Author Topic: Soldering station buying advise..!!! (Read 12631 times)

Gurpreet · « **on:** November 06, 2015, 02:16:35 am »

Hello guys.. Im looking for a good soldering station which is bang for the buck.Weller soldering stations look fine to me but they are pretty expensive .. Im a student..which means im broke... Is there any other cheap brand i can put my money on??

Fsck · « **Reply #1 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:21:14 am »

Look at a hakko fx-888
or you might find an incredibly rare used metcal stss type

Gurpreet · « **Reply #2 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:38:43 am »

Quote from: Fsck on November 06, 2015, 02:21:14 am

Look at a hakko fx-888
or you might find an incredibly rare used metcal stss type

Hmmm.... still expensive for me..!!!

daybyter · « **Reply #3 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:58:07 am »

crispy_tofu · « **Reply #4 on:** November 06, 2015, 04:38:15 am »

So what is your budget? Cheap could mean anything... $50? $100?

JoeB83 · « **Reply #5 on:** November 06, 2015, 07:06:08 am »

WESD51.

A word of advice: a soldering iron is something you'll use A LOT. Buy a good one the first time instead of buying several cheaper ones that will end up costing you more in the end.

all_repair · « **Reply #6 on:** November 06, 2015, 07:45:11 am »

If I did not already have so many irons, (1) I shall get one that can take in Hakko tips, and (2) can turn on an external signal or contact when it detected I have picked up the iron. I shall use the "soldering-in-progress" signal to power on and off the fume suction unit. I saw such a soldering iron (China DIY type), but could not find it now. My fume suction is controlled by a foot-pedal now, but sometime I am still too lazy to step on it.

rickselectricalprojects · « **Reply #7 on:** November 06, 2015, 08:43:50 am »

my soldering station is the cheapest one i could find (its the yee-ha! one that Dave reviewed) and i can say that its still been going strong for a year now. so if you don't have much money (like me) and you don't need something fancy then i would sort of recommend it.
now let me get the popcorn and watch people get cranky that i dont own a hakko

dom0 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 06, 2015, 09:51:39 am »

Use original high-quality soldering irons (JBC, Weller, ...) and roll your own station.

deadlylover · « **Reply #9 on:** November 06, 2015, 10:25:29 am »

Start out with the ~$20 936 clones like the one in the video, just make sure you buy a chisel tip and some good quality leaded solder. Search up 'soldering station' at hobbyking, you'll find it.

tooki · « **Reply #10 on:** November 06, 2015, 10:44:22 am »

Quote from: Gurpreet on November 06, 2015, 02:16:35 am

Hello guys.. Im looking for a good soldering station which is bang for the buck.Weller soldering stations look fine to me but they are pretty expensive .. Im a student..which means im broke... Is there any other cheap brand i can put my money on??

Honestly, I'd save up and buy the Hakko. Cheap soldering equipment sabotages your projects and wastes time and components. I mean, the Hakko is $100, that's just a couple of dinners out to sacrifice -- well worth it!!

SLJ · « **Reply #11 on:** November 06, 2015, 11:57:16 am »

If you wind up going for the Hakko get it from an authorized dealer. If you buy one from an ebay seller and it's too good a deal to pass up it's probably a cheaper made fake.

Kalvin · « **Reply #12 on:** November 06, 2015, 12:10:19 pm »

I have bought one of those cheap Hakko handles (price around $15), a few T12 tips and a $10 hakko controller for evaluation purposes from eBay. The handle requires 12V ... 24V DC power supply, and I am running it at 24VDC for the best performance.

For the testing purposes I am using my lab power supply, but I intend to get a proper transformer or switched power supply. At least when using the SMPS the tip needs to be earthed (through 1Meg resistor) as the SMPS typically has a small leakage current and the output potential may be at half of the mains voltage. I need to check the transformer's leakage current also.

After quick test the controller and the soldering iron work pretty well without problems. The tip heats really fast and it maintains the temperature well enough for my purposes. Changing tip temperature is fast. Also, changing tips is fast not needing any tools. I need to test larger tips and see how well the soldering iron performs. If the cheap controller doesn't perform well enough or there are some problems, I still have the handle and the tips that I can use if I need to buy Hakko controller.

Shock · « **Reply #13 on:** November 06, 2015, 12:48:17 pm »

Quote from: Kalvin on November 06, 2015, 12:10:19 pm

I have bought one of those cheap Hakko handles (price around $15), a few T12 tips and a $10 hakko controller for evaluation purposes from eBay. The handle requires 12V ... 24V DC power supply, and I am running it at 24VDC for the best performance.

Kalvin is there a thread on this already? or would you care to create one with the parts you used and what you found during assembly etc?

