Guys…. please post some links to these good deals you know about and are mentioning, as well as the things you use and like. That way we can check them out & know for sure we are looking at what you mentioned.
Well
some background at first.
I did not use my soldering staff often so had only cheap Chinese iron with solid cooper tip for a long.
Then I was presented with Yihua 939d
The price was about 30USD.
It was much better that previous. But still not as good as I expected. And after some research I desided to go for T12 soldering irons
After maybe 6 months I caught flash sale for Bakon BK950D
For about 14USD it was must have.
There were still some issues with usability (buttons was definitely not the best solution there) and performance (less powerfull that stated 75W). But still it was better than 939d.
The only thing I did not owe was hor airgun. And as far as i was about to build several custom drivers for SRK I started looking for it.
While searching I’ve found few very inspiring reviews on STM32 based soldering stations from taobao.
The latest one is 2in1 iron/airgun controller but all agreed that it is not the best choice now, way too expensive. And it is better to have 2 separate stations.
You can follow the links and check photos and/or use google translator to read some ysefull info.
I’ll try to put main info in a nutshell:
Soldering Iron:
- price is about 45USD + shipping for complete set (controller board, psu, box, soldering iron…)
- AL box ~150х88х38mm
- stm32 based controller board
- 72W+ PSU
- T12 handle
- OLED screen
A lot of features:
- temperatures 150÷480 ℃
- Cold junction compensation 9÷99 ℃
- PID temp control
- standby, sleep, boost mode
- temp 3 point calibration for your tips
- tips databases with presets
- clock
- buzzer
screensaver lol
Hot airgun:
- price is about 50USD + shipping for complete set (controller+psu board, box, airgun handle…)
- AL box ~150х88х38mm
- stm32 based controller board with integrated PSU
Hakko FX-888D soldering station
Hakko FX-901 battery powered soldering iron
Hakko 808 desoldering tool
Weller WESD51 soldering station
Weller WM 120 12 watt soldering iron
Weller 100P 100 watt temperature controlled soldering iron
Sparkfun 808D hot air SMD rework station.
I’ve been building audio kits since the late 60’s. Most of it professionally working as a technician in a stereo store, and then working in the printing industry fixing DC motor controllers and control circuits. I’ve been retired since 2013. Since then, I’m not as active a I used to be. I still fix tubed audio equipment on occassion. Mostly for myself and a few freinds.
Thanks again my friend. I’m still active and love the latest equipment. One thing I need to do is get a scope. It’s the one thing I haven’t had in my personal arsenal in all these years.
I’ve been building audio kits since the late 60’s. Most of it professionally working as a technician in a stereo store, and then working in the printing industry fixing DC motor controllers and control circuits. I’ve been retired since 2013. Since then, I’m not as active a I used to be. I still fix tubed audio equipment on occassion. Mostly for myself and a few freinds.
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Now your talking—Tube Audio Gear—I use to be heavy into Vacuum Tubes —Still have a Dynaco 70—Citation V and a pair of 845 SET amps—Bottlehead preamp——nothing better
Now your talking—Tube Audio Gear—I use to be heavy into Vacuum Tubes —Still have a Dynaco 70—Citation V and a pair of 845 SET amps—Bottlehead preamp——nothing better
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My first kit was Dynaco MKIII 60 watt mono power amp and a PAM 1 Pre-amp I built to use as a bass guitar amp around 1969. I later built 2 Dynaco Stereo 70’s and a PAS 3X preamp. Then I went on to build several Heathkit’s. The list goes on and on. I still use tubed audio equipment these days. Solid state doesn’t come close sonically.
Albeit I've had an early heater failure (don't really know if no tight fitting low quality aftermarket tips may have played a role there), these work nicely if you invest in some genuine T18 or new old stock 900M tips:
This is the user/shop I bought the portable hot air from, the model I purchased is no longer in the shop (or not available in the market I searched a moment ago, you could search through ebay Germany, UK, US etc - it might show up). AFAIK the price was 36.00 EUR purchased through the Canadian ebay checkout process. The power module does 110V/220V, however the handle does either 110V or 220V (need to select handle when purchasing).
If you want only one station I would confirm what was said above - either go for a single soldering iron or a combo unit (hot air and soldering iron). I needed a second station for travel or moving around and as a backup.
The temperate setting is very accurate and there is less risk of burning parts. Last LED reflow took literally seconds, I have never done it that quickly.
Only the “chirp” (confirmation tone when you press a key) is not great, the tone changes whenever I press something. Otherwise great unit. Perfect for reflowing emitters, driver boards, PCBs, other projects, heat shrink, working on my car or anything else.
The Bakon BK950D looks interesting strango, I’d like to have one of those for the portability of it. But so far all I have been able to find is the 220V version.
I am gonna keep looking though.
found comparable units, please note that these are not sellers I have bought from so I can’t say anything about customer service or delivery times! But the product appears to be the same or very similar.