Follow up: Aoyue 474A+ Desoldering Station

[andykmv]

adding my 2c! i have had an aoyue 474+ for a while now and very very happy with its performance too! beats cheap handheld desolder pumps or desolder wick hands down - too easy to damage tracks and pads with desolder wick.

in addition to the other already mentioned goods tips for using the 474+, i suggest a few extra spring filters because they clog up really fast if you are doing lots of desoldering, so keep some spares to swap in quickly until you are ready to take a break and clean em up ready for use again.

using the hot air solder gun made cleaning out lots of solder in the filter springs much quicker too! and the parts areally cheap to buy so have lots on hand.

 

[kstillin]

Hopefully this isn't a glorified infomercial..

I ordered one too.
I don't do a bunch of repair anymore, but I've gotten to where I HATE desoldering stuff with the Radio Shack irons and my puny solder sucker.

I don't think I've ever owned a temperature controlled iron either. Then again, I've always been a cheap bastard. Hopefully my $130 or so won't be in vain...

K

 

[kstillin]

HEY!

The UPS guy just dropped it off- I'm so excited I can't even say what physiological effects are present!!

So, should I quit working and go fire it up? I've got a burned epoxy smelling G07 flyback that's just WAITING for it...

K

 

[Peale]

Received mine today. Amazing what decent tools will do for speed and doing a good job. I've been working on an AS-2518-35 that had massive battery damage, and the solder just wasn't doing what it was supposed to do (melt). This thing just sucked it right out. Thanks for the heads up, this should make work pretty quick now.

I've experienced several clogs - easy enough to unjam, but now I thank you for telling me to get extra spring filters. It came with two, and I bought one extra, and I used them all in short order.

Sponge filters also dry out very quickly - something to keep an eye on.

 

[Pac-Fan]

For those not explicitly stating -- are people ordering the Aoyue or the SolderWerks BlackJack?

For the Blackjack - I see today that CircuitSpecialists' web site is hosed up -- they corrupted the HTML on the shopping cart page and you cannot apply the discount coupons to get the free product.

I did see they also put on a new multi-meter for the freebie that seems to be a much better one than the previous ones others posted about. (It's an MAS 345/clone that has 4 digit range instead of 2 digit (0-3999 vs. the typical 0-1999) and has auto ranging and even RS-232 communication with cable and software to connect to windows. These sell for $59-$89 elsewhere, even $29 there. Probably only a $15-$20 'cost' but definitely looks to be a pretty decent meter.


Also, I found they have 2 web sites. One is circuitspecialists.com and the other is web-tronics.com; which uses a Yahoo! store. Shipping is notably less (17% less for me -- $20 vs. $24) on the exact same order. Plus the discount coupons are working there.


My main question is: Are the parts for the Aoyue interchangable with the Blackjack? They appear to be the same with the long cylindar posts on the tips, not the older ones without the posts. CircuitSpecialists/Web-Tronics is out of most of the spare parts, and to me seem quite pricey (and high shipping) for just a small part. (Guess that's how they pay for the freebie stuff). Prices are about 40% less at SRA-Solder for parts -- if they will work in the BlackJack units that would be the best combination of ordering.


Besides appearance of the main unit, everything else looks identical. The spec sheets read virtually the same, other than the BlackJack goes from 200-480 celcius vs. 150-380 for the Aoyue. Is the too high low temp on the BlackJack any concern considering 60/40 melts at around 190 celcius?

 

[Peale]

For those not explicitly stating -- are people ordering the Aoyue or the SolderWerks BlackJack?

I've been talking about the Aoyue. That's what this thread started off as, and it branched off a bit with talk about the Blackjack.

 

[kstillin]

Is THIS how you're supposed to mount the holder?

The gun doesn't even fit in there that way- the little hole is too small.
I mounted mine flipped over so the gun sits in there without falling. It still doesn't seem right. The bottom of the holder winds up right above the table top..

Also, where is that silicone grease supposed to go? The chinese documentation that comes with it sucks. They should also give you some clues on how to clean out the little spring filter.

