SAIKE 852D+ 220V Iron Solder Soldering Hot Air Gun - help needed !  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2013, 02:19:02 pm
content: heyI am currently working with Goot branded pistol kind of look soldering iron , Yup that one's with the "boost" from 20W ussual to 200W when boost being pressedbut that pretty much sucs ... I think I need proper soldering station and definitely not that conical tip rubbish ...so I let the stupid cheap chinese no name a chance ( look like Hakko 937 clone ) and it was so sucs .... +/- 12Care you kidding me ? 0_0any how ... Assuming I'll get my money back ... I thought of Hakko Fx 888 , But then I saw this SAIKE 852D and it has soldering station plus the hot air .. and both for about the same price ( I can get ) Hence I'll ask you , what do you think ? what shall I pick up ?thank you in advance

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2013, 07:00:15 pm
content: looks like this is cheap unit and so on ... I think of buying this one :http://www.ebay.com/itm/120893418719?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649any thoughts ? any comments ?thank you in advance

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 01:57:44 pm
content: heycan someone please help me ?I need to buy some real soldering station and this one seem like good value for money ...please help meP.s : I've Changed the title because I need the opinion for the 2nd unit I wonder about

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 02:15:23 pm
content: Really, crap like this has been discussed a thousand times here. Buy it if you want it, buy it if you can't afford something better.Don't blame anyone if it turns out to be crap. In the end it is your decision and money.

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 02:17:04 pm
content: heythank youAnd what about the FX-888 on Ebay ? is there some known seller that known as one who sell genuine one ?and sorry for not seeing thous threads who discussed this topic before

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 02:55:16 pm
content: Can't help with the Hakko questions but I do own a few of the Cloned 850 and 852 based units. Before buying such you must accept that you do get what you pay for. Hot air stations appear to work pretty well no matter how cheap as they are very basic technology that just has to produce a jet of very hot air without self destructing in the process. Temperature calibration can be an issue but the temperature for most hobby use does not require precision and can be easily checked with a thermocouple in the stream of air if needed. These units are basically a small air pump. a 270W heater assembly and some very basic control electronics. The issue is often safety. Some units are better assembled than others and there have been cases on this forum of units not being wired to the mains supply correctly or not having a decent earthed shell/handpiece. When buying such a unit you should be competent enough to open it and inspect the safety aspects of the build before use. No point in saving a few bucks only to lose your life for it !OK so hot air stations are a reasonable gamble...budget makes that come to mind are Aoyue, KADA, W.E.P, Duratool, Xytronic, Hakko. Professional units are a world apart from these but then do you really need that performance? Pace, JBC and Weller are three of the big players in the Pro market but there are others...all are very expensive compared to the budget Chinese kit.You are considering a Hot air station with soldering iron. I have a W.E.P 852D+ and have the following thoughts on it..... the hot air section works fine and does what it is supposed to. The soldering iron is very basic, light weight, plasticy, uses a 'ceramic' element and a range of hollow tips that are very common. I personally have not liked these soldering irons, they are cheap and feel so in the hand. I do not get on with the tips either, they basically don't work as well as my Weller and Pace soldering irons and certainly feel cheap and nasty in comparison. I also bought the W.E.P standalone soldering station. It uses the same cheapo soldering iron. I have never bothered to use it.For a soldering iron it is my opinion that the hand piece must have the right 'feel' just like a quality ink pen versus a Biro ! I regularly use Weller and Pace soldering irons. The hand piece is the right weight and fits into the hand well. Quality materials are used and performance is superb. If I then pick up a W.E.P hand piece or one from an Aoyue soldering station, it feels totally different. Too light and very cheap feeling. Don't get me wrong, the W.E.P and Aoyue hand pieces work and do solder correctly, they just don’t feel like a quality tool in the hand. When you do a lot of soldering you want the hand piece to feel 'right'. I recently purchased a Xytronic LF8800 desoldering station with soldering iron. I must say that the build quality of the soldering iron provided with that unit was far superior to my Aoyue and W.E.P models. It is worth shopping around for the best soldering iron that you can afford....it should last you a very long time. You need to also budget for buying a decent range of tips for various applications. Some nice fine chisel (not conical) tips for SMD, some 1mm/2mm/3mm chisel or oval tips for through hole work and some hefty 5mm chisel or oval tips for heavy soldering tasks like ground planes. If SMT based projects are something you will be constructing you should also consider one of the special hollow tips used for drag soldering.I hope this helps a little. I have built up quite a collection of soldering/desoldering and hot air stations so I do speak from real world experience.I would recommend buying a decent soldering station and reasonably cheap hot air station as two separate units.Remember to also use decent solder and buy a flux pen !Fraser

author: eevblogfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 03:08:11 pm
content: thank you fraserWhat do you call "decent" ?does FX-888 is decent ?or just peace and weller and JBC etc ... ?thank you in advance and I really appreciate the time you spend writing that long post !

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2013, 06:39:29 pm
content: I have not owned a Hakko FX888 so cannot comment on its quality. There seem to be a lot of people who like it though.It’s on Amazon.com with 137 comments on it. Worth a read maybe?http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FX888-FX-888-Soldering-Station/dp/B004M3U0VUAs to whether a Hakko FX-888 is genuine or fake, I am afraid I can offer no advice except avoid ebay sellers based in China as it will likely be a clone of unknown quality.You asked me what was 'decent'. In my experience, Weller, PACE, JBC and Metcal all produce decent equipment. Other makes, such as those from China and HAKKO from the USA, have a following on this forum so their owners likley consider them 'decent' as well. I just bought two Xytronic 'LF' series units and would describe them both as 'decent' quality, if not as good as the professional grade equipment.Fraser