexpected business trip) and quick delivery (when I was back) of my Hakko + Rigol scope.

As for DMMs, I have an UNI-T 61D, Euro version: not recommended (I should have known better), an excellent Fluke 87-V, (only because I was able to get it new for ~220€, with a Fluke IR thermometer thrown in - I still suspect a webshop malfunction), and am waiting for the 121GW (in March...).

I would probably go for a good Brymen, as other suggested, in your position.

[SuperGiachi]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

[lem_ix]

Get a cheap Chinese one, the most popular model being the 858 from various vendors. Browse the forum for more info, anything professional is substantially more costly.

[rsjsouza]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

I like my Aoyue 852A++ - I have a black version (they sell now an updated silver version). It is well built and its circuitry does not pose any life threatening risks. A discussion about its capabilities is here and you can see it in action in .

Other stations may be more up to date, but in the past there were a few not quite well built: an interesting discussion here about issues with Atten and a short review here about Xtronic.

[Mr. Scram]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

Do you want something cheap or something solid? If you want something solid, the Quick 861DW. It's incredible value for money and according to many it outcompetes much more expensive kit from Weller and Hakko. If you want something cheap, it doesn't really matter much. There's numerous options that are fairly similar.

[james_s]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

We've got some politicians you can have...

[Fungus]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

We've got some politicians you can have...

The problem is getting them to stand still for long enough.

[GreyWoolfe]

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

Do you want something cheap or something solid? If you want something solid, the Quick 861DW. It's incredible value for money and according to many it outcompetes much more expensive kit from Weller and Hakko. If you want something cheap, it doesn't really matter much. There's numerous options that are fairly similar.

You might want to look at the Quick 957DW.  I just got one, much better than the Yihua 858D that I have.  I paid $82 USD from Newark and it came with 3 nozzles.  The hose is a bit stiff but still a nice bit of kit.

What about hot air? The hakko 888d only has an iron. What should i get for hot air?

We've got some politicians you can have...

The problem is getting them to stand still for long enough.

They won't knowing their constituents might want to use them for target practice.

[Mr. Scram]

You might want to look at the Quick 957DW.  I just got one, much better than the Yihua 858D that I have.  I paid $82 USD from Newark and it came with 3 nozzles.  The hose is a bit stiff but still a nice bit of kit.

They won't knowing their constituents might want to use them for target practice.

I'm not aware of how the Quick 957DW is rated. I know the Quick 861DW is loved by many, but am careful to translate that to other models of the same brand.