I'm pleased with the Hakko T12 compatible station I put together from a kit for about $25. I was prepared to buy real Hakko tips for them, but the clone tips seem good enough. I normally run it from a 19V power brick, but it works OK from a 12V battery. The kit included a decent handle and a real silicone cable. The only real problem is that the board isn't correctly calibrated for the thermocouples in the T12 tips, so the numbers are really just relative temperature (but it is regulated) . I just set it to a number that works, until I can get my hands on a soldering iron tip thermometer.
https://www.banggood.com/STC-T12-DIY-Digital-Soldering-Iron-Station-Temperature-Controller-Board-Kit-for-HAKKO-T12-T2-Handle-p-1155034.html

update: that's not the same kit I got; mine included the handpiece, cable and tip; it's not showing at Banggood.com any more.
https://www.banggood.com/STC-T12-Di...s-for-HAKKO-T12-Soldering-Iron-p-1146578.html
This looks exactly like it, and is currently less than $17 Canadian including shipping:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000577553855.html
By the way, the reason it comes with two tilt sensors is so you can mount them back-to-back (69 style) which makes the motion sensing more sensitive.

I got this self-contained T12 iron last year (it was about $10 cheaper at the time); you can find an updated version (with better controls and user interface) on ebay. It's more convenient for portable or travel use (one less box and cable).
https://www.banggood.com/75W-Mini-E...-Soldering-Iron-DIY-Handle-Kit-p-1754495.html

 

Ive been using a cheap Chinese solder/hot air station for a few years now that uses Hakko style tips. If I buy good tips the tips do me a good job.

Recently I find myself frequently changing tips and temperature as I now use it for heat set inserts in my 3D print work.

 

I thought I could buy a Hakko but I've just noticed yours is over $200, and the FX-888D is about $110. Still to expensive for my needs. I use these a lot for repairing a lot of stuff, but as I said I was thinking about the $50 price. How does the Hakko mechanism to hold the tip work? What kind of mechanism you recommend for holding the tips? (I hope we should avoid any kind threaded or screwed thing because the heat messes all the tightness)

I have much smaller tips that I can use but I rarely do. Here is the range I use, the screwdriver tips ("D") are much more common, for tighter SMD work I used the truncated conical ("C") tip, the last two are used for really tight work, occasionally. The are the ILS (I don't know what is stands for) at .1mm and the JL02 (also a mystery designation) with a bend at .2mm.

​

Hakko have a huge range of tips, I think about 100 or so different ones..

The tips are held in by a pair of ridges on the body. They engage with a part of the handle. The metallic rings on the end are the contacts to power the heater.

​

The Hakko handpiece has two parts. The part that has the cable connected to it, and has the mating heater contacts and a handgrip that has an insulating silicone portion and an inner portion that engages the retaining ridges, that locks into the bottom portion with two tabs. The handgrip part can be purchased separately to speed up changes, but it is not required to have more than one. Other stations that use the T series tips don't have the split handpiece.

​

The big deal about the T series tips is the integral heater which makes all the difference for speed of heating and temperature stability. It's really amazing how much better it is. You can use lower temperatures for the same results because the tip stays at the temperature.

​

And now some good news for you. I was looking on AliExpress and came across this. It is a version of the KSGER station I pointed out but it is only about 70 bucks delivered. It's a nice version of the station, well built. Excellent reviews and photos of the interior are very tidy. If oyu can swing the extra 20 bucks over your budget it's worth it. You'll get access to the Hakko T12 tips and a very nice temperature controlled station.

​

 

This one is even cheaper but I don't recognize the handpiece part. It seems to have good reviews though.

​

 

Yaakov you are amazing!

First, thanks for answering with much detail the questions I had. My God, that tip is so sophisticated compared to the ones I use. Say no more, I will buy that one hands down, and if you've searched for it I need no more info. Thank you, really

I will come back when I receive it and post some thoughts about it. It's gonna be my very first "professional" soldering station, besides it is so compact and also split in 2 structures, so comfy!

 

Yaakov you are amazing!

First, thanks for answering with much detail the questions I had. My God, that tip is so sophisticated compared to the ones I use. Say no more, I will buy that one hands down, and if you've searched for it I need no more info. Thank you, really

I will come back when I receive it and post some thoughts about it. It's gonna be my very first "professional" soldering station, besides it is so compact and also split in 2 structures, so comfy!

