mrbill2084
Well-known member
In case you did not know, when you write >$200, your saying you want to spend more than $200...
Wanting a decent soldering station >$200
- Thread starter kcfreeloader
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- > = greater than
As cadillacman already knows, I have the same model iron as he does. Mine has worked well so for and I also had to replace the iron before the first tip even wore out. I got about 2 years of hobbyist use out of it before that happened. Overall I'm happy with it. It would be nice to be able to change out the heating element of the iron, but at least the replacement iron is only 8 bucks or so. I did see a lot of negative reviews of the iron on MCM's website, but I don't know if the 2 years I got out of it is considered good even for a lower end station. I don't do enough soldering to justify spending a ton on a Pace setup.
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Metric ROCKS. I hope that comes over here in full force.
If you decide to go Weller get the WESD51, that's the digital display version of the WES51. I have had one for 5-6 years now and its still going strong.
Do you really need an adjustable iron? I've always just used a generic plug and play iron, it gets hot enough to melt large connections and for the small ones I just get in and get out quickly-never had any problems.
Most definitely. Some boards have weaker traces than others so setting a heat ceiling is a good thing.
Mindl3ss
Well-known member
+1
I used to use a generic plug and play... then a friend of mine gave me a nice Weller digital station, and I will never go back.
Yes, it was free, but it is so nice. Much more durable, too. The digital display helps, as it lets me know exactly when it's up to temp.
I like keeping it plugged in, too. Just flip a switch, and it's ready to go about 2-3 times faster than the "generic"
One problem I have with the generic ones is the tips. They come loose way too often. And Radio shack has different sized tips for their irons, but they are for all different size units.
These two are what I use. Great products. Desoldering without the 808 would feel like digging a swimming pool with a spoon.
I've always used the Shack's cheap pencil soldering iron, i've yet to pop my cherry on a nice unit. I constantly look at them tho and think yea i should buy one of those, just haven't done it yet (this will probably change in the next 48 hours tho thanks to this post). why not you ask, i just never did that much soldering (maybe 10 wires a year). For this the shack 20$ model has worked but takes FOREVER to get to a good operating temp. another reason i got it is i do a lot of automotive wiring and it's just easier to get into tight spaces.
There's some great info on here, and some sweet units. got my eye on a hakko 936 as we speak. guess replacing my cps2 batteries will have to wait another week or two lol.
There's some great info on here, and some sweet units. got my eye on a hakko 936 as we speak. guess replacing my cps2 batteries will have to wait another week or two lol.
OUCH
I just got a vision of a blob of hot solder dropping into my eye while trying to work underneath the car...
safety glasses, now i can't guarantee you won't get one up the nose or on anyones pretty face.
btw i wear glasses so i tend to ignore the "Safety Glasses" warnings.......
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kcfreeloader
New member
mrbill
You are right, it should have been soldering station < $200. My mistake.
Anyone have the Hakko FX888? It seem that this is the replacement for the Hakko 936. Does either have a ready light? or is that light on the front just to let you know it's on?
You are right, it should have been soldering station < $200. My mistake.
Anyone have the Hakko FX888? It seem that this is the replacement for the Hakko 936. Does either have a ready light? or is that light on the front just to let you know it's on?
Highly recommended
Another very happy customer. I've had mine over a year now and have used the hell out of it and I love it. I am also still on my first tip and it works like day one, just remember to keep it clean. I don't know if they still do it but it used to be if you contacted them and dealt outside of ebay you got a lot of extras. I got a spare heater, extra tips, solder, a solder sucker and I think a couple of other things.
Really great piece of equipment though. I too did leave mine on overnight once but it didn't hurt anything and the power cord would be better in the back but for the price you get more than what you paid for considering the price of some units out there and the features.