Other than that, it has sucked the hell out of a flyback and an IC socket.

Oh- and I didn't get the blackjack, I got the aeiou one...

 

[metahugh]

Is THIS how you're supposed to mount the holder?

The gun doesn't even fit in there that way- the little hole is too small.
I mounted mine flipped over so the gun sits in there without falling. It still doesn't seem right. The bottom of the holder winds up right above the table top..

Also, where is that silicone grease supposed to go? The chinese documentation that comes with it sucks. They should also give you some clues on how to clean out the little spring filter.

Other than that, it has sucked the hell out of a flyback and an IC socket.

Oh- and I didn't get the blackjack, I got the aeiou one...

You need to flip that gun holder around like this:

The documentation does suck. It doesn't tell you that you need to wet the circle filter. It doesn't say what to do with the silicone grease either. You take the silicone grease and apply it to the black O ring inside the gun at the rear.

To clean the spring filter you just pull it out and pull from either end and most of the solder will just come out. For the stuff that sticks near the cone end you can pull on it or I have taken my soldering iron and heated it up, shaking it at the same time and it falls right out. I am still reusing my original spring filter and have not touched the new one.

 

[metahugh]

I've been talking about the Aoyue. That's what this thread started off as, and it branched off a bit with talk about the Blackjack.

I bought the Aoyue although others have bought the Blackjack. I didn't buy the blackjack only because a friend in the pinball hobby said their products weren't good (soldering stations), he's had two die on him. I haven't cracked the casing open to inspect but the guns are definitely exactly the same and I am guessing the base unit is as well.

 

[metahugh]

For those not explicitly stating -- are people ordering the Aoyue or the SolderWerks BlackJack?

For the Blackjack - I see today that CircuitSpecialists' web site is hosed up -- they corrupted the HTML on the shopping cart page and you cannot apply the discount coupons to get the free product.

I did see they also put on a new multi-meter for the freebie that seems to be a much better one than the previous ones others posted about. (It's an MAS 345/clone that has 4 digit range instead of 2 digit (0-3999 vs. the typical 0-1999) and has auto ranging and even RS-232 communication with cable and software to connect to windows. These sell for $59-$89 elsewhere, even $29 there. Probably only a $15-$20 'cost' but definitely looks to be a pretty decent meter.


Also, I found they have 2 web sites. One is circuitspecialists.com and the other is web-tronics.com; which uses a Yahoo! store. Shipping is notably less (17% less for me -- $20 vs. $24) on the exact same order. Plus the discount coupons are working there.


My main question is: Are the parts for the Aoyue interchangable with the Blackjack? They appear to be the same with the long cylindar posts on the tips, not the older ones without the posts. CircuitSpecialists/Web-Tronics is out of most of the spare parts, and to me seem quite pricey (and high shipping) for just a small part. (Guess that's how they pay for the freebie stuff). Prices are about 40% less at SRA-Solder for parts -- if they will work in the BlackJack units that would be the best combination of ordering.


Besides appearance of the main unit, everything else looks identical. The spec sheets read virtually the same, other than the BlackJack goes from 200-480 celcius vs. 150-380 for the Aoyue. Is the too high low temp on the BlackJack any concern considering 60/40 melts at around 190 celcius?

I can't see the temp difference being an issue because even with the 474A+ when you crank it up as hot as it will get it is too hot and not comfortable to use. You only need the extra heat for joints on the ground plane that soak up tons of heat. For those I use my soldering iron plus the 474A+ to get it up to temp.

 

[Peale]

You need to flip that gun holder around like this:

The documentation does suck. It doesn't tell you that you need to wet the circle filter. It doesn't say what to do with the silicone grease either. You take the silicone grease and apply it to the black O ring inside the gun at the rear.

LOL...I'd mounted it the other way. It worked fine for me. I've just now flipped it around.

I've been using the silicone grease on all the rubber parts inside.

One of the things "suggested" to be purchased at the time was a black carbon filter thing. I picked one square up - but it doesn't seem to be used in this machine. It was only a buck fifty, but I find it weird that it was suggested for this model unless it's used somewhere I'm not familiar with.