That design has been very popular, and it should include a motion sensor in the handpiece to allow it to sleep and wake which saves power and tips. The heater keeps the tip warm, which doesn't burn it up, but shortens the reheat time.

 

Yaakov, the soldering station is on its way. I ordered in total 5 tips:
D4 for big things, when I need a lot of heat
ILS (included) for tiny SMD works
J02 (included) for SMD or regular small circuits
KR (included), have never used a knife one, I barely do any tiny parallel legs work, and I've managed to do it with flux and regular conical
BCF2, which only has tinned the cut surface, looks so useful for precise work

Past 5 years I've managed to fix and do all kind of works with just one conical tip (actually 2, one big and another medium). Never had so many different tips. Any other tip you recommend?

I wanted to ask you:

Is this tip cleaner/resurrection powder (calcium phosphate tin powder) necessary for nice maintenance?


The cream cup is flux (I guess general purpose flux), and the one down there is the tip cleaner. I've seen videos where they use a syringe to put a transparent flux, and I'm not sure if the cream color one is fine for everything or I should buy one of those transparent ones. I've been using this one for everything, and I've only used like 8% of it:

 

Tip cleaner is good to have around but it is used only occasionally. I suggest you get a Kester no clean flux pen and some Kester no-clean liquid flux. They are both great and much less smoke and residue.

Oh, and Amtech NC-5590-BV2-TF for SMD work.

 

For a tip cleaner, I found some "Kleen Glo" Copper Scours at a local supermarket. Check with a magnet, though; most of the "copper" or "brass" scrubbers you find in stores are just plated steel. I stuffed mine into a small (80 gram) tuna can. Unlike the traditional wet sponge, they don't cool down the tip or cause any thermal shock, and shouldn't harm the tip plating. But they don't make that satisfying sizzle sound, and you can't have impromptu water fights with co-workers using squirt bottles, so there's that.
https://www.alliancemercantile.com/consumer/sponges-scours.html

 

I use a Yihua 937D which is a Hakko clone/knockoff, it does perfectly fine for my hobby needs and I actually massively prefer it to the Wellers I use at work work, literally use dozens of different irons and they all burn the weller tips in a matter of hours. I've left my Yihua on overnight and not had any tips damaged to any significant degree. I would strongly advocate for silicone leads too, I literally sat and made up 2 or 3 hard pieces with extra long silicone leads just to have spares in case the heater fails in this one.

 

@Yaakov

Finally the TeamOSS T12-X soldering station arrived! My God what a difference in terms of quality and comfort. And the tips!

I am going to make a quick first impression review talking about the things that caught my attention:

1. First, the soldering iron holder is so compact and well made, all metal, stable, sturdy and useful. Also, the fact that I can have all my tips right there (up to 7 if you include the iron's) is fantastic, and since it's separated from the station, it's so easy to clean unlike my old one. Great, great, great.

2. The soldering iron is just x1000 times better. The cable is very flexible and so much comfortable to use. The handheld piece, it weights absolutely nothing! It feels so light it looks like a fake or a $3 soldering iron. It's much thinner than my old one, which is so useful when working on tight areas.



3. The station looks so, so professional, the build quality is skyrocket high, materials... everything is top. A nice big switch with an excellent feel, the handheld piece input in the pictures looked average or boring/bearing to use, but I found it really easy to use and tightly closed. Also I imagined it a bit bigger, but it's so compact, and has 4 legs made of soft quality rubber!




4. The tips included are very tiny, all 3 of them, I didn't know they were so tiny. I bought 3 when I ordered the station: BCF1, BCF2 and D4. Except the D4, I might have too many for tiny jobs and just one for regular or medium jobs. Look at my old's smallest tip, it's way bigger than any of these. I might need to buy a C4 or a BC3, or a JL02. Anyways, the quality of the tips is impressive, all very well made, even the brand and model is printed on them.





Now, the things I "didn't like" are:

1. I don't know how the insides of the handheld piece look, as I can't disassemble the upper part to check how the contacts are (inspect them visually). I would like to do that to check it.

2. When you insert a tip, the feel is not clean, neat and clear. There are no visual marks or anything that indicates the tip is correctly as deep as it can get. I would like a visual line or at least a click or clean insertion that you feel and know it's correct.

