Or if you have the tools
Option 4 - IR Thermometer aimed at the tip while increasing the temperature.
IR thermometers are calibrated for a particular surface emissivity, so you'd probably have to paint your soldering iron tip to get it accurate which might ruin it.
(I looked into this a while back when I was thinking of using an IR thermometer to check the temperature of components in a computer - most cheap ones are for
a fixed emissivity designed for buildings which is very different from a shiny metal heat sink for instance.)
http://www.scigiene.com/pdfs/428_InfraredThermometerEmissivitytablesrev.pdf
A bit disappointed HAKKO made the calibration menu so easy to access as it's quite like the normal temperature adjust. IMO it should be protected like setting presets which require a button press and the power switch.
Frankly, I would just has an analog pot or rotary encoder with an integrated pushbutton and 2 buttons as my interface. The readout display would be in between the knob and the DIN connector. The rubber buttons would be curved around the knob right where the temperature labels are on the analog version. The analog Hakko looked really cool as the curved case was designed around the concept of having a knob. This digital rubish looks horrible in that case and on top of that is useless.
I should study industrial design
...nah I stay with electronics
Option 3: get some thermocouple wire, wrap the tip with the thermocouple part, connect that to an appropriate multimeter and calibrate to the degree.
Closest thing I can think of, is Ersa I-Con models that use a rotary encoder (no soft keys IIRC).
My ersa i-CON NANO has just two buttons (up and down) and no rotary encoder. It does though have a micro SD card slot and computer software (which I've not yet used) .
A bit disappointed HAKKO made the calibration menu so easy to access as it's quite like the normal temperature adjust. IMO it should be protected like setting presets which require a button press and the power switch.
And BTW, does anyone know why they changed the 888 series so that it doesn't stack? WTF? Someone's over there needs to lay off the saki.
What do I recommend for a good, entry level station now. The only advice I have to give at the moment is, "Find a nice, used 936 if you can, or a NOS 888 if you must...just not the 888D".
Sorry to read, but your trouble is precisely why the digital readout is overkill, and more toyish than practical. I hope the analog version isn't phased out in favor of the D version, if so, anyone who wants one better get one before its sold out. The digital one makes no sense ...
What do I recommend for a good, entry level station now. The only advice I have to give at the moment is, "Find a nice, used 936 if you can, or a NOS 888 if you must...just not the 888D".Or a 936 clone, they're not going to stop making those anytime soon.. you can then upgrade it with a genuine heater.
Yeah, I know. I just hate to recommend Chinese anything...especially clones. I initially dumped my old Weller because it suddenly started eating tips one year. At the rate I was trashing them, it was cheaper to give it away and replace it with a Hakko. I love my FP-101. I wonder if Weller has sorted out whatever it is they were going through? I know they moved production to Mexico. I wonder if the quality ever came back?
I dunno...maybe an Edsyn? But what a lousy footprint and design from an ergonomic standpoint.....stubbornly carried over into all of their products. There's a real vacuum here if you're trying to stay out of China.