Huakko 936C Soldering Station (Hakko 936 Clone)

[saturation]

That's about as fast as the real Hakko 936.  If the tip temp were truly the same, its a good copy.

Sorry, I do not have any solder like that around here at the moment, but I compared the temperature settings between the ATTEN  and the Hakko, and they seem to be pretty much the same at lower temperatures. So, I set the ATTEN at 250C and the LED extinguished after 20 seconds. I doubt if the tip reached the pre-set temperature at that moment - maybe add 5-10 secs for temperature stabilisation(?)

[eternal_noob]

That's about as fast as the real Hakko 936.  If the tip temp were truly the same, its a good copy.

But please remember I have put in a larger transformer that gives more oomph than the original. 
I think I can recommend this to anyone else who buys a a Hakko clone too.

[nukie]

I had a 27vac loaded transformer from one of these clones but it has a different type of heater with metal body. The transformer voltage is too high for the common ceramic wire wound heating element, it won't last very long. I removed a few coils to drop the voltage to 24 volts its all good now. Down side is the metal heater takes longer to heat up but I rarely use it.

I haven't try over voltage ceramic heater with printed heating element. Shortening life span is last thing I want.

[SgtRock]

Dear vtl:
--I love your clever picture where the chord hangs down obscuring  the U in HUAKKO making it look almost exactly like a true HAKKO bona fide. It reminded me of the time my skinflint friend bought a supposedly hot OMEGA watch. He bought the watch at 12 minutes to Noon. When Noon arrived he discovered he had bought a CMEGA watch. Served him right. Come to think of it, the CMEGA might have been made by the same company that made HUAKKO.

--I think WHACO, uh I mean HUAKKO may be the kind of company that Dave calls "One Hung Low" outfits. Perhaps you remember the old joke, " A book titled Chinese Rupture by Wun Hung Low" or the "Confucian" aphorism, "Man who have hole in pocket feel cocky all day" I think HUAKKO may have hand hand in your pocket. As my New York friend would say "Deyfashua gottalotta noive".

--Right now, on eBay you can buy a used 936 for between $50 and $75 US, which is a much better deal, in my opinion. The 936 is well-nigh bullet proof, very safe, and parts will likely still be available many years hence. But perhaps I fail to take into account mains voltage and frequency, and shipping cost. So, if you are happy, I am happy. Thanks for the post and the pictures. Best Regards
Clear Ether

[vk6hdx]

I've been using for the last 5 years a cheap "Dick Smith" soldering station which I can't find replacement tips for now that the original one has seen better days.  So I decided to order one of these "Hakko Clones".

I just received an Atten 936b from a local eBay seller for $49 AUD delivered.  It came with 5 various tips that had unbranded packaging but with Hakko part numbers laser etched on.. pretty sure they are not genuine but they look good quality.  It also came with a proper Aussie plug / lead attached.

I wanted the Hakko FX-888 but as it was going to cost close to $200 for the 240V version, I don't think I could have got this past SWMBO.

Happy with it so far , seems to heat up fast and the soldering pencil is nice and light compared to my crappy dick smith soldering station.

[saturation]

I'm happy for you.  There are some good reviews on no-name Chinese, counterfeit and clones in the archives and its seems while they may be inferior to the original, some can be closer to the original, and its a better bang for buck than an unregulated iron.  For individual or home use, it should perform, the only unanswered question will be long term durability. 

I've been using for the last 5 years a cheap "Dick Smith" soldering station which I can't find replacement tips for now that the original one has seen better days.  So I decided to order one of these "Hakko Clones".

I just received an Atten 936b from a local eBay seller for $49 AUD delivered.  It came with 5 various tips that had unbranded packaging but with Hakko part numbers laser etched on.. pretty sure they are not genuine but they look good quality.  It also came with a proper Aussie plug / lead attached.

I wanted the Hakko FX-888 but as it was going to cost close to $200 for the 240V version, I don't think I could have got this past SWMBO.

Happy with it so far , seems to heat up fast and the soldering pencil is nice and light compared to my crappy dick smith soldering station.

[vtl]

Regarding durability, mine has shown no signs of degradation of performance or anything nasty like that after over a year of regular use (maybe like 4-5 times a week?). The only things that I can see wearing out are the tips and the cleaning sponge, and if you look on eBay its flooded with Hakko replacement tips.

The chisel tip (Hakko laser logo but probably fake) I've got still has no signs of wear and the plating is still perfect, despite abusing the hell out of it. I even use it to weld/melt plastic and it always wipes off clean and shiny.

