WTB: Beginner soldering station

[Capacitor]

I'm a student who has been a hardware enthusiast for a while now and I've gone through plenty of cheapo $10 pen-style soldering guns and am now looking for a station.

Only thing I require is that it's variable temperature and works. Cosmetics do not bother me one bit. If you have an old station you'd be willing to sale, please send me a PM. Oh and a station that has a wide availability of replacement tips would be greatly useful.

I live in the states.

Thanks!

[Shock]

What is your budget?  You can set your country in your profile.

At the cheap end of town you can buy new between $15 to $100 from a Hakko 936 clone (Yihua 936 $15), Hakko rework station clone (Atten 8586 $80), to a genuine entry level Hakko (FX888D $95) or Weller (Weller WES51 $90). Atten do a stand alone rework station (858D $70).

Personally I would buy new they are so cheap now. As Hakko clones are prolific on eBay arguably they are the ultra cheap way to go and tips are about $1 each in packs.  The more money you spend on your station the more the tips seem to cost.

[B+D Shop]

If Hakko becomes your quest we will have a Group Buy on some of the more popular irons and stations coming soon, being announced the end of the week for the entire forum. I am not saying that Hakko is THE station for your budget you need to decide that with the help of the other members, although they are very good. Just saying if you decide, and before you buy, wait a few days for the specials so you don't miss them.

Enjoy the hunt!

Dean

[nanofrog]

Given you're in the US, you'll have an easier time of it due to better prices on name brand stations here (there are small details that make a difference between the knock-offs & the real thing, including reliability).

For example, a Hakko FX-888D can be had for under $100USD, including shipping, when a relatively similar Chinese made station can cost $80. Not much cost difference, so getting the Hakko makes better sense. Hakko also makes better tips than the knock-offs (thicker plating on the Hakko's = last longer).

Stepping up to a better station is also more feasible in the US.

So the question is, what's your budget? 

[Capacitor]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I'm not in a real hurry to buy one, but I'd like to have a station that will last me a while. Quite frankly, I'm tired of throwing away irons due to poor build quality.

My current budget is in the $75 dollar range at the moment, but considering I could get a hakko for a bit more, I think I'll opt for that. I'd like to avoid chinese knock-offs if possible.

Edit: I just took a look at the Atten 8586 based on your recommendation Shock, and the rework gun looks extremely tempting! Of course, the other issue with raising your budget is the increase in options.

[con-f-use]

Getting tired of these threads. In terms of value for money, I like the Aoyue Int2703A+ desoldering staion, in case you want to go big.

[Capacitor]

Getting tired of these threads. In terms of value for money, I like the Aoyue Int2703A+ desoldering staion, in case you want to go big.

Understandable if you know the industry and the market, but as an Amateur, I do not. As such, I am asking for your opinions for me to move forward.

[Flump]

Getting tired of these threads.

Dont read them then, no one is forcing you too.

Understandable if you know the industry and the market, but as an Amateur, I do not. As such, I am asking for your opinions for me to move forward.

Only Advice I can give is go for a company thats been around a while so you are not stuck with an Iron you
cant get tips/spares for.
There is a guy in the forsale section selling Weller station's half price, have a look through the history see if you can find him

[TheBorg]

If Hakko becomes your quest we will have a Group Buy on some of the more popular irons and stations coming soon, being announced the end of the week for the entire forum. I am not saying that Hakko is THE station for your budget you need to decide that with the help of the other members, although they are very good. Just saying if you decide, and before you buy, wait a few days for the specials so you don't miss them.

Enjoy the hunt!

Dean

How much do they usually knock off when the sales come around? I'm needing a better iron with some tiny tips for smd soldering, as well as general use and am wondering if I should buy used (Hakko or Weller, or a newer JBC if I get lucky) or wait and try to buy new.... Also needing a good multimeter (maybe not as expensive as a fluke but something that measures capacitance), power supply, Et cetera. This whole spending money thing is fun! Are Black Friday sales the time to buy?

[con-f-use]

Getting tired of these threads. In terms of value for money, I like the Aoyue Int2703A+ desoldering staion, in case you want to go big.

Understandable if you know the industry and the market, but as an Amateur, I do not. As such, I am asking for your opinions for me to move forward.

Dont [sic!] read them then, no one is forcing you too.

Just saying that people could link the 100+ other threads about the best beginner soldering stations. Besides, even beginners can use the search. No one is forcing you to write in bold letters either, and yet you do. Sometimes one just can't help it.

Only Advice I can give is go for a company thats [sic!] been around a while so you are not stuck with an Iron you
cant get tips/spares for.

Some Chinese companies build Hakko (e.g. Aoyue) or Weller compatible stations. So chances are you'll at least get tips for those for a while. But it's never wrong to buy quality.

There is a guy in the forsale section selling Weller station's [sic!] half price, have a look through the history see if you can find him

He has sold out and is closing shops, so no luck there.

[nanofrog]

I'm needing a better iron with some tiny tips for smd soldering, as well as general use and am wondering if I should buy used (Hakko or Weller, or a newer JBC if I get lucky) or wait and try to buy new.... Also needing a good multimeter (maybe not as expensive as a fluke but something that measures capacitance), power supply, Et cetera. This whole spending money thing is fun! Are Black Friday sales the time to buy?

Used is fine, so long as it's all there and it works (or if broken, actually repairable). Newer models tend to use MCU's or even custom chips, so there may be instances where a repair would mean buying a replacement board from the manufacturer.

DMM's that have a capacitance function can help, but the range tends to be limited and not all that accurate. Depending on what you need out of it, an LCR would be a better tool for measuring capacitor values IMHO.

There are non-Fluke DMM's that are decent. Brymen would be worth a serious look IMHO, as they're well made and offer quite a bit of value (they get rebranded under names such as Extech and Greenlee, but tend to cost more this way). As a result, they're getting a lot of attention here in the forum lately. But they're by no means the only thing to look at (lots of threads, so a search should provide a lot of info).

Franky (iloveelectronics here on the forum), sells Brymen in his store. Only a couple of models listed ATM, but if you contact him, I'm sure he'd be able to help out with your specific needs (what's coming & when, or if he can get a specific model).

[B+D Shop]

How much do they usually knock off when the sales come around? I'm needing a better iron with some tiny tips for smd soldering, as well as general use and am wondering if I should buy used (Hakko or Weller, or a newer JBC if I get lucky) or wait and try to buy new.... Also needing a good multimeter (maybe not as expensive as a fluke but something that measures capacitance), power supply, Et cetera. This whole spending money thing is fun! Are Black Friday sales the time to buy?

We'll make the eevblog special good enough that it will better Amazon, eBay or anyone else, on the products we sell. I like spending money too, by I always like a "deal". We'll post in this B/S/W section in the coming days.

Dean

[Capacitor]

Thanks for all of your input, I'll take all of your recommendations into consideration. (Lots of overwhelming information here and in the forums, I'll have to absorb them all)

This originally was a WTB thread and I'm still open to offers if any members have a station that they'd like to offload within the next 1-3 weeks here.