Genuine Hakko FX-888D?

[sanchaz12]

Aside from that I also considered other units within my budget (around €120,-)

• Ersa i-Con Pico, €122,- delivered from Amazon.de
• Aoyue 9376, €82,- delivered from eleshop.nl
• Aoyue 3210, €92,- delivered from eleshop.nl

Honestly, if your time is worth anything at all, stop shopping around and order an i-Con Nano from Amazon. (Just quickly compare .de/.fr/.it, etc. -- sometimes it's cheaper on one or the other.)  You will be happy with it -- as I am with mine.

Indeed I'm getting a bit tired of all this comparing one to another. I may as well spend a bit more and be confident about it instead of endlessly searching for the best deal. I'll let it rest until tomorrow, then I will make my final choice.

[nanofrog]

Total costs for me are about € 114 including shipping from Latvia. (See the image). Not seen tax before on eBay, where would I be able to check that? But I think I'm not going for the HAKKO anymore, because the higher price in combination with few parts available for a decent price in Europe. I'm looking into the Ersa I-Con line now, still deciding between the Pico and the Nano.

I'd recommend getting the Nano, particularly for the ESD compliance (extra features are nice too).

For pricing, check out I-Con Nano at Beta-Store, directly from Ersa, and possibly even Weidinger.

[sanchaz12]

Total costs for me are about € 114 including shipping from Latvia. (See the image). Not seen tax before on eBay, where would I be able to check that? But I think I'm not going for the HAKKO anymore, because the higher price in combination with few parts available for a decent price in Europe. I'm looking into the Ersa I-Con line now, still deciding between the Pico and the Nano.

I'd recommend getting the Nano, particularly for the ESD compliance (extra features are nice too).

For pricing, check out I-Con Nano at Beta-Store, directly from Ersa, and possibly even Weidinger.

Thank you for these other suppliers, never seen those before. But in the end Amazon.de is the cheapest option. I have narrowed down my choice to the Ersa I-CON Nano and the HAKKO FX-888D.
What most important advantages does the Ersa have over the HAKKO for a hobbyist? (aside from higher wattage)

[sanchaz12]

This morning I received a reply to my question from the eBay seller Semicom. They assured me that they only sell genuine HAKKO products and that I can ask for pictures as proof. Also no problem sending the unit back if it would turn out to be fake.

[wraper]

What most important advantages does the Ersa have over the HAKKO for a hobbyist? (aside from higher wattage)

Cannot say that particularly for hobbyist, but I find much more pleasure to work with i-tool. Not i-tool nano, but almost the same thing with the same heating element. Easier to solder in some cramped places, where it might be hard to reach with bigger solder iron (especially repairs). Easier to solder small SMT parts, because of the distance from handle to the tip. Overall if you only solder TH parts, that might not make too much difference. But when soldering some tiny stuff on multiplayer boards with high thermal mass, the difference will be very noticeable.

[sanchaz12]

This morning I received a reply to my question from the eBay seller Semicom. They assured me that they only sell genuine HAKKO products and that I can ask for pictures as proof. Also no problem sending the unit back if it would turn out to be fake.

The eBay seller just updated the eBay auction: #201405708758 with pictures of the station, iron, stand and box contents. It looks like it is the real deal to me; Nicely packaged, English, German and Italian user manual, silver plate in the stand and the labels on the bottom look very real to me. The only difference I see is they most likely removed the last four digits of the serial number to prevent copying. Other than that, it looks completely genuine to me.

[sanchaz12]

In the end I finally managed to make a decision. I'm going for the Ersa I-Con Nano. Despite the higher price I think it will be better on the longer run considering replacement parts for the Hakko are not easy to get in Europe. Aside from that the Ersa looks more professional and has a more intuitive user interface when it comes to quickly adjusting the temperature. Can't wait to start soldering with it!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed in this thread . I wish everyone happy soldering!

[UgisBaltins]

Hello I hope i will not violate rules of this board and this wouldn't be cathegorized as unaothorized advertisement.

Just noticed this thread, i am manager of ebay store which this topic starter mentioned. Just wanted to make it clear - all HAKKO products we offer are genuine, we don't have large stock but we keep in stock all the available tips for 8801 and some spare parts. Since Hakko seems to be the most copied soldering tools brand, we purchase them only directly from HAKKO and never from any other wholesellers. Upon your request we can always provide detailed photos (even open demo station and take a photo of mainboard)

I have seen some other Hakko products from China (Actually - i don't know if they were counterfeit - or official Hakko products made in China for China market) - and even tip quality differs between Made in China and Made in Malaysia (EU products are made in Malaysia)

To sanchaz12: could i kindly ask you to edit your previous message and remove  those last four digits of s/n you wrote there? As i read on this board in another thread - counterfeit stations very often misses serial numbers, thats why we took a photo of our demo station and uploaded, but i'm afraid after some time it may happen that this s/n is used for knockoff . Thank you for understanding!