I have not used it yet, I wanted to get a manual but I can't find one, only in chinese. A few questions too:
Why the rubber pad has that shape?
It looks like a pan, I don't understand the purpose of that shape. I don't see it hand friendly.

What's the ground cable in the back with the alligator clamp?
Will the cable melt at the touch of the iron?
Can you can insert a cold tip with your bare hands, or if it gets hot so quickly you can't?
What area of the tip gets hot? The whole bar even deep inside the handheld piece?

Thank you so much, I am glad I followed your recommendation! I hope something comes up soon so I can repair it, if not I might accidentally break my TV remote as an excuse

 

I would strongly advocate for silicone leads too, I literally sat and made up 2 or 3 hard pieces with extra long silicone leads just to have spares in case the heater fails in this one.

I don't know what are you talking about, hahaha. You mean the silicone cable that goes from station to handheld piece?
What heater?

 

"Practice your marketing skills elsewhere."
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/...s-in-the-general-electronics-chat-forum.2999/

0 Rude, why so salty?
1 Read the title of the thread...
2 I am not marketing anything, I am sharing my impressions aimed to the user that recommended the product

You talk as if I came here to a random post and out of nowhere I sell my product... Context is perfectly and more than suitable to share my impressions.

 

@Yaakov

Finally the TeamOSS T12-X soldering station arrived! My God what a difference in terms of quality and comfort. And the tips!

I am going to make a quick first impression review talking about the things that caught my attention:

1. First, the soldering iron holder is so compact and well made, all metal, stable, sturdy and useful. Also, the fact that I can have all my tips right there (up to 7 if you include the iron's) is fantastic, and since it's separated from the station, it's so easy to clean unlike my old one. Great, great, great.

2. The soldering iron is just x1000 times better. The cable is very flexible and so much comfortable to use. The handheld piece, it weights absolutely nothing! It feels so light it looks like a fake or a $3 soldering iron. It's much thinner than my old one, which is so useful when working on tight areas.

View attachment 264576

3. The station looks so, so professional, the build quality is skyrocket high, materials... everything is top. A nice big switch with an excellent feel, the handheld piece input in the pictures looked average or boring/bearing to use, but I found it really easy to use and tightly closed. Also I imagined it a bit bigger, but it's so compact, and has 4 legs made of soft quality rubber!

View attachment 264579
View attachment 264580

4. The tips included are very tiny, all 3 of them, I didn't know they were so tiny. I bought 3 when I ordered the station: BCF1, BCF2 and D4. Except the D4, I might have too many for tiny jobs and just one for regular or medium jobs. Look at my old's smallest tip, it's way bigger than any of these. I might need to buy a C4 or a BC3, or a JL02. Anyways, the quality of the tips is impressive, all very well made, even the brand and model is printed on them.

View attachment 264577
View attachment 264578
View attachment 264581

Now, the things I "didn't like" are:

1. I don't know how the insides of the handheld piece look, as I can't disassemble the upper part to check how the contacts are (inspect them visually). I would like to do that to check it.

2. When you insert a tip, the feel is not clean, neat and clear. There are no visual marks or anything that indicates the tip is correctly as deep as it can get. I would like a visual line or at least a click or clean insertion that you feel and know it's correct.

I have not used it yet, I wanted to get a manual but I can't find one, only in chinese. A few questions too:
Why the rubber pad has that shape?
It looks like a pan, I don't understand the purpose of that shape. I don't see it hand friendly.

What's the ground cable in the back with the alligator clamp?
Will the cable melt at the touch of the iron?
Can you can insert a cold tip with your bare hands, or if it gets hot so quickly you can't?
What area of the tip gets hot? The whole bar even deep inside the handheld piece?

Glad you like it so much.
The silicone pad can be attached to the lead on the iron, that's what the tail bit is for. You use it to remove the hot tips when changing. It works very well. I have more comments but no time just now. I will follow up.

 

"Practice your marketing skills elsewhere."
https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/...s-in-the-general-electronics-chat-forum.2999/

What in the name of Maxwell are you on about? This is so out of place it looks crazy.

 

My post was uncalled for it was not my place and none of my business I apologize to you sir and a threat starter as well as AAC.