If people are worried about performance, I had no problems soldering a peice of metal to an ATX PSU chassis.

Ok sure, the proper Hakko irons perform better (heatup time) but for some reason they like to charge 150$ for the 220v version despite being $90 for the 110V. For some people it'll still be worth it but theres probably other stuff you can buy with the savings.

[saturation]

That's good news for clone owners.  The clones make good sense when Hakko cost so much more given the prices you suggest.

In the USA, the difference between a clone like the 936, and a real Hakko like an FX888 or 936 is $20-40.  In other countries there can be a high premium charge for the units.  But the difference in cost is often the difference in making the unit fully meet IPA soldering station standards.  The finer points of the standard may not be obvious for individual use.

Regarding durability, mine has shown no signs of degradation of performance or anything nasty like that after over a year of regular use (maybe like 4-5 times a week?). The only things that I can see wearing out are the tips and the cleaning sponge, and if you look on eBay its flooded with Hakko replacement tips.

The chisel tip (Hakko laser logo but probably fake) I've got still has no signs of wear and the plating is still perfect, despite abusing the hell out of it. I even use it to weld/melt plastic and it always wipes off clean and shiny.

If people are worried about performance, I had no problems soldering a peice of metal to an ATX PSU chassis.

Ok sure, the proper Hakko irons perform better (heatup time) but for some reason they like to charge 150$ for the 220v version despite being $90 for the 110V. For some people it'll still be worth it but theres probably other stuff you can buy with the savings.

[IanB]

But the difference in cost is often the difference in making the unit fully meet IPA soldering station standards.

That isn't necessarily a good thing. History shows that standards emanating from industry associations never get simpler. They get more and more complex as everyone's vested interest gets thrown into the mix and added to an ever-increasing check list of items.

For a many purchasers the standard may contain items that increase the cost but have no relevance to the way the product will be used.

[eternal_noob]

Regarding durability, mine has shown no signs of degradation of performance or anything nasty like that after over a year of regular use (maybe like 4-5 times a week?). The only things that I can see wearing out are the tips and the cleaning sponge, and if you look on eBay its flooded with Hakko replacement tips.

The chisel tip (Hakko laser logo but probably fake) I've got still has no signs of wear and the plating is still perfect, despite abusing the hell out of it. I even use it to weld/melt plastic and it always wipes off clean and shiny.

If people are worried about performance, I had no problems soldering a peice of metal to an ATX PSU chassis.

Ok sure, the proper Hakko irons perform better (heatup time) but for some reason they like to charge 150$ for the 220v version despite being $90 for the 110V. For some people it'll still be worth it but theres probably other stuff you can buy with the savings.

I think I can confirm what you're reporting although my ''turbocharged'' 936 clone is not more than 6 months old. I have also used my station a lot and it shows no sign of abnormal degradation. Well, the metal shroud over the tip has become a bit grayish from the heat but this would any soldering iron suffer from.
It's not a real Hakko by any means (the temp. sensitivity is not half as good), but if you don't pretend it to be, it seems to me that the 936 clone is actually a decent station and let's not forget all the spare Hakko tips you can get for it.

[saturation]

I agree IanB, but for hand soldering stations the standard has plateaued.  Its born out of the original MILSPEC MIL-STD-2000A, and the commercial version, IPC, incorporates I think, the military standards and aerospace standards.  These include assembly techniques too, but we're only interested in stations standards, which has been stable for far over 10 years.

For each individual China branded stations, its hard to say its =,> or < than a true Hakko,  since the actual performance of each clone, due to their quality control, can vary.  With the real Hakko, you know its very likely to meet the specs they publish for the entire product line.  So if you buy one on the praise of a post on eevblog, your unit will likely be more variable more than a brand with better assembly practices.

But, if the = > < capacity is fairly small, it may not matter at all.  For example, if the green line is the clone station [ see post on this thread for details], it soldering capacity may not be a problem for an individual user, but it would fail IPC station standards.   A user may only notice differences after having used an IPC qualified station then switched to a lesser station; moving 'up' from an unregulated iron, anything regulated will appear a big improvement.

There is a recent post on eevblog by Fabio with a heating curve of his Chinese station, it looks similar to the green line; see that thread for more details.




 

But the difference in cost is often the difference in making the unit fully meet IPA soldering station standards.

That isn't necessarily a good thing. History shows that standards emanating from industry associations never get simpler. They get more and more complex as everyone's vested interest gets thrown into the mix and added to an ever-increasing check list of items.

