Umm... Gordak 952D Discussion

[T4P]

I'm worried i'm in on love.
GOD I LOVE THAT SCREEN
too bad it's contrast is poor therefore you can see the unlighted segments but damn it's lovely

I'm opening this thread wondering if some company in china would make a 858d look like this, i am talking about the looks and not the usage but hell, you can adjust the air with obvious display, this is sex on a stick

[mariush]

It's damn ugly... not only the screen but also the quality of the printing on that front plastic... looks like it's made in Paint.

[SeanB]

Easy way to fix that display is to place a small piece of solar film behind the front panel, inside the plastic cover. 20% film will make it pop out nicely, with the dark segments becoming invisible.

[Bored@Work]

too bad it's contrast is poor therefore you can see the unlighted segments but damn it's lovely

You could try to reduce the filament voltage or add a filter. And yes, VFDs are always an eye catcher.

[Time]

I am confused.  This is obnoxiously ugly.

Edit:

Something along these lines better suits my taste:

[pickle9000]

I like knobs on my stuff if possible. Pushbuttons not my favorite. The flow rate indicator is a good idea.

...mike

[T4P]

Actually i prefer buttons but the front panel is just ... awful

I only like the VFD, it's sexy as hell

[free_electron]

so we spend 40 $ on a custom VFD and mount a 2$ piece of crap heating element that burns out every 3 hours ...

riiiiight...

[T4P]

so we spend 40 $ on a custom VFD and mount a 2$ piece of crap heating element that burns out every 3 hours ...

riiiiight...

Yeah... It's not 2$ anyway but i get your point

I would love to see a Hakko with a VFD but i would also prefer to pay slightly higher price for a original heating element in the box.
Or maybe just walk out and buy one. ANYWAY, my 2 936 clones which seem overused already is okay with the abuse i have been giving them two.
Sadly the 858D which was bought in china died within 1month, yeah it shat it's own triac because of terrible heatsink design that doesn't work in this kind of hot humid planet... The next time either i will use a bigger heatsink(which i did) either that or switch on A/C everytime i fire that thing up (Yes, using that thing does heat up my room quite considerably after 30minutes, 600W is some power)

[Rufus]

I only like the VFD, it's sexy as hell

Then you are obviously the target market for this particular variation of cheap Chinese junk rework station.

[pickle9000]

My station has a knob with numbers. I like it between 4 and 5. I even put a little blue dot there so I don't forget.

...mike

[T4P]

I only like the VFD, it's sexy as hell

Then you are obviously the target market for this particular variation of cheap Chinese junk rework station.

Nah, i'm not buying it. It's cheap "junk" but if it works i'm not too terribly sorry.
If it fails it's not hard to repair internally but with a CHINA-MADE VFD, i'm staying away.
Would be good if Hakko made a VFD style station but that costs money and is not easy to repair,
ah well, can't have everything i guess.
I still don't understand how weller can make such EXPENSIVE station when their quality is dropping and the LCD is getting outdated.
NOTE TO WELLER,PACE,ERSA,METCAL,HAKKO,JBC: PLEASE USE A TOUCHSCREEN COLOR LCD IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO MAKE A THOUSAND DOLLAR SOLDERING STATION

My station has a knob with numbers. I like it between 4 and 5. I even put a little blue dot there so I don't forget.

...mike

It's knobs for my fan speed but mostly knobs. OH WAIT , "4 and 5" I presume you are a guitarist of some sort ?
I have to turn up my 936 clone to 11.

[Bored@Work]

so we spend 40 $ on a custom VFD and mount a 2$ piece of crap heating element that burns out every 3 hours ...

riiiiight...

Or we got our hands on a bunch of surplus VFDs, maybe rejects from another manufacturer. Lets add them to out station with that $2 crap heating element.

[T4P]

so we spend 40 $ on a custom VFD and mount a 2$ piece of crap heating element that burns out every 3 hours ...

riiiiight...

Or we got our hands on a bunch of surplus VFDs, maybe rejects from another manufacturer. Lets add them to out station with that $2 crap heating element.

Yeah and throw it on some board with a reject triac and a 5cent heatsink plus some 1cent opamp.

[robrenz]

So get a JBC.  VFD display, extreme performance and quality.

[pickle9000]

My station has a knob with numbers. I like it between 4 and 5. I even put a little blue dot there so I don't forget.

...mike


It's knobs for my fan speed but mostly knobs. OH WAIT , "4 and 5" I presume you are a guitarist of some sort ?
I have to turn up my 936 clone to 11.

Mine is an original Gordak 952, it's getting on 3 years old minimum. It has the diaphragm pump, with a small nozzle the air moves really well. I don't use the soldering iron I like my Weller. That said it's still working and has a lot of hours on it so no complaints.

The panel has the numbers 1-10 printed around the knob. It's what we old timers like to cal an FCI or Flow Control Indicator (not an actual flow rate, or anything actually). I see the digital one is similar.

...mike

[T4P]

My station has a knob with numbers. I like it between 4 and 5. I even put a little blue dot there so I don't forget.

...mike


It's knobs for my fan speed but mostly knobs. OH WAIT , "4 and 5" I presume you are a guitarist of some sort ?
I have to turn up my 936 clone to 11.

Mine is an original Gordak 952, it's getting on 3 years old minimum. It has the diaphragm pump, with a small nozzle the air moves really well. I don't use the soldering iron I like my Weller. That said it's still working and has a lot of hours on it so no complaints.

The panel has the numbers 1-10 printed around the knob. It's what we old timers like to cal an FCI or Flow Control Indicator (not an actual flow rate, or anything actually). I see the digital one is similar.

...mike

Oops.

So get a JBC.  VFD display, extreme performance and quality.

A blue VFD not a green VFD and anyway, I don't really want to spend big bucks

[sonicj]

A blue VFD not a green VFD and anyway, I don't really want to spend big bucks

Blue to green is usually as easy as a simple filter change.

The LED 7 seg on my Weller WESD-51 drives me bananas! PWM or multiplexing refresh flicker is quite noticeable. A 3 digit VFD would have  given this station a nice classy look without the exorbitant cost of a custom vfd. The current led solution in the wesd-51 gives the impression of incompetence and lack of attention to detail. My 2¢ fwiw.
-sj

[T4P]

A blue VFD not a green VFD and anyway, I don't really want to spend big bucks

Blue to green is usually as easy as a simple filter change.

The LED 7 seg on my Weller WESD-51 drives me bananas! PWM or multiplexing refresh flicker is quite noticeable. A 3 digit VFD would have  given this station a nice classy look without the exorbitant cost of a custom vfd. The current led solution in the wesd-51 gives the impression of incompetence and lack of attention to detail. My 2¢ fwiw.
-sj

On a station that costs 300$ here... HMM .

[nukie]

Actually it is $1 in bulk of 25 pieces if you are talking about nichrome heaters in ceramic sleeve. They burn out quickly because they are usually over-driven. Couple with the right AC transformer they can last quite long.

so we spend 40 $ on a custom VFD and mount a 2$ piece of crap heating element that burns out every 3 hours ...

riiiiight...