Products > Test Equipment
first budget soldering station recommendations Q4 2022
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mariush:
If you're checking eBay for used stuff, it's worth looking at Pace soldering station as well.  I gotlucky with my Pace HW-50 when I bought it, got it from a guy that retired and closed his small shop and got the station with a big box of unused logic chips and other crap.

Pretty much have to filter out the ones without handpiece, because hand pieces alone are around $100 new.

You can find lots of models that used that gimmick of setting the temperature by plugging a small thing into the unit - basically a stereo jack with a resistor - that resistor (different values) sets the temperature in 50F steps between 500F and 850F
Here's an example - 35$ for a plug that sets temperature to 750F : https://www.newark.com/pace/1207-0362-06-p1/power-module-heat-level-7-5/dp/15J2924

As an example, here's a Pace HW100 "industrial soldering station" with the TD-100 handpiece for $125 plus shipping : https://www.ebay.com/itm/125377505985

To prove what I said, here's the Pace TW 100 (with temperature display and buttons to set temperature) for $56 : https://www.ebay.com/itm/195097960736
It's this cheap because it doesn't have the hand piece ...
This particular hand piece (TD-100) is $102 at Tequipment : https://www.tequipment.net/Pace/TD-100-6010-0147-P1/Soldering-Irons/
or you can get it with the stand for $137 : https://www.tequipment.net/Pace/TD-100-6993-0263-P1/Soldering-Irons/

The owner opened the unit and soldered a resistor to set temperature to 700F so he doesn't have to use plugs ... but you could easily desolder that and make a plug for the temperature you want, or add a potentiometer to a plug.

The tips aren't that expensive, around $15 : newark link

 
noisyee:
Another vote for Hakko FX888D. I owned one for 6 years, it still serves well.
At this price point, Hakko has:
1. 70W power suits for most soldering works
2. good temperature stability
3. pretty good thermal recovery
4. compatible with 900M tips (and 3rd party 936 type) at the price of degeneration in performance, but they are very cheap
5. good looking (or not, for some people) :)

Not recommend a portable type if it's your only soldering station. They are for field repairing work of small SMD components.
Oilngas:
I've had my Hakko FX-888D for 9 years and have been very pleased with it.   Kimco has free shipping on genuine Hakko tips.
https://gokimco.com/collections/hakko-t18-soldering-tips/hakko-soldering-tips-ship-free?grid_list=grid-view
eevnoob:
appreciate the additional feedback. the aixun reportedly has ESD issues out of the box, so unfortunately the only cartridge based station that i was seriously considering is out of the running. it's a shame that manufacturers of these lower cost T12/T245 kits can't get it right at the factory, as the value prospect is certainly high. as for used equipment, it's true that there are very good deals to be found, but i'd prefer to play it safe and start out with something new... that way i know a malfunction is either due to the factory or my user error.

[edit: got reassurances in the t3a thread that it is ESD safe/grounded properly]
pqass:
Have you considered making your own station?
I think it would be an excellent project for "DIY electronics and EE study".

It doesn't have to be complicated and can mostly be built with modules if you're unsure of your design skills. It starts with buying the iron of your choice based on power, tip variety, expense, etc. Add to that an Arduino Nano, perfboard mounted opamp (for thermocouple/PTC amplification), MOSFET, pot or encoder, optional LCD, and power brick. It's doable with under 100 lines of code and you get to dictate the UI.
Skills you would acquire: mechanical design+build, soldering, simple opamp circuit design, programming (including PID [proportional integral derivative] control; see Arduino PID library).

See:
Arduino Nano-based: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Digital-Soldering-Station/
Minimalist ATTiny85-based: https://www.zl2pd.com/SolderingStation.html

Eight years ago a stumbled upon a DIY station project and saw how simple it could be.  My local hobby shop carried the Weller PES51 replacement iron with cheap tips so I decided to design and build my own station.  See here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/show-the-homemade-equipment-you-are-using-now/msg3606178/#msg3606178  I'm a hobbyist so I don't use it all day long but I've had the same Weller ETA tip all this time. It takes about 24 seconds to heat up from cold and actual temperature displayed doesn't fluctuate much from the set value with use.  I mostly keep it at <250°C.








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