For a many purchasers the standard may contain items that increase the cost but have no relevance to the way the product will be used.

[plunger]

Nice pictures

One of the great things is definitely the cheap/high quality tips. As you said they come in hakko packaging, made in japan. The body is also laser engraved.

I bought 2 Hakko tips last weekend from a retail chain here in USA (Fry's). Packaging was a lot different. I'll post a photo when I get home.

[vtl]

After accidentally leaving my iron on a few times I thought it'd be nice to install one of those mains switches with the inbuilt neon lamp. While I was installing it I also changed the wiring for the fuse. The unit is now fused on the active instead of the neutral. Heatshrunk everything and the result is excellent:

[saturation]

A nice job and upgrade.  Makes you think the makers should have put that in there in the first place.  An exact fit. 

[SgtRock]

Greetings EEVBees:

--Excellent job. See below a picture of my real Hakkos, modified, before DJ showed how to do it with just one LED using the same old hole, leaving everyone thinking "now why didn't I think of that".

"In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus
1466 - 1536

Best Regards
Clear Ether

[rounsmith]

Hello ! I am interested in a good cheap soldering station .I am greek, and around this time we have really bad time with economics and such , and i don't have that much money to afford getting a nice and semiproffesional soldering station On my question this , http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-60W-SOLDERING-STATION-WELDING-IRON-TOOL-ESD-936C-/200574620879?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb32dd4cf it's a valid hakko 936 clone?


(And if the author of this post can post the link from the e-bay that got his station )

P.s. Electronic stuff is my hobby(Studying Computer Engineering , i like microcontrollers since i love programming ).

Sorry for my bad english :/

[saturation]

There are several other reviews of hakko clones scattered on eevblog, I think one with a report by Fabio has graphs of its thermal output, and its fairly decent performer.  However, since China brand stations have variable quality control, a good review of one model doesn't mean all the others will likely be the same too.  I'd choose a vendor who will easily take the unit back if it didnt' work and it would be important to stress test the unit you receive while its under warranty.

Hello ! I am interested in a good cheap soldering station .I am greek, and around this time we have really bad time with economics and such , and i don't have that much money to afford getting a nice and semiproffesional soldering station On my question this , http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-60W-SOLDERING-STATION-WELDING-IRON-TOOL-ESD-936C-/200574620879?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb32dd4cf it's a valid hakko 936 clone?


(And if the author of this post can post the link from the e-bay that got his station )

P.s. Electronic stuff is my hobby(Studying Computer Engineering , i like microcontrollers since i love programming ).

Sorry for my bad english :/

[gregariz]

Hello ! I am interested in a good cheap soldering station .I am greek, and around this time we have really bad time with economics and such , and i don't have that much money to afford getting a nice and semiproffesional soldering station On my question this , http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-60W-SOLDERING-STATION-WELDING-IRON-TOOL-ESD-936C-/200574620879?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb32dd4cf it's a valid hakko 936 clone?


(And if the author of this post can post the link from the e-bay that got his station )

P.s. Electronic stuff is my hobby(Studying Computer Engineering , i like microcontrollers since i love programming ).

Sorry for my bad english :/

You might want to check out the following as they are in europe

http://www.circuitspecialists.eu/soldering-stations-c-1.html?zenid=f16e490f156d6470c27050177118ee3e

[rounsmith]

Hmmm , i will check local stores also , if i order from circuitspecialists , shipping cost is almost the price of a soldering iron so yeah


Thank for your answers though , i will do a deep search before i buy soldering station , since i want that to be a good one and flexible since i will be soldering much for a hobbyist !:P ( My weller has a really not flexible cord that bugs me off , it's one that costs like 30 euro that plug straight into mains).

[vtl]

On my question this , http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/220V-60W-SOLDERING-STATION-WELDING-IRON-TOOL-ESD-936C-/200574620879?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb32dd4cf it's a valid hakko 936 clone?

I don't have the eBay link I bought mine from since it was such a long time ago but yes, that unit looks identical to mine. Looks like a good price, just make sure you buy a chisel 900M tip as well, the fine conical one is useless. I have the 3.2mm and 2.4mm chisel tips, even the 3.2mm is fine for 0.5mm QFP drag soldering.

Tips:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/?_kw=900m%20tip&_ds=1&_fcid=80&_localstpos=&_sc=1&_sop=15&_stpos=&gbr=1

Most come in Hakko packaging and are laser engraved but doubtful theyre genuine. But they're tin plated and very nice quality so who cares.