 

@Yaakov

Finally the TeamOSS T12-X soldering station arrived! My God what a difference in terms of quality and comfort. And the tips!

It looks good from the photos. There are many versions of the station based on the same STM32 firmware and they vary in quality. This one looked right from the seller's photos.

4. The tips included are very tiny, all 3 of them, I didn't know they were so tiny. I bought 3 when I ordered the station: BCF1, BCF2 and D4. Except the D4, I might have too many for tiny jobs and just one for regular or medium jobs. Look at my old's smallest tip, it's way bigger than any of these. I might need to buy a C4 or a BC3, or a JL02. Anyways, the quality of the tips is impressive, all very well made, even the brand and model is printed on them.

I have a recommendation for tips, my most used.

In the photo they are the:

1. D50 which is great for desoldering and floods, batteries and other hard to heat things. It has tons of thermal mass (not literally) and makes such jobs much easier.
   
   
2. The D16 which is a small "screwdriver" tip, The profile lets you choose a lot of contact (long side on work) or just a little (short side on work). I find this profile the most versatile and useful overall. The D24 is a larger version which might appeal to you if you are doing a lot of work with big components like old school toggle switches or big power resistors.
   
   
3. the D08 which is a smaller screwdriver tip with the same advantages. It is hard to tell from the photo but the profile is identical to the D16. It is very useful for normal THD and SMD alike and the short side is very narrow it needed.
   
   
4. The C1 is the last. It is s conical tip but cut at a slant. For all but the smallest SMD components it works very well. It is what I mostly for tight spaces under the microscope.

​

All of these tips will last a long time if you keep them clean and have the auto sleep working properly. It should be years before you need a new one, assuming the ones you are buying are decent copies of the Hakko, and definitely for the genuine Hakko tips.

Now, the things I "didn't like" are:

1. I don't know how the insides of the handheld piece look, as I can't disassemble the upper part to check how the contacts are (inspect them visually). I would like to do that to check it.

I am not sure how the handpiece is assembled. I understand wanting to see the internals but I think this is a case of leave well enough alone. Disassembly might leave it not quite right after reassembly as sometimes happens.

2. When you insert a tip, the feel is not clean, neat and clear. There are no visual marks or anything that indicates the tip is correctly as deep as it can get. I would like a visual line or at least a click or clean insertion that you feel and know it's correct.

On the Hakko, there is a definite click as the tip engages the locking mechanism in the handpiece. They are apparently retaining the tip in a different way in your case. I wouldn't be too concerned. I believe that pushing the tip home with moderate pressure will seat it. If it heats up it has to be very close to the bottom if not there since the contacts are not very wide. If the tip doesn't shift in use, all seems well.

I have not used it yet, I wanted to get a manual but I can't find one, only in chinese. A few questions too:
Why the rubber pad has that shape? It looks like a pan, I don't understand the purpose of that shape. I don't see it hand friendly.

This is the information about the KSGER station that yours is a copy of. It should correspond pretty much 1:1. The handpiece illustrated is the collar type, but other than that I would be surprised if there is any variation.

As I said, the silicone pad is to remove or reposition the tips when they are hot. Reposition in the the case of chisel and slanted tips that have an orientation so they are lined up naturally when you pick up the iron. This is just rotation.

The shape is so you can attach it to the handpiece lead if you'd like to prevent misplacing it. I don't but I probably would if I had more space.

What's the ground cable in the back with the alligator clamp?

You should find continuity between that and the tip. It is for ESD protection, It gets connected to ground. On the Hakko, the cord is a three wire type so it is automatically grounded. You can use it, or not, but it is a good feature.

Will the cable melt at the touch of the iron?

It should not. The lead should be silicone. You should be able to tell by the feel of it, much more "rubbery" than PVC.

If there is any question, test it in an inconspicuous place like the underside near the connector which will not be normally visible so you know what happens.

Can you can insert a cold tip with your bare hands, or if it gets hot so quickly you can't?
What area of the tip gets hot? The whole bar even deep inside the handheld piece?

Yes you can insert the tip if you do it quickly. You can decide if that's how you want to do things. I would use the pad so if you have to spend more time for time reason you don't risk a surprise.

Only the tip and maybe 25mm back gets anywhere near soldering temperature. The bottom part is cool enough to handle. Here is a thermal image to give you an idea. Any place there is no color is cool, the white is the hottest, etc. This was taken immediately after the iron reached 315°C which is where I set it for 63/37 solder.