Kalvin · « **Reply #14 on:** November 06, 2015, 01:18:15 pm »

Quote from: Shock on November 06, 2015, 12:48:17 pm

Quote from: Kalvin on November 06, 2015, 12:10:19 pm
I have bought one of those cheap Hakko handles (price around $15), a few T12 tips and a $10 hakko controller for evaluation purposes from eBay. The handle requires 12V ... 24V DC power supply, and I am running it at 24VDC for the best performance.

Kalvin is there a thread on this already? or would you care to create one with the parts you used and what you found during assembly etc?

I do not recall seeing any thread, although I do recall seeing people mentioning those cheap controllers few tims in the Forum. There are some videos in Youtube which might be helpful. Those videos seem to be in russian, but nevertheless I watched those before buying the controller. It was quite funny to watch the guy assembling a cheap iron handle from the coule of PCB strips and handle cover he bought with the controller. I wasn't that adventorous and ended up buying hakko handle (possibly a clone too). I might write something when I have something to write about with more details. At the monet I have just tested the controller and the handle with two different tips using the lab power supply.

Gurpreet · « **Reply #15 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:30:17 pm »

How about this guys???
http://www.amazon.ca/Variable-Temperature-Soldering-soldering-SHIPPING/dp/B009BXYOWC/ref=pd_cp_60_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F03580NG97YXK6Q9M52

Gurpreet · « **Reply #16 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:31:56 pm »

Quote from: crispy_tofu on November 06, 2015, 04:38:15 am

So what is your budget? Cheap could mean anything... $50? $100?

Budget is about $50-55 CAD

Gurpreet · « **Reply #17 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:33:04 pm »

Quote from: JoeB83 on November 06, 2015, 07:06:08 am

WESD51.

A word of advice: a soldering iron is something you'll use A LOT. Buy a good one the first time instead of buying several cheaper ones that will end up costing you more in the end.

Thats true..!! but I've already spent alot on other stuff!! $:-\$

Gurpreet · « **Reply #18 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:34:11 pm »

Quote from: JoeB83 on November 06, 2015, 07:06:08 am

WESD51.

A word of advice: a soldering iron is something you'll use A LOT. Buy a good one the first time instead of buying several cheaper ones that will end up costing you more in the end.

I've used WESD51 and its very goog..!! but its expensive.!!

SLJ · « **Reply #19 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:36:48 pm »

Holey crap. Just followed your link on Amazon Canada and did a search for soldering stations. You poor blokes don't have much of a selection up there.

Update: better than I first thought as it would only search in Home and Kitchen.
Finally got it to search all categories and got 1,107 results.
The US has 14,119 results.

Gurpreet · « **Reply #20 on:** November 06, 2015, 02:41:11 pm »

Quote from: SLJ on November 06, 2015, 02:36:48 pm

Holey crap. Just followed your link on Amazon Canada and did a search for soldering stations. You poor blokes don't have much of a selection up there.

Well that's true!! $:-\$ $:-\$

Bob F. · « **Reply #21 on:** November 06, 2015, 04:09:39 pm »

Quote from: Gurpreet on November 06, 2015, 02:30:17 pm

How about this guys???
http://www.amazon.ca/Variable-Temperature-Soldering-soldering-SHIPPING/dp/B009BXYOWC/ref=pd_cp_60_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1F03580NG97YXK6Q9M52

Rubbish and seriously overpriced. That puppy goes for 12GBP (inc delivery) in the UK (= 24CAD). I also suspect it is simply an iron with a dimmer switch - no real temp control at all - and good luck finding spare tips for it.

I suggest you get the one in Dave's video - I doubt you will get anything better in its price range and new tips, and even some spares, are readily available. Also, didn't I see some hacks for it to improve performance?

Cheers, Bob.

Ampere · « **Reply #22 on:** November 06, 2015, 04:38:32 pm »

I'm a student and I got the Hakko FX-888D. It has served me well so far. It heats up (and seemingly cools down) much more quickly than the directly mains-powered iron I used before. It also has a very large selection of compatible tips.

miceuz · « **Reply #23 on:** November 06, 2015, 06:00:26 pm »

I have the mentioned chinese clone - works just fine, but nevertheless, I have the same question - since I'm more or less ok with money in my current instance, I'm thinking of maybe getting a proper soldering station.

Can somebody with experience tell us about what does really make a difference when you upgrade from chinese clone to a proper brand station?

dom0 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 06, 2015, 06:21:24 pm »

Except for reliability and likely better ESD-safety not much, at least with basic stations (with no vacuum pumps, or standby, ...). There isn't really much high-tech going on in a soldering station, it's just a controller, analog or digital, doesn't really matter. If the cloner got the parameters right, there shouldn't be much of a difference.

I don't think more advanced stations are cloned.


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Author Topic: Soldering station buying advise..!!! (Read 12631 times)

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