Soldering station - Hakko, JBC, or Pace??

[thm_w]

I haven't ever tried the 500 kHz options but my Metcal has never had a problem with connections over many 1000 of joints and use by 5 different employees.  I also got it very second hand... if the 500 kHz versions are better I'd he interested to see,  I always assumed they were just the budget end.

They are the budget end yes, but still perform well.
The later units have two ports, so I'm sure they had a few complaints about the time taken to plug and unplug the connector properly.

[Electro Fan]

Old thread, I know.

Any chance the poll results in this thread might change in favor of Hakko if the 951 is replaced with the 971?  At $330 before tips the 971 is about $260 less than JBC CD.

Hakko has less power but maybe enough for all but large soldering jobs.  Hakko has tip changing similar to JBC.  Hakko has separate stand which might or might not be preferred to JBC integrated stand.  Hakko has so-so but maybe ok UI, plus some maybe useful software features.

Pace ADS200 Plus looks good overall but I’m kinda enthusiastic about the quick change slots with JBC and Hakko 971.

Mostly looking to move up from a Hakko 888 to something with modern cartridge style tips.  Thx

[thm_w]

No one has used it here so no one can really comment. But from what we know, started in a thread by yourself: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/hakko-fx-971-fx-972/ there is likely not a major difference from 951 to 971.

Quick change slot is not really a big deal, with Pace (or JBC and hakko) you can just grab the tip with a silicone pad to remove it. Which is what I usually do.

[Shock]

Fried Chicken ended up ditching his FX971/972 plans for the older Hakko FM206 as it's multichannel. As I mentioned in the Pace thread no tweezer support on these, makes them a one and a half trick pony as far as I'm concerned with only a few small improvements.

If you are looking to get JBC consider a Metcal MX5210 for $300 more. You get an extra channel to add tweezers later and will have the best working distance and performance money can buy. Has also a better handpiece than both JBC and Hakko in my opinion.

[jonpaul]

Metcal smart heat

My design in 1990s.


The best and from USA not CCP

j

[2N3055]

Metcal smart heat

My design in 1990s.


The best and from USA not CCP

j

Hakko is Japanese...