Finally decided to enter the 21st century and order a hot air station and stereo microscope.
Quick 861DW from Taobao, approx 320 dollarydoos delivered (and a few bent nozzles about $11 each). Should be more than good enough for my occasional use if the reviews by Louis Rossmann and the Second Best Amp Hour Podcast host is anything to go by.
![Azn ^-^](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/azn.gif.pagespeed.ce.7t5xC2ZH_H.gif)
The microscope was a bit more tricky to decide on. I went with an old Meiji EMT microscope (~AUD210), it's basically the model that all the Chinese clones are based off. I wanted to go for a zoom model instead (Meiji EMZ, Nikon SMZ, Olympus VMZ) but the used market kinda sucks here, oh well.
Part of me wishes I shelled out more for a new zoomable microscope from China like an Amscope/Omano but ehhhh I'm a sucker for old quality gear. It's not like I have to rework boards 24/7 so I think I can live with the two 1X and 3X objective levels. The 80mm working distance might be a pain, and I don't reaaally want to spend another $200 on a 0.5X barlow, I'll just deal with it.