I'm so glad I saw this thread. I've been wanting a desoldering station for a while, but didn't want to plunk down a ton of money on one. This has made quick work of a board I've been poking at - I've got an AS-2518-35 that I managed to remove one socket on - and that took me a good couple hours to do that with solder braid. Since then in about the same amount of time I pulled EVERY chip on the board and socketed it, plus removed/replaced all the other sockets as well.

 

[komodo]

The black carbon filter thingie goes in the back of the air hose where it mounts to the machine. If you unscrew the black fitting on the machine you'll see that material there. Trim to fit with scissors.

 

[andykmv]

The documentation does suck.......

i came across the same issues but got it figured out too...the unit sucks better than the documentation sucks! oh, and the equivalent hakko desoldering unit has good documentation for the same type/style of handle/unit and u can download the doco. gives some good tips on techniques.

 

[Angry_Radish]

Just another thumbs up for sra-solder, when I bought my 701A+ I had a twitchy temp sensor on the desoldering side, they cross-shipped an entire replacement unit no questions asked.

Good stuff!

 

[vib_ribbon]

new to desoldering

hi, newbie here with desoldering stations. i just bought this unit (Aoyue int474A+) second hand and i'm not getting the kind of results as shown in the photos posted in the this opening post. http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=120155

may i ask what number the temperature should be set at? the dial just reads 1 - 8 and yes, the manual sucks big time.

is flux the secret ingredient when desoldering? because as i stand the pcb up on its side to desolder, the solder on the component side never seem to melt. if i forced the nozzle down then i will leave scorch marks on the pcb.

any tips from the experts here? thanks.

 

[Riptor]

Drop an extra grand and buy a pace unit. It will last you a lifetime.

 

[metahugh]

Drop an extra grand and buy a pace unit. It will last you a lifetime.

If you have the money for a Pace it will absolutely kill this station in terms of performance, but seeing as I can't afford that this unit works pretty good.

I have mine set at 7 and I always add more solder to each joint before desoldering. It allows to you remove stubborn old solder and to heat up the joint better on the top and bottom of the board.

I used this station last night and replaced three 20 pin ICs with no problems.

 

[SuperGunGuru]

Since you bought it second hand, I would make sure the gun isn't clogged with solder that never quite made it to the filter. The unit normally comes with a few different tools to help get stuck solder down into the filter. I own one of these and I'm happy with it so far. A Pace unit would be nice, but I don't do enough work to where I can justify dropping a lot on a nice repair unit. Of course if this unit or my soldering station give me trouble and crap out, then it would be nice to have something that should last longer.

 

[vib_ribbon]

thanks for the tips.

from advice and experimentation, i'm making improvements by doing these 2 things:

1/ set the unit to a higher setting. right now it's on 6 1/2.
2/ hold the nozzle a fraction away from the pcb. apply a little lateral pressure to the side of the pin and once you feel a bit of movement, push down and wiggly quickly and then back out.

it seems like good technique is every bit important as the unit itself.

 

[Riptor]

If you have the money for a Pace it will absolutely kill this station in terms of performance, but seeing as I can't afford that this unit works pretty good.

I have mine set at 7 and I always add more solder to each joint before desoldering. It allows to you remove stubborn old solder and to heat up the joint better on the top and bottom of the board.

I used this station last night and replaced three 20 pin ICs with no problems.

I have two Pace stations. One I paid retail for and the second I scored on ebay for $300! Its like brand new and is the same exact model I paid $1200 for. Keep your eye out, there are still deals on ebay from time to time. I recently bought a big industrial eprom eraser for $30 shipped and a rejuvenator for $20 shipped.
Once you use a Pace you probably wont want to go back to anything else. My first Pace was over 25 years old and still working when I replaced it. I used it myself for around 10 years. I only replaced it because some of the parts went obsolete.
Im not knocking the cheap ones, the chineese do a good job of cloning stuff and making it for cheap. Im sure they are perfectly suited for most hobbyists, just dont think it would last long on my bench.