​

Thank you so much, I am glad I followed your recommendation! I hope something comes up soon so I can repair it, if not I might accidentally break my TV remote as an excuse

I suspect an opportunity will arise soon enough but practicing on a protoboard or similar is a very good idea before using it in a "live fire" exercise. I am very glad it worked out for you.

 

On the Hakko, there is a definite click as the tip engages the locking mechanism in the handpiece. They are apparently retaining the tip in a different way in your case. I wouldn't be too concerned. I believe that pushing the tip home with moderate pressure will seat it. If it heats up it has to be very close to the bottom if not there since the contacts are not very wide. If the tip doesn't shift in use, all seems well.

I mean you can "clearly" feel that the tip won't go deeper, but just by "brute force" of pushing and noticing it does not go any deeper. I would have preferred a click, or better, a mark in the "stick".

This is the information about the KSGER station that yours is a copy of. It should correspond pretty much 1:1. The handpiece illustrated is the collar type, but other than that I would be surprised if there is any variation.

Thanks! I didn't think about it, nice idea. Since there's a SW version and firmware, can you update these?
I would have absolutely never thought that you could update the firmware in a soldering station, as I believed it was such as simple, straight set of things that there was no margin of error. Apparently most can update the firmware, hahaha.

As I said, the silicone pad is to remove or reposition the tips when they are hot. Reposition in the the case of chisel and slanted tips that have an orientation so they are lined up naturally when you pick up the iron. This is just rotation.

The shape is so you can attach it to the handpiece lead if you'd like to prevent misplacing it. I don't but I probably would if I had more space.

Hahaha, I really can't imagine how the flyswatter shape fits your description. I don't know what "attach to the handpiece" means. I need a drawing


You don't need the tail for doing this, that's my point.

You should find continuity between that and the tip. It is for ESD protection, It gets connected to ground. On the Hakko, the cord is a three wire type so it is automatically grounded. You can use it, or not, but it is a good feature.

But the station cord has earth included.

Only the tip and maybe 25mm back gets anywhere near soldering temperature. The bottom part is cool enough to handle. Here is a thermal image to give you an idea. Any place there is no color is cool, the white is the hottest, etc. This was taken immediately after the iron reached 315°C which is where I set it for 63/37 solder.

View attachment 264715​

I suspect an opportunity will arise soon enough but practicing on a protoboard or similar is a very good idea before using it in a "live fire" exercise. I am very glad it worked out for you.

Thanks a lot for everything again.

 

I mean you can "clearly" feel that the tip won't go deeper, but just by "brute force" of pushing and noticing it does not go any deeper. I would have preferred a click, or better, a mark in the "stick".

Of course, nothing is stopping you from pushing each tip all the way home and marking it with either a scribe or a permanent marker.

Thanks! I didn't think about it, nice idea. Since there's a SW version and firmware, can you update these?
I would have absolutely never thought that you could update the firmware in a soldering station, as I believed it was such as simple, straight set of things that there was no margin of error. Apparently most can update the firmware, hahaha.

Yes, you can update it though I don’t have the specifics. You can probably find people talking about it on the web or YouTube.

Hahaha, I really can't imagine how the flyswatter shape fits your description. I don't know what "attach to the handpiece" means. I need a drawing

The handpiece lead. The wire that runs back to the station base unit. The very end of the tail goes around the lead and into the slot a bit further up on the pad’s tail locking in place. It retains the pad.

But the station cord has earth included.

Sometimes people prefer to use a different ground for ESD. The Hakko offers a screw if you would like to ground it somewhere other than using the receptacles ground. Also, check continuity from the tip to the plug’s ground pin, the two should be connected. Keep this in mind. While you should, of course, never solder a live circuit if you do for some reason (an error, some unforeseen necessity) you could possibly short something to ground, like can happen with an oscilloscope probe.

Thanks a lot for everything again.

Happy to help. Ask any questions you’d like.

 

Hahaha, I really can't imagine how the flyswatter shape fits your description. I don't know what "attach to the handpiece" means. I need a drawing

View attachment 264734
You don't need the tail for doing this, that's my point.

The hand obscures the tail, this is how it is connected.

​