[nukie]

Hakko station can take abuse. When I was young, I worked in a Sharp TV and stereo assembly plant in Asia where I was born. I saw lines of lines of Hakko stations working daily with plastic knobs melted and the pencil brown and charred, I thought it was normal to leave it on long hours. It was an earlier model Hakko I dont remember which.

It's easy to spot fake tips, buy a few of them and compare the business end of the tips side by side. The tip of the fake tips usually don't look like one another they vary in shape slightly.

Hakko has changed packaging print many times over the years its hard to tell from packaging. The laser engraved tips are common in fakes too. Buy from eBay especially from Asia will almost certainly get you fake tips.

However there are no magic in these tips. Get the coating  right and the slot diameter set you are in business. I have clone tips, fake tips they all have their characteristic. Certain tips don't wet very well which is good they leave a nice puddle even if you don't have enough flux. Solder tend to ball up on the tips. Some tips wet very well as if you are soldering with a piece of solder.

I have never tested the thermal performance of these tips against the real deal but I am pretty sure they are not far off. I find clone tips are better made than fake tips with hakko prints on it especially the black coated tips. There are also gold coated variant I have yet to try. The problem is I have so many tips fake and real I don't think I will be buying anymore in this lifetime. None of the tips has worn out, I always wipe with damp sponge never with brass wool. My oldest tip is more than 10yrs old.

This is true for 60/40 soldering until you deal with lead free. I find lead free temperature turn the tips blue. I never had a tip blue, working with 60/40. The high temperature sets apart the real and fake Hakko tips. I find Hakko tip coating works better in higher temperature than clone tips. I have to wipe and wet clone tips more often and they start to look ugly quickly. Other than that its all fine. This is my finding after I switched to lead free.

I havent bought any fake or clone tips for 2 years. They might have improved or might be worse.

Hakko also supply loose tips in bulk without any packaging. You can find this in some little stores in Akihabara Japan. I remember they are $6 each or so.

[Pat Pending]

Hi Nukie, in comparison to the other clone tips how are the black coated tips better?

[nukie]

Sorry I don't have 'use' experience with the black coated tips. I've only seen them at electronic stalls in China. Judging by eye sight, they have better quality coating and they don't have much variation between tips. Most importantly, you want good coupling between the tip and the heater element for effective heat transfer. If it's too loose then might want to shim with copper sheet otherwise just move on to other tips that works. If you look carefully into a Hakko tip, you will find there is a metal sleeve that goes between the tip and the heater element. Some fakes have this some fakes don't.

Okay I just inspected all the unused tips that I have collected over more than a decade. The Hakko tips have one distinctive difference, they are bright and shiny copper inside the tip, regardless they are in their sealed packaging or exposed to air. Some of them are very old. The fake tips are copper but they are dull. Secondly, the laser engraving on some later Hakko tips aqquired 2-3 years ago have this 'rusted' marking makes it easier to read. Most of the fake tips have very light engraving and non of them have the burned marking. A set of clone tips have similar burned marks around the laser marking but it is different from Hakko burned marking. Finally, Hakko tips have random tiny dents and nicks all over the body but no machining marks.

Certain fake tips has similar random tiny dents and nicks but the soldering end (tip of the tip) usually give away it's fake. They don't shape them properly. Some fake tips in use already started to have lightly rust spots on the body. This is a result of crap Chromium coating over the iron plating.

I notice some of the pictures of tips on the internet have shit machining marks on the surface of the tips, best avoid those. Cheap machining probably means cheap coating and quality. If you intend to get from ebay and the seller is from certain Asia country then don't expect genuine item. They are not expensive, so buy a few types of clones and try for yourself.

Hakko lawyers hard at work

Hakko burned laser marking
Hakko burned laser marking 2

More pictures of genuine tips

[Pat Pending]

Thanks Nukie,

There's are some black 936 tips on ebay, but the auction image is quite dark, so it's hard to see anything.

I agree, some of the other chrome/nickle plated bits exhibit very poor surface finishing but its tolerable at 2 USD, sometimes less, and if the coating pits, it's no big loss.

Appreciate the feedback. 

[krivx]

I'm going to bring this back from the dead because I just bought one of these quite recently. The thread on the handle nipple was damaged when I got it, so I had to buy a cheap spare and swap it out. I would be pretty happy with it except for one issue, when the station tries to drive the heater hard (say after a large adjustment in temperature setpoint) I can hear the transformer buzzing as the heater drive is switched on. Is there a way to silence this? I suspected that either the transformer has a loose lamination (seems unlikely) or there is not enough capacitance between the DC power supply and the heater.