Looking for soldering iron recommendation

[Andy Yu]

I am super new to this field and I'm mainly using this for soldering my keyboards. I was looking at TS80P but my friend said it is better to get a soldering station at this price point so I want to ask this community for recommendation.

[TheCoder2019]

For $7 more, this is the one I have, it’s very nice and has a lot of features

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S4GPM66/

[kelvinhall05]

3 hours ago, James Evens said:

What about the T12 soldering station?

"Lower" performance but similiar price would be a good old Hakko 888D (original, not fake).

Agreed, KSGER T12 is a wonderful option and better than trying to use a portable iron as a desktop one.

[Andy Yu]

4 hours ago, James Evens said:

What about the T12 soldering station?

"Lower" performance but similiar price would be a good old Hakko 888D (original, not fake).

I would definitely look into these ones thank you

 

[Andy Yu]

1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Agreed, KSGER T12 is a wonderful option and better than trying to use a portable iron as a desktop one.

Is it bad using portable iron, what is the benefit of solder station.

[Andy Yu]

1 hour ago, James Evens said:

It is compatible with Hakko T12 tips meaning easier to buy and cheaper. I think you can even replace the iron with a genuine Hakko handle (not needed).

Also don't underestimate ergonomics when you are soldering a entire keyboard at once.

Another downside of the TS80p is that it uses a USB-C cable which is great for mobile use but beside the question of the strain relief most/nearly all USB-C aren't heat resistance.  Ideally you would want a light weight, highly flexible silicone wire which can withstand the temperatures in case you accidentally touch the cable.

 

 

I ended up buying Hakko 888D, it should be a good investment!

[it_dont_work]

4 hours ago, Andy Yu said:

I ended up buying Hakko 888D, it should be a good investment!

Better choice than the one you linked in the first post, that style of cordless is next to useless. crap run time, crap heat range 30w wont even melt most lead free solder (which I'd recommend running away from to begin with)

 

I replaced my last machine with a YIHUA 8786D-I (I don't even know what it was machine was 30 years old) rework gun is incredibly useful even if you're not working with smd. 

[H713]

Stuff based on the T12 tips is definitely a step up from the 888D, but if you're going to shell out for an FX951, I'd probably just shell out a few extra bucks for a used Metcal, which has about the best thermal regulation of any iron on the market. Only thing I hate about the Metcal is that if you're working on really sensitive receivers, the 13.56 MHz radiation can make measurements slightly more difficult, but unless you're working with very high impedance circuits with high gain, then it's probably not an issue.

That said, the 888D is still a very good iron for most things and the tips last a pretty long time.

[Jameszy]

On 2/5/2021 at 7:47 PM, it_dont_work said:

 YIHUA 

I ordered one of these a few years ago and the heat gun lasted less than a month.. soldering portion works fine tho..

[Spadge]

It doesn't have temperature control but my Antex 30w hasn't let me down in over 10 years of regular use, changing bits gives it plenty of flexibility. I wouldn't use anything else.

[H713]

Variable temperature isn't important, what matters is temperature regulation and how fast the feedback loop is. The FX-888D is similar to the way all the old irons did it- a ceramic heating element with some form of temperature sensing in it, with the tip slid over the top. The problem with this system is that the iron is regulating the temperature of the inside of the heating element, not the actual tip. So while the 888D makes it look like it's always at a certain temperature, the temperature of the tip itself changes dramatically if you try to solder something with a lot of thermal mass (like a ground plane). 

 

The T12 tip aims to improve this by integrating the heating element into the tip. This works better since they can get the thermal interface between the heating element and the tip to be a lot faster. As a result, the thermal regulation is quite a bit better.

 

Metcal was the first to come out with a soldering station that uses the curie point of the tip to control the temperature, and it's a much better system. The moment the tip cools down, it starts being heated again by the induction heater. As such, thermal regulation is better than for the T12 tips by a noticeable amount.

 

Metcal's patents have since expired, so now competing stations are offered by Thermaltronics. Additionally, the Hakko FX-100 uses the same technology (though I don't know if the tips are interchangeable with the Metcals).

 

There are 3 temperatures available in Metcal tips, and the standard series is good for 99% of what you'll do. Tight thermal regulation pretty much mitigates the need to change temperature, because when you're changing temperature on a traditional iron, what you're really trying to do is control how much heat is being put into the workpiece. The RF heating system used in the Metcal / Thermaltronics / Hakko FX-100 pretty much does this automatically.

[it_dont_work]

On 2/25/2021 at 6:04 AM, Jameszy said:

I ordered one of these a few years ago and the heat gun lasted less than a month.. soldering portion works fine tho..

I'll keep that in mind, for that it is it was pretty cheap, so it failing wouldn't surprise me too much 

[Jameszy]

On 2/26/2021 at 12:23 AM, it_dont_work said:

I'll keep that in mind, for that it is it was pretty cheap, so it failing wouldn't surprise me too much 

oh dude, it was dirt cheap... i got it for like $50 because of some sale.... I cant even find anything decent for that little anymore.. plus i got 10 tips with the thing for $5.. i hope the soldering side never breaks..