WTB: Soldering station for home projects. UK - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 11:50:57 am
content: Hi All,I am on a very tight budget and am finding my soldering a bit blobby with my simple plug in mains soldering iron. I t is not temperature controlled and gets too hot for some jobs and not enough power for heavier jobs. I have some 0.5mm pitch components to solder so it seems the right time to get a better soldering setup, but at a small budget. I am wondering if someone has upgraded or similar and have a spare lurking ?I am located in Pembrokeshire, West Wales UK.

author: Lindley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 04:42:37 pm
content: You probably will not find many decent quality ones for under £100 new and not many come on to the second hand market.We bought one of the 936 solder stations clones on the usual sites, currently around £30 which includes one to three tips, though you can buy assorted packs of 10 tips for £7; has served us well.

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 05:10:21 pm
content: Hi. That is great.What is it a clone of? and are original tips interchangeable with the copy ones?

author: Lindley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 07:08:48 pm
content: Hi,They are clones of the origninal Hakko 936.We bought a pack of those clone bits which fit ok, expect original Hakko would fit but more expensive..?Davy, the sites host has done a video of one of the many clone 936 out there, should answer all your questions.One of the Forums favorite new budget soldering stations is the Hakko FX888 but wise to purchase from an authorised dealer as many forgeries around.

author: jogri
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 09:13:57 pm
content: Do you want a soldering station or is a soldering iron enough? If it is, you should take a look at the Miniware TS80 / TS100 soldering irons (around 60 to 90 bucks). They need a DC power supply, either USB-C or a round DC jack, but they are great little irons.I've had my TS100 for a few years now and have used it to solder everything from SMD to big heatsinks. They have interchangable tips, just buy one with a sharp tip (i've used the TS-B2 and TS-1 tips for SMD).

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 10:11:08 pm
content: I have just been looking at various options. I just looked at the RS Pro soldering station and from the picture it has the same knob, same switch, same connector, same 'ESD Safe' text font. I wonder if that is a $16 chinese one with RS badging? It wouldn't surprise me.

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 10:16:52 pm
content: I just looked at the data sheet and the picture in that shows the same stand as Dave's $16 one....That makes me even more suspicious.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 11:00:56 pm
content: Farnell sells some rebranded Atten soldering stations (and some from other known Chinese OEMs) under their Tenma brand.There's a 50w model sold for around 30 pounds here, the "uk retail" version of their site :https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/21-21305/soldering-station-50w/dp/SD02201It should be fine, but for a few pounds more you can get the 60w hakko 936 clone42.5 pounds :https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/ss-207bc-f/soldering-station-60w-240vac/dp/SD0257855 pounds , rebranded atten station with digital presets and buttons :https://cpc.farnell.com/tenma/21-10115-uk/soldering-station-digital-esd/dp/SD01738The tips and heating elements you can easily buy from ebay, or as spare parts on farnell...

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 11:16:55 pm
content: Thanks for the reply.Looking at the pictures and data sheets it looks like these and the RS ones all come out of the same Chinese factory.I shall make a decision at some point but those are contenders too

author: Lindley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2021, 11:18:00 am
content: Cannot comment on the quaity of those units from RS or Farnells vs the Ebay ones, but what you are paying extra for from them is the warranty as if they become faulty you will be dealt with properly.Most of the Ebay ones now seem to be the 937 model with digital control vs our rotary knob 936 model.What is you actual price point ? nothing much inbetween the 936/7 clones and a new FX888, and folk usually hang on to the latter.This place is still selling the older 936 clone.https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Soldering-Station-Best-Quality-YAXUN-936B-With-UK-3pin-Fused-Plug/262051674248?hash=item3d037f3888:g:p~8AAOSwVL1V-bl3

author: unknownparticle
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2021, 06:14:37 pm
content: You may have already found a suitable unit but in case you haven't I can recommend a soldering station that was sold by Maplin (may they RIP!!).It was called the Precision Gold, not a name that that sounds very confidence inspiring but actually it is quite a good unit, and I speak from personal experience. It is fully electronically temperature controlled with 3 temp preset's. Quite well made and is still available under other names, which unfortunately I don't know. They appear on ebay now and again, generally for around £30, and at that they are a bargain.I still use mine occasionally, even though I now have a Metcal! Oh yeah, tips are still available.

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2021, 08:01:48 pm
content: I have spotted a few of the maplin ones on ebay. I shall see if they are 'Precision Gold' ones. I am thinking a maplin one might be quite good as they are probably internally made up of stuff you could get from maplin so maybe infinitely repairable.

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2021, 08:41:34 am
content: Quote from: unknownparticle on April 30, 2021, 06:14:37 pm

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2021, 12:49:05 pm
content: Quote from: unknownparticle on April 30, 2021, 06:14:37 pmI hope this is the one you were on about..... I say hope as this is now on its way here.I think it is the same unit as sold by CPC under the Tenma brand.They look identical and I shall get some tips from CPC .....http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1676798.pdf

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2021, 12:53:00 pm
content: Having a job uploading pictures. Hopefully this small picture will work....

author: PKTKS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2021, 12:55:25 pm
content: Should solve a budget problemwith a fairly decent set o probes for SMD...https://www.aliexpress.com/item/T12-942-OLED-MINI-soldering-station-Digital-electronic-welding-iron-DC-Version-Portable-without-power-supply/32839523934.htmlBest bang for small bucksPaul

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2021, 01:09:02 pm
content: Hi. I just got the one pictured in the post above. Hopefully it will be adequate for my purposes.

author: PKTKS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2021, 01:30:05 pm
content: Quote from: Robert Smith Eco Warrior on May 06, 2021, 01:09:02 pmIT IS a nice handy device..The probes are remarkably good for the price anda lot of types are availableGet yourself a proper 24V at least 5 or 10 Amp PSU...the device performs great with that ratings..Also available on AliExpress with wide seller optionsPaul

author: Robert Smith Eco Warrior
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2021, 12:23:39 pm
content: Quote from: unknownparticle on April 30, 2021, 06:14:37 pmIt turned upIt doesn't look like it has done much work and seems a fairly nice unit. To start with it was set at its default 200 Deg C and wouldn't melt my solder. I measured its tip temperature and that was measuring 172 Deg C. I found the instructions for the Tenma 21-10115 UK sold by CPC / Farnell, which seems to be the same thing. I found there is a calibration adjustment, so I adjusted that to minus 28 Deg C and now it is heating to the correct temperature. I shall find a bit of old vero board and solder in an and gate ic I found was blown up and play around with the temperature settings.I shall also just check what temperature my old Antex plug in iron was getting to.Edit: 325 Deg CI would be interested to know what temperature you had yours set to for circuit board work (not with heavy tracks or big components).

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2021, 11:38:10 am
content: A Hakko 936 clone is a good choice, assuming its well made and the thermal properties are decent,like the original classic Hakko. I actually prefer its simple user interface to my newer Hakko although the newer iron is probably more accurate..I bought a small plastic envelope with a bunch of fake tips from a German company, I forget their name but they work well (fit is good) and were cheap. I usually leave the tip it came with on the hakko 888D. (2 m D chisel tip) and use the knife tip (flat edge) or the big horse hoof (high thermal mass) on the 936. Usually the knife. This combination can handle >90% of my task load.