Fake $10 Hakko FG100 Iron Thermometer - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 04:58:08 am
content: Brought one of these $10 thermometers to go with my $15 Yihua 936 clone soldering stations.Personally I don't have $406 AUD spare to buy the real thing from Hakko as I am not in business or would ever feel the need to buy one at that price.If these fakes were branded or designed slightly different I would have gone for that instead, never really liked blue Hakko stuff anyway.How well does it work? Well it's quick to pickup temperature changes, almost instantly.It's surprisingly good at detecting room temperature. Faster and more reliable it seems than most household thermometers.I've not tried to check the calibration properly but it's close enough for me. It does have reproducible accuracy and of course you can calibrate it.If I remember correctly I measured up to about 350C/572F. Others reported they measured freezing temp fine with ice.PCB has good workmanship and soldering is fine, a very slight splash of something on the PCB but it doesn't affect operation. If I could be bothered I'd clean it up with IPA.Be warned if you get one there is a trick to putting the spring loaded arm back in, so pull apart at your own risk.Again this is a fake, don't buy one of these for hundreds thinking you're getting the real thing.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 07:54:08 am
content: $406 for what is basically a Hakko-branded thermocouple reader?You could get a good multimeter with the thermocouple option for that price!There was some discussion of the older '191' series here, and its clones:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/do-you-calibrate-your-soldering-station-if-not-or-if-so-why/15/The real FG-100 apparently cannot be user-calibrated, so you could consider this a bonus.

author: Napalm2002
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 04:41:11 pm
content: i bought one. and its good to know that it actually works. i havent actually used mine yet. good deal for 10$ tho

author: pomonabill221
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 06:53:25 pm
content: How did you determine it was a fake/clone (other than the price)?Also, did it come with extra sensors like the REAL Hakko does?Can the display be changed between C and F?

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 11:22:02 pm
content: From the manual (attched) it looks like the FG100 comes in two versions, C or F. There is no option described to change modes. The units I have just seen on e*ay appear to be Degrees F only. I will have a look for a Degrees C version

author: tony3d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 11:28:38 pm
content: I bought one of these things, and found it really does work great! A good deal.

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 11:32:10 pm
content: I got one too, sometime last year. Mine displays degrees C. Works fine.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2014, 11:34:02 pm
content: I just found a Chinese seller with the Degrees C version.....twice the price of the Degrees F unit

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2014, 02:30:26 am
content: Quote from: pomonabill221 on March 16, 2014, 06:53:25 pmPCB and I think the original comes with a plastic or nylon washer on the top pole (makes no difference to operation).It did come with a pack of sensors, you will need to check this for yourself however.Not sure how to change between C and F.Quote from: Aurora on March 16, 2014, 11:34:02 pmSearched just then and found a C version for $10.35 with free shipping.

author: tony3d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2014, 03:27:38 am
content: Quote from: Shock on March 17, 2014, 02:30:26 amMine came with the white washer. It was not mounted, but in the box.

author: bbarry
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 17, 2014, 04:03:08 am
content: Mine came with the plastic or nylon washer so it must be original. Plus I paid $12.99...

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2014, 07:11:14 am
content: Quote from: bbarry on March 17, 2014, 04:03:08 amYeah must be heheh.

author: kripton2035
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2014, 09:04:18 am
content: Quote from: Aurora on March 16, 2014, 11:34:02 pmpretty sure it's only a jumper on the board ...

author: kolonelkadat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2015, 08:10:17 am
content: Where did these go? There used to be dozens of listings, now I can only find one.I went ahead and ordered it, but I'm kind of worried im gonna get Fluked by customs.

author: Gromitt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2015, 11:31:00 am
content: Quote from: kripton2035 on March 17, 2014, 09:04:18 amNo, it's not. You can't change between C and F on a FG-100, they are either Celsius or Fahrenheit.

author: radhaz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2015, 11:29:29 pm
content: I opened up the FG100 at work. It has a very different pca with 3 or so ICs and a jumper for F or C.