After opening this thread we have received very great interest for our HAkko products and ebay store. We are very thankful - and i think best way to clear any doubts that we sell only genuine Hakko products - we could offer to organize competition or something here on boards with prize - FX-888D station + free international delivery . Thats of course if - administrator/moderator of this board would be interested

[sanchaz12]

To sanchaz12: could i kindly ask you to edit your previous message and remove  those last four digits of s/n you wrote there? As i read on this board in another thread - counterfeit stations very often misses serial numbers, thats why we took a photo of our demo station and uploaded, but i'm afraid after some time it may happen that this s/n is used for knockoff . Thank you for understanding!

Post edited. I'm sorry that I've posted this here, but this was just to assure others that it was very likely to be genuine.

Indeed I saw the 'follow' counter grow since I posted the eBay auction. A special price would be interesting indeed, especially for people in Europe.

[UgisBaltins]

Price is always negotiable

P.S. Please check PM

[tooki]

In the end I finally managed to make a decision. I'm going for the Ersa I-Con Nano. Despite the higher price I think it will be better on the longer run considering replacement parts for the Hakko are not easy to get in Europe. Aside from that the Ersa looks more professional and has a more intuitive user interface when it comes to quickly adjusting the temperature. Can't wait to start soldering with it!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed in this thread . I wish everyone happy soldering!

I was going to reply to your question with exactly this answer: Here in Europe, it's much easier to get Ersa parts than Hakko. Amazon.de carries them all, but also there's a vendor Bräunlich GmbH (sells on Amazon, too) that has great prices on Ersa parts.

[continuo]

Yeah, definitely check out Bräunlichs website (www.ersa-shop.com) if you are in the market for Ersa stuff. While the soldering stations may be the same price on Amazon, tips and accessories are usually cheaper at Bräunlichs. They also sell 63/37 eutectic leaded solderwire for a reasonable price, which is not so easy to get, at least not in Germany.

[sanchaz12]

Yeah, definitely check out Bräunlichs website (www.ersa-shop.com) if you are in the market for Ersa stuff. While the soldering stations may be the same price on Amazon, tips and accessories are usually cheaper at Bräunlichs. They also sell 63/37 eutectic leaded solderwire for a reasonable price, which is not so easy to get, at least not in Germany.

Can't find 63/37 type solder easily in the Netherlands too, even Conrad doesn't seem to stock that type. Indeed they have lots of accessories for about every Ersa station and shipping is not that much either (€6 somewhat). Will definitely look there for parts when I need them.

[nanofrog]

Yeah, definitely check out Bräunlichs website (www.ersa-shop.com) if you are in the market for Ersa stuff. While the soldering stations may be the same price on Amazon, tips and accessories are usually cheaper at Bräunlichs. They also sell 63/37 eutectic leaded solderwire for a reasonable price, which is not so easy to get, at least not in Germany.

Can't find 63/37 type solder easily in the Netherlands too, even Conrad doesn't seem to stock that type. Indeed they have lots of accessories for about every Ersa station and shipping is not that much either (€6 somewhat). Will definitely look there for parts when I need them.

63/37 seems to be hard to find in the EU/UK from what I've seen, and it's usually expensive. Even 62/36/2 (2% silver added to tin-lead) seems easier to find, and 60/40 is a lot more common than either.

I did locate a couple though.

• CPC carries a roll of 63/37 that contains 2% RA flux, 0.7mm diameter from Warton (500g roll, here). Diameter will require a little more control to keep from adding to much to fine SMD (ideal for PTH), but the price is better than anything else I've seen in 63/37 in your market.
• It's also possible to get Kester through Farnell (specifically: 24-6337-0010, which is 1lb/454g of Kester's 44 in 63/37 alloy, 0.5mm diameter, and 3.3% RA flux). US stock, so there's a 15.95GBP fee associated with it.
• Checked Stannol; couldn't find 63/37 in a form you'd want (they do offer it as a 4kg roll of solid wire @ 0.3mm diameter).
• No 63/37 with Felder either (RA or EL lines).

Both Felder and Stannol offer 60/40 though.

