help on buying this product soldering station - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: dmkmedia
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 07:20:39 pm
content: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-in-1-Soldering-Iron-Station-Genuine-WEP-SMD-Rework-Hot-Air-Gun-DC-Power-Supply-/400395911284?hash=item5d3974c074:g:seQAAOSwMzVTw4lvim thinking about getting this anyone have any thoughts

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 08:16:45 pm
content: I'm always interested in this kind of "good deals".But then my brain kicks in, and I ask myself:"Will I be able to buy a new soldering tip, or a defect heating element in 5 years? Can someone service this? Are spare parts generally available?"And then I buy the Ersa (or equivalent)."Pay lots, cry once. Pay little, cry many times."

author: imidis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 08:21:35 pm
content: Well, do you need the power supply function? I think the 862D may be cheaper without the power supply functionality.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 09:11:22 pm
content: A few points to consider:Reparability, particularly for AIO's. With separate units, you can use one to fix the other if/when something goes wrong. Not so with AIO's (or at least you don't want to try and work on something that's live).Consider that you'll use the iron far more frequently than hot air. So buy a quality iron with good ergonomics, and you can spend less on hot air as it's not used nearly as often. Same with a preheater if one is needed.There can't be much money in the budget to cover the PSU portion, so I wouldn't expect much out of it (i.e. noisy, no protections, and sloppy specifications). You'd do better with a separate PSU IMHO (preferably linear with both CC & CV limiting).

author: vidi
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 09:49:24 pm
content: Quote from: Benta on December 28, 2016, 08:16:45 pmI would bet on answer *yes*. Demands create offers and there are numerous manufactures from china that provide compatible tips/nozzles. Btw, I believe that soldering tips are HAKKO clones, It's written right under the title.Quote from: Benta on December 28, 2016, 08:16:45 pmYes, anyone with medium electronics skills. It's not a rocket science.Quote from: Benta on December 28, 2016, 08:16:45 pmElectronic components that are used inside are available even in a small electronic store in my town.My opinion: If you want to use it only occasionally (10 times per year ...) then it's a good trade.But it's not suitable for a professional / daily work.

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 11:13:59 pm
content: If you ask me, you'd be best buying everything in separate (it's just more reliable that way, as they're all unlikely to fail at the same time)It'd probably take a bit more space (and be a bit pricier), but would be worth it overall.For soldering, I'd suggest you get one of the following:A) A Hakko 936 replica:http://www.banggood.com/220V-60W-Soldering-Station-Constant-Temperature-Electric-Welding-Machine-Anti-Static-p-1092495.html?rmmds=category, it's compatible with the 900M series tips (which are quite cheap!) as you can see here:http://www.banggood.com/search/900m.htmlAnd you could easily obtain spare heating elements/circuit boards for it as well:http://www.banggood.com/24V-50W-A1321-Replacement-Soldering-Element-Ceramic-Heater-p-929472.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/For-HAKKO-936-Soldering-Iron-Station-Control-Board-Controller-Thermostat-A1321-p-1014469.html?rmmds=searchOr a spare soldering iron replacement from ebay (available in both black & white):http://www.ebay.com/itm/Soldering-Iron-for-Hakko-907ESD-Solder-936-937-Rework-Station-A1321-5-pins-OZ-/151952096184http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Heater-Iron-Handle-Tool-For-HAKKO-936-937-928-926-Soldering-Station-A1321-/252517088022B) A cheap FX951 equivalent, such as the Bakon 950D or DSK T12-Dhttp://www.banggood.com/BAKON-950D-75W-Mini-Portable-Digital-Soldering-Station-with-T12-Tip-p-982824.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/DSK-Digital-Soldering-Station-Kit-Soldering-Iron-Station-Temperature-Controller-p-1055574.html?rmmds=searchThese are compatible with the T12 tips:http://www.banggood.com/search/t12.htmlThe T12 tips are quite a bit pricier than the 900M ones (mainly because each tip also contains it's own heating element, while with the 900M, a tip is just a tip and the heating element is completely separate), it does have it's advantages I guess, although, I like the 936 option better as the tips are significantly cheaper to replace.-----------------------------------------------For hot air, I'd recommend the YOUYUE 858Dhttp://www.banggood.com/YOUYUE-858D-220V-700W-ESD-Soldering-Station-LED-Digital-SMD-Solder-Blowser-p-984174.html?rmmds=searchAdditional nozzles are also available if needed:http://www.banggood.com/6Pcs-35681012mm-Circular-Nozzles-For-Hot-Air-Soldering-Station-858A-858D-p-1029750.html?rmmds=searchAnd you could also get a spare heating element (or even a complete hand piece) for it:http://www.banggood.com/Heating-Element-for-220V-Saike-Hot-Air-Gun-852D-952D-8586D-858-898D-858D-p-1074466.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/Portable-Handheld-Gun-Desoldering-Tool-for-858-858D-868-898-Hot-Air-Station-p-1027199.html?rmmds=searchAnd if you actually need a power supply, this one is pretty decent:http://www.banggood.com/Wanptek-KPS305D-30V-5A-Switch-Digital-Display-Adjustable-DC-Power-Supply-p-1065905.html?rmmds=searchHope you found my recommendations useful!

