Soldering station in Europe

[fretless]

Hey,

so Christmas has passed and i decided i should get myself a soldering station. Currently i have a Weller 25 watt pencil ( http://uk.farnell.com/weller/spi-27/soldering-iron-euro-plug-25w/dp/4015060 ) , but i feel like its not enough. I'v come here to ask if anyone could recommend me a soldering station for 230V/50 Hz and in the budget of around 100 euro's or 130$.

[KD0CAC John]

Not sure of supplier in your area , but ,
http://www.halowayexpress.com/products/Hakko-Soldering-Station,-FX%252d888-%252d%252d-34Y8O004Z3H0IH99.html

[fretless]

Not sure of supplier in your area , but ,
http://www.halowayexpress.com/products/Hakko-Soldering-Station,-FX%252d888-%252d%252d-34Y8O004Z3H0IH99.html

Ahh, if only it came in a 230V flavor, however the only 230V ones are the Chineese knock-offs.

[Monkeh]

Ahh, if only it came in a 230V flavor, however the only 230V ones are the Chineese knock-offs.

Not true.

http://dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888.html

[Bored@Work]

A Hakko 888 in Europe, 240V version, is hard to get, and the official imports are horribly expensive. Importing a 220V version from China will set you back something like 120 Euro, but is risky, since it is not clear if you get an original one or a rippoff. And in general, Hakko has discontinued the 888, replaced it with the 888D. And that one is even more difficult to get.

For 100 Euro you will probably end up at stuff from Ayoue, Xytronic, Zhongdi, or similar manufacturers - if you prefer features over quality. If you are lucky you can get an entry-level Ersa or Weller for 100 Euro, but there are reports that the quality of both brands isn't what it used to be.

[Monkeh]

A Hakko 888 in Europe, 240V version, is hard to get
And in general, Hakko has discontinued the 888, replaced it with the 888D. And that one is even more difficult to get

http://dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888.html
http://dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888D.html

[mariush]

I emailed them a while ago and never got an answer to my emails.

If you want, you can get the 110v versions from eBay, there's a US seller that looks legit, with lots of sales and rating:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hakko-FX888-23BY-FX888-Soldering-Station-to-Replace-model-936-12-/380433497967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58939a7f6f

80$ + 65$ shipping ... 145$   
Dancap lists it at 88 pounds which is 142$ WITHOUT VAT and shipping, so expect dancap's price to be 30-40$ more.

For less than that, you can get a 100va stepdown transformer, which is more than adequate: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stepdown-240-120v-Transformer-100VA/dp/B000NIYF0K/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1356630866&sr=8-8

PS. If you don't like eBay, sparkfun and adafruit also have the fx888, and with shipping you get to about the same price, 140-150$.

https://www.adafruit.com/products/303
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10553

[McMonster]

I would recommend buying Solomon SL30E-N. Good station, available in Europe from multiple suppliers, well within budget. Tips are also cheap and available. I'm using SL-20 version and it never failed me, heats up reasonably fast. Just remember to look for ESD safe (E-N) and NOT ceramic heater version, it would be harder to get proper tips.

[mariush]

I would recommend buying Solomon SL30E-N. Good station, available in Europe from multiple suppliers, well within budget. Tips are also cheap and available. I'm using SL-20 version and it never failed me, heats up reasonably fast. Just remember to look for ESD safe (E-N) and NOT ceramic heater version, it would be harder to get proper tips.

That's a rebranded zhondi zd-929 or something very similar:

http://www.china-zhongdi.com/zd-929c.htm

cheap, crappy.. yeah i guess it works for a few months.

This store had it for 47$ here: http://www.mpja.com/Solder-Station-with-LED-Display-ZD-929C/productinfo/15845+TL/

And it's 65$ here: http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/solderstationwithleddislpay.aspx

[SeanB]

Solomon works with Weller tips ( at least the non magnastat ones) quite well, and is not too bad. I have had one for years, and it works well aside from the poor DIN socket not being the best ( goes intermittent with time and long use) but it does the job. Just bought another SL30 one last week as well, I have spare heaters ( complete irons actually) and dug up the old iron head I have with a Weller flatpack tip in it I bought 20 years ago to complement the set. That tip actually cost more than the rest of the soldering station.

[McMonster]

cheap, crappy.. yeah i guess it works for a few months.

Mine has two years already and no sign of problems, I know someone who uses it for years and recommended it to me, so I can certainly can recommend this particular one.

[Achilles]

I've got the Ersa I-Con pico. You can get that with no problems I think, but I am not sure if it fits in your 100€Budget when you buy it locally. I paid 120Euro shipped.
It's heating up quite fast (under 10Seconds) and keeps the temperature. You have a sleep mode (which you can set), but it doesn't disable automatically.
For changing tips you need to let it cool down, but you have quite a lot of tips to choose from.
The cable is OK. IT's some silicon-flexible-style, but could be a bit more flexible (I am probably wanting too much here as it isn't stiff anyway). The handle is pretty lightweight.
Well, the pico doens't have any ESD protection, that would be the nano, which was about 80Euro plus. So I skipped that. For some normal soldering work it's really nice to work with.
Maybe you have a local retailer where you can check that one out.

[fretless]

I've got the Ersa I-Con pico. You can get that with no problems I think, but I am not sure if it fits in your 100€Budget when you buy it locally. I paid 120Euro shipped.
It's heating up quite fast (under 10Seconds) and keeps the temperature. You have a sleep mode (which you can set), but it doesn't disable automatically.
For changing tips you need to let it cool down, but you have quite a lot of tips to choose from.
The cable is OK. IT's some silicon-flexible-style, but could be a bit more flexible (I am probably wanting too much here as it isn't stiff anyway). The handle is pretty lightweight.
Well, the pico doens't have any ESD protection, that would be the nano, which was about 80Euro plus. So I skipped that. For some normal soldering work it's really nice to work with.
Maybe you have a local retailer where you can check that one out.

120 €? Thats nice, where did you order it from?

[Achilles]

I got mine here:
http://www.ersa-shop.com/ersa-icon-pico-digitale-singlelötstation-230v-hochleistungsheizelement-standby-funktion-für-150450°c-komplett-p-8705.html?osCsid=mq85npqgksgf136d91v853qus1
The site is in german only as it seems. So check with google translate or write them an email. Shipping was pretty fast.

well, I am not sure how much shipping would be... regarding DHL it would be about 9 Euro. http://www.dhl.de/en/paket/privatkunden/international/paeckchen.html