There's also some brands made in Poland you might be able to locate (Cynel for example). Broquetas might be reasonably priced as well (i.e. ~$17EUR at TME for 2x 250g rolls of 60/40, COO = Spain). TME doesn't have the 63/37 products though.

[tooki]

FYI, Amazon.com (the USA Amazon) sells a number of 63/37 solder wires from Kester and MG Chemicals that they can ship to Europe. I got some lovely Kester .31" (0.8mm) that was just $29 for a 1lb (450g) reel. Together with some MG Chemicals solder wick (#444 Super Wick, which turns out is SUPERB -- much finer weave than Soder-Wick or 3S-Wick/Spirig -- and inexpensive!!!) and other stuff (solder paste, ESD brushes for PCB cleaning, some tools), even the shipping wasn't too bad. Cheaper than buying local, I can tell you that...

[sanchaz12]

FYI, Amazon.com (the USA Amazon) sells a number of 63/37 solder wires from Kester and MG Chemicals that they can ship to Europe. I got some lovely Kester .31" (0.8mm) that was just $29 for a 1lb (450g) reel. Together with some MG Chemicals solder wick (#444 Super Wick, which turns out is SUPERB -- much finer weave than Soder-Wick or 3S-Wick/Spirig -- and inexpensive!!!) and other stuff (solder paste, ESD brushes for PCB cleaning, some tools), even the shipping wasn't too bad. Cheaper than buying local, I can tell you that...

Yes indeed! The only thing I can't seem to find is a good third hand for soldering. Sure I've found enough, but they all seem to be impractical or low quality. There seems to be one design standard (those shiny silver parts, always including a loop and a small black base) but this isn't very sturdy and not helpful at all in the end it seems. Haven't found a convincing one yet, but I'll keep looking...

EDIT
This is one of those 'popular' third hand tools, but yeah... It's not going to last from most of the reviews I've read.

[tooki]

HEAR, HEAR!!! It amazes me that every one of those things is crap as best I can tell.

I ended up buying one of these in the Amazon.com order I described above: Aven 17010 Adjustable Circuit Board Holder and it's really not bad. But it just holds the board -- no magnification -- and it can't hold wires. For that, I either use the ancient dilapidated Helping Hands I bought as a kid, or I use some bare alligator clips that happen to be heavy enough to do the job.

I'm currently experimenting with using my DSLR as a microscope, by using my macro lens and an HDMI cable to a computer monitor. We'll see how that works out in practice.

You know what I cannot find a decent source for? Heat sink clips like this:


or this:


Every source I've found wants outrageous shipping costs to Switzerland.

[Deathwish]

instead of using those why not use a crocodile clip as a heat sink when soldering ?.

[tooki]

Well, that is what I do now, but the ones in the top image at least, are aluminum and thus lighter, and thinner so you can scoot them into smaller spaces.

As an aside, if you know a source for high-quality alligator clips (like the ones on the ground leads of my Rigol scope probes), I will love you forever. All I have ever seen anywhere are the wobbly cheap clips with weak springs that love to fall off of anything and everything.

[Deathwish]

I just buy them from aliexpress and if they fall apart no hardship. Thanks to Tautech and some others I now seem to have shares in aliexpress , my postman hates me now ....

[tooki]

The issue isn't the cost or longevity, it's that I've never found any alligator clips that actually hold well. They're always poorly made, with jaws that don't line up well, thus producing lousy grip.

[timofonic]

I tried third hands from others (unintentional sexual second meaning) and they were shitty as hell.

Are there something similar but reliable, comfortable and versatile for PCB and cable soldering? It really drives me nuts, because I'm still quite bad at soldering and need a comfortable place to do it without back hurt or tons of frustration.

[tooki]

I've kinda come to the conclusion that there is no one all-in-one holder that works well for PCBs and wires. For PCBs, I picked up a dedicated holder (see post above). For wires, I'd like to find the coil contraption shown in this NASA soldering training:

[tooki]

... because I'm still quite bad at soldering ...

Take a look at this video series by PACE Worldwide: Basic Soldering Lessons 1 - 9

They cover pretty much everything except SMD, which is actually not that hard. I suggest buying a bunch of cheap Chinese LED clock kits from eBay as practice.

[timofonic]

... because I'm still quite bad at soldering ...

Take a look at this video series by PACE Worldwide: Basic Soldering Lessons 1 - 9

They cover pretty much everything except SMD, which is actually not that hard. I suggest buying a bunch of cheap Chinese LED clock kits from eBay as practice.

Great!

I'm not so good at listening English, but the automated YouTube transcription does a somewhat good job that makes me understand most of it.

Thanks!