Desoldering stations - Opinions needed

Scott C

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I am looking to finally acquire a desoldering gun/station and would like opinions from folks that have these. I have the cheap kind found at radio shack, the iron with a manual, red ball on top that the operator presses when the solder is hot. It doesn't remove solder well and is a pain to use. My hope is to find a complete, working unit that fits my needs at a reasonable price.

I am hoping for the following and am hopefully not nuts for trying... :)

- Any KLOVers selling any good/decent desoldering guns/stations?
- Can good/decent desoldering guns/stations be purchased new for under $200?
- Can good/decent desoldering guns/stations be found on ebay for under $100?
- What brands are considered good (I looked on ebay and found too many
manufacturers and models to count!)?
- What brands or models require minimal maintenance and parts replacements?
- What brands have parts easily available and reasonably priced?
- I would prefer a gun/station that can be operated with one hand and I will mostly
only be repairing classic game boards.

I have a soldering station presently. Thanks for any insight and recommendations.

Scott C.
 
I am looking to finally acquire a desoldering gun/station and would like opinions from folks that have these. I have the cheap kind found at radio shack, the iron with a manual, red ball on top that the operator presses when the solder is hot. It doesn't remove solder well and is a pain to use. My hope is to find a complete, working unit that fits my needs at a reasonable price.

I am hoping for the following and am hopefully not nuts for trying... :)

- Any KLOVers selling any good/decent desoldering guns/stations?
- Can good/decent desoldering guns/stations be purchased new for under $200?
- Can good/decent desoldering guns/stations be found on ebay for under $100?
- What brands are considered good (I looked on ebay and found too many
manufacturers and models to count!)?
- What brands or models require minimal maintenance and parts replacements?
- What brands have parts easily available and reasonably priced?
- I would prefer a gun/station that can be operated with one hand and I will mostly
only be repairing classic game boards.

I have a soldering station presently. Thanks for any insight and recommendations.

Scott C.

I picked up the Madell ML-859 (http://www.madelltech.com/m3-9.html, half way down the page) and love it.
 
I picked up the Madell ML-859 (http://www.madelltech.com/m3-9.html, half way down the page) and love it.
Thanks for the info. Did you buy it from that exact web site? That same pic shows-up other places on the web so I want to ensure it's a legitmate site. My guess would be others stole Madell's picture. What was the ETA?

Scott C.
 
Thanks for the info. Did you buy it from that exact web site? That same pic shows-up other places on the web so I want to ensure it's a legitmate site. My guess would be others stole Madell's picture. What was the ETA?

Scott C.

Yep, I bought it off that site.

Not sure what you mean by ETA?
 
Does it come with everything needed to work on classic game PCBs, including the stand, or does Hakko sell all the parts separately?

Scott C.

I recommend ordering the larger sized tip for it too. It's useful for desoldering components with thicker pins, like flybacks and filter caps.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm not familiar with the various tips, so please be specific in the extra tip to meant I should order. Thanks.

Scott C.
 
Thanks for the help and info. I meant, how long from the time you ordered it until you received it.

Scott C.

It took about a week if I remember correctly.

The nice thing is, is you get four different tips, Lots of Extra Filters, Extra O-Rings, different Cleaning tools, and extra Springs (for lack of a better term, it's the part that goes inside the gun that catches the Solder.)

The stand isn't the greatest, but it works.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm not familiar with the various tips, so please be specific in the extra tip to meant I should order. Thanks.

Scott C.

The Hakko 808 kit I got came with a 1.0mm tip (A1005), and I ordered the 1.6mm also (A1007). So far these two have worked well for almost everything I've done. There is a 2.3mm (A1396) available, and I'd actually recommend that as well if you want to cover all bases. Just the other night I had to remove the heat sinks on an 20EZ audio board, which have two large tabs holding each onto the PCB. Although the 1.6mm did the trick, the 2.3mm would have been perfect for this.
 
I just bought the Blackjack 4000 from Circuit Specialists (link). It was around $140 shipped. It includes 3 tips and a full cleaning kit
9750.jpg


I bought it last Tuesday, it was on my doorstep on Friday. They are currently running a special that includes a free piece of equipment. I grabbed the DMM.

csims8264BLUE.jpg


It looks like a Chinese knockoff of a Fluke, but seems to work.

I am just starting to use it, but it seems to do a decent job. I still need to play with the settings a little more to get it dialed in.

Granted it is not as portable as the Hakko, but I do 98% of my board work at my desk anyway so portability is not as big an issue. The other thing I liked was the readily available replacement parts. My Fry's doesn't carry any replacement parts for the Hakko.

ken
 
I picked up the Madell ML-859 (http://www.madelltech.com/m3-9.html, half way down the page) and love it.

Bumping this thread...

I no longer love this unit... we're getting a divorce :D

I had one pump die on me awhile back, now it appears it's dying again, and Jawhns has died as well.

So I'm looking into the Hakko's and other brands... if anyone else has a recommendation, let me know.
 
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