Beginner Soldering Station

[alin_im]

hey guys,

Can you recommend me a soldering station for beginners for about 100 pounds / 140 euros ? My thought is to buy a Hakko 888d. Any other toughs Also I would like one that is not an ebay chinese replica of other quality brands.

[Muxr]

I gotta Hakko Digital FX888D, and I quite like it. It's quality and it takes very little bench space. I recommend it.

[continuo]

If you are willing to spend a few bucks more (~180 Euro) I would recommend you an Ersa i-con nano station. This thing runs circles around the 888d, both performance- and ergonomics wise. Tips are high quality, long lasting and relatively cheap (~8 Euro for common sizes).

[Muxr]

That Ersa seems really nice. Like the short tip distance for added precision.

[dom0]

Honestly

Either go with some of the chinese knockoffs for <100 EUR. [That are sold under various brands, including e.g. Voltcraft and ELV. In fact I know that Ersa uses a slightly modified chinese station with one of their handpieces for their low-end RDS80 station]
Or buy the real deal (~250 € for a JBC or something on  a similar level).

I wouldn't consider anything in between. The chinese stations are very close in performance to what they copied (one of the older cloned stations are essentially 1:1 copies of the Weller system - they even use the same (PT20) sensor). All the heater-in-the-handpiece systems suffer from the same problems(*), which the heater-cartridge systems simply don't have (albeit at the cost of more expensive tips).

(*) long heat-up time, slow response to thermal loading, tip changes require either a lot of waiting for all the metal to cool down or thermal gloves, large grip-to-tip distance, ... the list goes on...

[Muxr]

Above mentioned Hakko is only $89 and it's pretty decent. Not sure about EU but surely for that price it makes little sense to go for Chinese knockoffs.

[alin_im]

i had a look on the Ersa i-con nano station and is way over my budget. I think I will go with Hakko...I have seen that lots of youtubers use it. 

[tooki]

But it's only a smidge more, at least if you bother to shop around...

[PedroDaGr8]

i had a look on the Ersa i-con nano station and is way over my budget. I think I will go with Hakko...I have seen that lots of youtubers use it.

be careful of clones. I noticed you are from the UK, basically all of the 240V ones on ebay are fake. VERY VERY rare to get a legit one. Try to purchase from an authorized vendor, authorized vendors have been discussed on here.

[patw4pbj]

Save up a little longer and buy the better tools. They are an investment that will pay you back with less hassle and better workmanship.  In my 35+ years fixing stuff, I've never regretted buying good tools.


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[nanofrog]

i had a look on the Ersa i-con nano station and is way over my budget. I think I will go with Hakko...I have seen that lots of youtubers use it.

Batterfly offers FX-888D's for 98EUR before VAT or shipping (here).

[picandmix]

For genuine Hakko stations buy from their UK or EU  main dealers as shown on their list.
http://www.hakko.com/world_network.html

Also this uk supplier says they are a genuine dealer, perhaps Hakkos list needs updating ?
http://proto-pic.co.uk/hakko-fx888d-blue-yellow-digital-solder-station/

[Fungus]

i had a look on the Ersa i-con nano station and is way over my budget. I think I will go with Hakko...I have seen that lots of youtubers use it.

Batterfly offers FX-888D's for 98EUR before VAT or shipping (here).

Ordered!

(about time I had a proper soldering iron...)

[nanofrog]

Also this uk supplier says they are a genuine dealer, perhaps Hakkos list needs updating ?
http://proto-pic.co.uk/hakko-fx888d-blue-yellow-digital-solder-station/

FWIW, Batterfly is an authorized distributor as well.

[Fungus]

Ordered!

(about time I had a proper soldering iron...)

Just reading the manual. Setting the temperature is a real pain in the ass compared to the old "less advanced" analog model. What was wrong with turning a dial?

[Paul Moir]

Can't lock down the temperature for QC I guess?

Anyway as an owner, I just set the programmed temperatures to convenient settings (270, 300, 350, something high) and switch between them.   