I bought one of these about a year ago: http://cgi.ebay.com/Solder-Station-...098?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item563e976ab2
I only have 2 complaints about it:
(1) a red LED power on lamp would be nice. You need to look at the LCD screen to see if it is still on. I left it on overnight oncebecause I didn't look at the screen closely enough
(2) The power cord should go out the back so the iron stand could go on either side (it is freestanding, but on my bench it is more convenient on the left which is where the powercord comes out).
Neither of these is really that significant. It works great, heats up very quickly and holds the temp extremely well. I don't really know how I lived with RadioSh*t soldering irons before I got this one.
Don't let the low cost fool you, this is an industrial strength soldering station. I use it for cap kits and board work all the time.
ken
Another very happy customer. I've had mine over a year now and have used the hell out of it and I love it. I am also still on my first tip and it works like day one, just remember to keep it clean. I don't know if they still do it but it used to be if you contacted them and dealt outside of ebay you got a lot of extras. I got a spare heater, extra tips, solder, a solder sucker and I think a couple of other things.
Really great piece of equipment though. I too did leave mine on overnight once but it didn't hurt anything and the power cord would be better in the back but for the price you get more than what you paid for considering the price of some units out there and the features.
SGG, I had the same model as you guys (I think) and called MCM up and gave them crap about the failures and they said that they had identified a problem and fixed it and flushed the old failing replacement parts out of their inventory. So it should be good now.
I did this mainly because they were having a killer sale with free shipping and I wanted to stock replacement parts and with the crappy feedback I was hesitant...
VectorJunkie
Well-known member
No love for XY-Tronic in here.... I have the LF-1000 and it has been awesome. Has an led that tells when the iron is at the set temp.
You can get the new LF-2000 for $135 from Jameco.
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=2099201
You can also connect SMD tweezers to this base if needed.
You can get the new LF-2000 for $135 from Jameco.
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=2099201
You can also connect SMD tweezers to this base if needed.
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Hey guys, I'm gonna have about 7-9 soldering/desoldering units up for sale in the next couple of weeks. mostly PACE, 1 Dennon Instruments Corp. (DIC) SC-7000Z desoldering gun (the industrial version of the HAKKO 808) A few SMD rework iron attachments (for the PACE units) a couple of temp controlled Weller stations and 1 maybe 2 METCAL PS-800s (my FAVE) .
Check the for sale section in a couple of weeks. They are all used units but in great working order. No prices yet, still gathering stuff for the sale.
Check the for sale section in a couple of weeks. They are all used units but in great working order. No prices yet, still gathering stuff for the sale.
I have the 808 desoldering gun and it changed my life!
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Sell Sooner!!!! i'm looking right now for one!!!! my CPS2's need new batteries and all i'm waiting on is a new iron
i also have 3-4 kick harnesses to either lengthen and or molex.
D-Roy
Member
Mine just arrived from Fed Ex yesterday. I'll be firing it up this weekend. I read over the manual and it says the light will blink/flash when the set temperature is reached.
I can't wait to try it out. It looks great and feels "quality".
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kcfreeloader
New member
Mine just arrived from Fed Ex yesterday. I'll be firing it up this weekend. I read over the manual and it says the light will blink/flash when the set temperature is reached.
I can't wait to try it out. It looks great and feels "quality".
Let me know how that works out, it looks like a really cool unit.
I went ahead and ordered the Aoyue 937+ Digital Soldering Station from Amazon. I bought it for work, which i won't use too much. Thought i would give it a try then decide for sure what i want for home.
The one i'm seriously considering is the Hakko FX951, which runs about $220. It is digital, but the thing that is selling me on it is i really like the looks of the iron itself. It looks to have the grip a little closer to the tip then most others. I'm so used to using those long Rat Shack models that i wont know what to do with that much control!
bit_slicer
New member
I was torn between the Hakko and the Weller. I went with the WESD51 because it has the digital temp readout:
http://www.all-spec.com/products/So...utm_content=367071852&utm_campaign=4053629445
Shop around for this one because prices seem to be all over the place.
