What chinese soldering station should I buy - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: LoneWolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2020, 01:57:33 pm
content: Hello all, Just hoping someone can help me out, I've been lurking in this forum but never signed up before,I noticed theres tons of talk about t12 solderers that are cheaper than namebrands & I am overwhelmed with all the options. I have been looking at some that look great but on closer inspection might not be as great as first thought because apparently from my reading this site:T12 type solderers sound to be ideal because of how close it allows your hand to be from the tip for dexterity?? I am not sure how much I should spend either(I want something that will last but that isn't overly expensive if I can get by with less for years just fine(Im ok with spending over 70$ or maybe as much as 200$ if really great deal thats worth it)

author: LoneWolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2020, 02:01:27 pm
content: I have been looking at this one in particular but then realized it might be the kind I've heard are not ideal due to length of the tip from the handgrip?https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FD5QRVQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A18H121LY36T1X&psc=1

author: Dakkahun
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2020, 02:29:50 pm
content: Since you are in the States, did you look into the Pace ADS200 soldering station? It has excellent reviews, among them by our host, Mr. Dave Jones himself.I believe that Tequipment offers an additional discount for EEVblog members:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/special-price-for-eevblog-members/

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2020, 07:08:54 pm
content: Unfortunately ADS200 prices went up, making it less attractive. It is an excellent soldering station though, if you can stretch the budget to at least $300 (station + a couple tips).In my experiments, Ksger T12 performed nearly identical to ADS200, and it costs way less. So while I do use ADS200 as my main soldering station, I would be just as happy to use Ksger T12.

author: S. Petrukhin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2020, 12:21:41 am
content: I use 2 KSGER T12 STM, one for a small handle for thin stings that can be quickly changed and the second for a large handle with an axe that is fixed with a nut. They are very cheap, but cute and work well. And I really like the BCM2 sting. If you are interested, I can send links to Aliexpress.

author: LoneWolf
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2020, 01:54:01 am
content: Quote from: S. Petrukhin on December 14, 2020, 12:21:41 amQuote from: ataradov on December 13, 2020, 07:08:54 pmQuote from: Dakkahun on December 13, 2020, 02:29:50 pmthank you for your help,I have some questions:How much is the ADS2000 with discount?I have been looking at the ksgerT12 as well before I created this thread,but the only reason I was hesitant was because of mixed reviews, several different models of that same solderer,& wondering if the chinese Solder station I posted on Amazon was the better deal.I am wondering if I buy the Ksger is there anything I might be missing in that model,& is it better than the Bakon station I posted a link to(do they use the same tips? Are they both the same type of Hakko knockoff?)I should also note that I'm someone who doesn't use a solderer every week but I am already handy enough to need to use something good that will last a long time & won't be too expensive to replace tips & that has good dexterity.Is there a reason why the chinese knockoffs are avoided?I appreciate your time everyone thanks in advance.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2020, 01:59:43 am
content: TEquipment lists it at $261.25, I'm not sure if they still do EEVBlog discount. If they do, it was 6%.But you will also need a couple tips, ad those are $12-$18 depending on the type.At the time I've got it in October of 2018, it was $220.

author: totalnoob
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2020, 02:14:34 am
content: No, that Bakkon does not use the same tips as a T12 soldering handle. If you look at the photos of the Bakkon, they have one showing the tip being taken off and it looks nothing like the T12 tips. As far as which model of KSGER to get if you do decide to buy one, I bought the "V3.1s" version and am very happy with it, but you may want to ask over on the "CFM STM32" thread for opinions, I don't do a whole lot of soldering so it works well enough for me even with the OEM firmware. Many folks prefer the JBC soldering tips, while it is possible to mod the KSGER to work with JBC tips and there are custom firmwares to use the JBC tips on the KSGER (the V3.1s has a menu selection for "JBC" but I am not sure if that means you can mod the unit and use that setting for use with a JBC style handle and tips or not), there are JBC compatible stations and clones, however, they are a bit pricier, although I found a KSGER "clone" that uses JBC style tips and is less than $100 USD on Aliexpress, but it looks to be pretty new with no reviews and it uses an STC for the cpu instead of an STM32, so there will be little chance of anyone creating a custom firmware for it if the OEM firmware is junk (from what I understand there's very little documentation on STC chips and what little there is, is in Chinese). The Jabe's, Best BST 933's, and Sugon's tend to get favorable reviews on Youtube for their JBC compatible soldering stations, but again, they are about 1/2 the price of a real JBC which puts them at least twice the price of a KSGER station (and don't be fooled by a good price for one on Aliexpress, when you click on one that looks to be about 1/2 of what others are charging, you find the shipping makes up for the difference in price).

author: Non-Abelian
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2020, 11:33:36 pm
content: Look on ebay. If you are patient, you can get a good station for not a lot of money. You should be able to find a pace, ersa, metcal or hakko for between $100.00-$200.00 pretty easily.