But do read the manual:  it is pretty easy to accidentally loose the tip temperature calibration poking at the buttons.

[KJDS]

Ordered!

(about time I had a proper soldering iron...)

Just reading the manual. Setting the temperature is a real pain in the ass compared to the old "less advanced" analog model. What was wrong with turning a dial?

Marketing decided digital is better.

[Deathwish]

Ordered!

(about time I had a proper soldering iron...)

Just reading the manual. Setting the temperature is a real pain in the ass compared to the old "less advanced" analog model. What was wrong with turning a dial?

Marketing decided digital is better.

meh, might as well build a 936 base unit from schematics on the net and slap a decent hand unit onto it. If fit was the dogs nuts then why is it less so now. Oh yes, I forgot, marketing....

[GoneTomorrow]

Ordered!

(about time I had a proper soldering iron...)

Just reading the manual. Setting the temperature is a real pain in the ass compared to the old "less advanced" analog model. What was wrong with turning a dial?

It's actually not that bad. Once you program in your common temp settings, you can switch between them lightning fast.

[DanielS]

I got my WESD51 when I spotted it on sale for ~$100 CAN many years ago, quite happy with it.

[nanofrog]

I got my WESD51 when I spotted it on sale for ~$100 CAN many years ago, quite happy with it.

Sadly, it's only available in 120V input.

The WSD 81 would be the closest to yours (it's 80W instead of 50W), but they want a fortune for what you get. 

The FX-888D from Batterfly (98EUR) or the I-Con Nano from Beta (198EUR) are the best deals I've seen for EU/UK members.

[commie]

The WSD 81 would be the closest to yours (it's 80W instead of 50W), but they want a fortune for what you get. 

I bought a WSD81 about 3 years ago, It's a good soldering iron but it gobbles your cash from a maintenance point of view, because of this I don't use it but instead use the new Antex TC660A, it's just brill, bits last for ages, low cost to run and unlike the previous model is temperature accurate.

Cheers
Commie

[nanofrog]

...it gobbles your cash from a maintenance point of view...

How so? Eats tips? 

I use the same iron (WSP80), which is why I'm curious.

[commie]

How so? Eats tips? 
I use the same iron (WSP80), which is why I'm curious.

Hi nanofrog,

I'm afraid it does and barrels which cost £10.00 a go  and the tips are £5.00 each, also the tips are short in length.Good iron though but too expensive to run.The new Antex 660A tips are only £2.50 each and they last upto 4x longer.

Cheers
Commie

[nanofrog]

How so? Eats tips? 
I use the same iron (WSP80), which is why I'm curious.

Hi nanofrog,

I'm afraid it does and barrels which cost £10.00 a go  and the tips are £5.00 each, also the tips are short in length.Good iron though but too expensive to run.The new Antex 660A tips are only £2.50 each and they last upto 4x longer.

The Bosnian made ones seem to be all over the place (QC issues), but they do seem to have gotten better recently (newer production apparently has their P/N etched into the butt end).

Fortunately, there are 3rd party alternatives as well  , such as Plato/Techspray (direct link to MS series), and there are even Chinese made equivalent tips out now (Australian sellers on eBay.co.uk). Both are less expensive here in the US, so hopefully the savings will carry over in the UK as well. Not sure of the best place to source Plato in the UK, but Mouser carries them, and Newark stocks a few as well.

As per barrels, I've not found a 3rd party supplier for those yet, but I suspect they do exist (tech from the WSP80 & WD1 have been copied now). You might also luck up on a clearance sale (I managed to get barrels under $2.00 each this way IIRC). I try to stock up on consumables when there's a sale whenever possible. 

BTW, is there a setback feature in that power unit (timer)? And can it be used with the switched iron holder (WDH10T or WDH20T)?
Definitely helps extend tip life beyond what tinning alone can manage. 

[Fungus]

Mine arrived this week. Unboxing and review video coming soon...