author: dmkmedia
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2016, 11:36:27 pm
content: thanks for the replys and i will ake it all on board.i was thinking about this one due to my very limited desk spacebut i will stay with my seperates i thinkthanks

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2016, 12:09:58 am
content: Well, I'm not sure what you currently have, but if size is an issue, then this soldering iron & hot air combo would be perfect for you I'd say:http://www.banggood.com/BAKON-950D-75W-Mini-Portable-Digital-Soldering-Station-with-T12-Tip-p-982824.html?rmmds=searchhttp://www.banggood.com/YIHUA-8858-220V-650W-Portable-LED-BGA-Rework-Solder-Station-Hot-Air-Blower-Heat-Gun-p-1074475.html?rmmds=searchIf you currently have a traditional soldering station & hot air station (which are quite large), then these would definitely fit very nicely on your limited desk space.

author: Marinated
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2016, 01:22:37 am
content: A quick comment on the hot air side of things. I recently used a cheapie with a wand that looked identical to the one shown in the OP. Unlike proper hot air stations which typically have a diaphragm pump in the base unit, this one simply had a cheap midget blower inside the wand. It was very feeble and made me laugh at the air flow rate control on the base unit: only at the maximum setting was the flow rate any good at all! (Hey, I guess it would work well enough on heatshrinking...) The unit was designed to look similar to professional gear but was anything but. So I advise you not to be sucked in by very cheap gear on the basis of its apparent great range of function. Chances are it does several things badly rather than one thing well.

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2016, 02:04:41 am
content: Quote from: Marinated on December 29, 2016, 01:22:37 amI'd imagine you're referring to something like this:http://www.banggood.com/220V-300W-DIY-Electric-Heat-Shrink-Gun-Power-Tool-Hot-Air-Temperature-Gun-with-Supporting-Seat-Plastic-FIMO-p-1025199.html?rmmds=searchThese kind of hot air guns are only suitable for heat shrinking and not for soldering/desoldering chips and other SMD components.

author: regmigrant
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 29, 2016, 09:43:37 pm
content: I went ahead and bought this one about a month ago and in general its been 'ok'. I bought a set of Hakko clone tips and they fit without problem, the spec has been upgrade since the scare stories on this blog - the fuse is in the live line, everything is properly earthed etc.However - after using the hot air gun for the first time the cooling fan in the gun will not shutoff, the seller (Germanladen) has been very responsive in helping me get to the reason why but I've been asked to replace a triac, zener, couple of resisitors which they have promised to supply. Unfortunately with this unit down I don't have a decent soldering iron! - so separates may have been a better option. Also when I opened the case (at their direction) it looks a little crusty, like its a refurb or second that was fixed after failing QC so now, even if I do the fix, I'm going to have trouble trusting it.Having said all that I think it represents a good deal overall and the seller is certainly doing their best to resolve my relatively minor issueReg

author: dmkmedia
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2016, 07:30:19 am
content: thanks for the feed back but i think i will stay to seperatesdue to i have just bought 2 new power supplies and the soldering station i have is only 12 month oldso hot air will just have to wait for nowthanks guys