Hakko 936 220V Modification - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: OnTheKill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:26:26 pm
content: It all goes back to 4 years ago...I could remember when FX-888(w/o '"D") just came out and how much I hated the blueish yellow combinationI insisted on getting the genuine 936 from Yahoo Japan Auction. The unit on the left was the first I got, power unit only for 5000Yen and the right came in a mint full set for 10,000 Yen buyout price. At that time a set of second hand 936 was at average 7000-8000 Yen. I hesitated because of the price and the seller posted only one picture and I could not verify its authenticity. Still, I bet on it...Sorry for grandmother's story. Here's the handsome looksOn the left is 5000Yen Unit, while the right is the full set unit.Now you might wonder why the unit on the right has a black cover. I believe it came from factory original, but I have no idea why it was done. Trust me, the handpiece even looks weirder. I'll picture that another day.The body organs:Notice the left has a separate fuse board on the ON/OFF switch, while the right has fuse directly soldered onto the temperature control board. The former has a plate for transformer ground as well. Weird eh...I live at Malaysia where our mains is at 220-240V. I have got so tired using these 100V units from an external step down. Every time with 3-5 hours of continuous work the step down heats and hums terribly. Finally I found a replacement from China. Let's see if it works tomorrow.Which unit do you think I should fit into?To be continued...

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:29:36 pm
content: Could not you rewind the transformer?

author: OnTheKill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:40:27 pm
content: Quote from: rvalente on September 30, 2020, 04:29:36 pmIt could be done. However our local shops don't do for cheap. The replacement from China was a 100V unit rewound. The seller had a bunch of salvaged 220V transformers before but someone bought all. I found same spec Weller transformers but they wouldn't fit perfectly with existing mounting.Imagine a Hakko fit with Weller transformer. What would you name it?

author: rvalente
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:41:57 pm
content: I'd say this would cost something like 80 to 100 brl here, so yeah, its doable

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:48:00 pm
content: These are my two genuine Hakko 936, one rated 230V (presumably 50Hz as it was bought from local authorized Hakko distributor), while other 220V but rated for 60Hz, real world no big deal though.Photos I shot while ago, hope this helps as reference if needed.

author: OnTheKill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 30, 2020, 04:54:50 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on September 30, 2020, 04:48:00 pmHi Bravo,Yes, thank you! I shot Hakko an email to ask about the 220V unit fuse rating. Just curious if your plug is fused?

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 01, 2020, 04:47:22 am
content: Quote from: OnTheKill on September 30, 2020, 04:54:50 pmNo, we use Schuko here.

author: OnTheKill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 02, 2020, 03:37:32 pm
content: Update:I chose to work on the left unit (Yellow-Black). 100V transformer finally removed. Notice there is a huge line of crack at the bottom. It was caused by the Japanese 'loosy packing' as their local couriers handle packages with care. He surely did not expect this Hakko went through a month of sea journey and some nasty handlersI used superglue to hold it back together and it has worked well until now.Comparison of 100V (left) vs 220V (right). Looks almost the same maybe with a lamination lesser.I don't have any crimping jacks or whatever it's called... So I had to solder the neutral wires together and shrink tube them. Notice I place a small piece of cardboard at the crocodile clips. Hate them for leaving bite marks or even breaking the insulationHere's the Hakko 882 I use for shrink tube heating. I used a soldering iron previously and the result was uneven heating and even blacken my tip. Heat gun is a good investment, trust me. I even use it in plumbing to remove PVC fittings.Finally I can remove the US plug! Here we use type G plug which is fused. That means I can bypass the power switch circuit and place the fuse at the plug instead. Let's see if I find some 0.8A fuses at my local store. Hakko used Fuji EWC cables for the many of their products I think, not sure now. I was told they are heatproof. The wires are thin strands so I put a small dab of solder in this case to avoid loose contact.Transformer test data:Primary Secondary100V (Step Down) 27.4V220V (Step Down) 26.66V240V (Socket) 29VWell, there's 5V extra from the rated output spec( 24V). Hope this will not cause an issue. The replacement itself is rated for 220V pri as the Chinese were following their local voltage (220V 50Hz rather than mine 220-240V). Overall the my experience with Chinese sellers are good, with an exception one seller cheated me with a second hand Agilent minigrabber, sent me a Chinese rubbish used minigrabber instead.Now I need to replace those 3 electrolytics at the control board before putting into long term use. Oh, desoldering the jack is a real PITA!

author: OnTheKill
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 14, 2020, 04:52:42 pm
content: The work delayed for a week, I finished it yesterday at last. I think it's not necessary for recap so I skipped. However I bypassed the internal fuse board and utilized the fuse plug instead. Don't have a 800mA fuse with me, I used a 5A fuse temporarily. Sorry for the table mess. It's a temporary place to work on. I am still looking for bench ideas.It might be old and outdated. Heck, ain't it lookin' sexy stacked upinstagram photo downloader chromeOriginal Hakko ad:instagram photo downloader chromeHeating element ID. This one has different marking, It's genuine but I simply don't understand why this unit is painted differently.instagram photo downloader chrome