I'm a long time Hakko 808 user. It's been a good tool over the years, but has started to become more problematic, particularly with getting clogs right at the back end of the heat tube. It's doing this no matter how careful I am with it.
I've been thinking about "upgrading" to a FR-301. I was hoping someone here who has owned both tools could give me a rundown of the various pluses and minuses. In particular, whether I'd be making a step backward in any way with the 301.
My other option would be something like the 410, but I honestly don't know that I do enough desoldering to justify such a thing. Almost all other manufacturers (Pace, JBC, etc) are a considerable premium. I'd love a pace desoldering station to complement my new ADS200, but I don't think I can justify the prices.
Thanks,
Scott