i am finding my self in a bit of a quandary i have been soldering since school i am now 24 years past that time and have only used single standalone plug in the wall 25,30,40 watt soldering irons and found i buy a cheap one use for a while and then buy a replacement tips use for a time then throw away and buy a new one at a cost of a £5-15

i find my self in a point that my other half could not find me a Xmas present and have asked what i want in the sales and on looking on line after trying to use my iron again am now looking at a soldering iron and poss hot air station

the stuff i work on might be a bit of help in choosing so most stuff i do is iPods, phones nintendo ds and such and have been playing with ps3 and 360(these i only played with just to get working to give someone a few months to save up and buy a new one as there realy cheap and old ones not realy worth repairing in my view) and most i work with is laptops mostly power jacks (mostly these as have mate that owns a pc shop and if he gets a few jobs in i help him out for a few beers please can i say i do not do this to make money most of the things i do are friends and family and poss a friend of a friend

i reason i throw most of the time is black tips and gets to the point that the heat does not seam to transfer the heat but from what i have seen most other problems i believe i have is cheap tips and poss the wrong mix of iron/solder/flux/

i am asking your option on this as i really need some fair but cheap item that will work well but not go to a professional price i know you get what you pay for normally i buy good quality and keep them for years (buy a hilti drill dont buy another)

so what would i need to pay for a soldering station to get fair quality and the hot air would be a bonus as i think this will help in getting a few of those power-jacks off the board a bit easier poss ps3 and 360 repairs for my kids machines if need be

is it better to get a all on one do the lot station or separate units and what are the benefits and drawbacks

thanks for your help in advance

 

The biggest question is exactly $$ how much do you want to spend?
We use Hakko soldering stations across the board at work.. 20+ both heavy duty pencil type and digital/dial stations.
We just got about 6 of the FX-888 units and for the price (around $70USD) they are hard to beat.. (they now have the FX-888D digital model too)
Of course I also just picked up a cheap chinese hot air unit that had a soldering station too and it worked great to hand solder 10 PCB's with TONS of 0402 SMT resistors, IC's,etc..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0U00AG0811
But its VERY clear that the quality is not what a Hakko unit is. But it works and for that price its a steal and it uses hakko brand tips..
Most "quality" hot air units start at $500+

 

sorry should have said but have not decided what i realy need or want to spend as i only use it now and again poss not more than £100 i am in uk looking i like the hakko adjustable station but this would only give me a iron and as i do power sockets on laptops the hot air might be a help

aoyue seam to held in a fair regard with out the cost but fair quality
from reviews but i want to have unit that you can use with out playing to be able to use it has spares available

should i need to get some thing with more of a name

thanks angel

 

brand name = more money.. 100 ain't gonna be nearly enough for a well know soldering and hot air station.. Maybe 4-500.

 

btw @angel - the , and . is on the bottom row to the right of the M and left of /.
Go to the left of Z to find the Shift key and another to the right of /.
Shift / is the ?.

 

aw shoot.. punctuation police.. run..run

 

aw shoot.. punctuation police.. run..run

Reading posts with "no punctation" is a real pain.
Using a Capital at the beginning and a "." at the end of a sentence is something a person should have learned in elementary school.
Posting to a forum and stringing everything together and then having someone else mention it, is not acting like the police.
Maybe the poster will learn something !!

 

The one mcgyvr suggested is good enough for a hobbyist. The guy at eevblog has a review and tear down of an atten 858d hot air rework station in youtube, which is basically the one macgyvr suggested minus the iron. Also, the tool and a lot of accesories and spare parts are sold on ebay.

 

hi and thanks for all the comments

even for the ones pointing out i cant use punctuation but i an dyslexic and find it hard to post most things but thanks for pointing it out

the want of a solder station is just hot air and iron no heating table it would be nice but i know this is just dreaming and i would not use it

what do i need to look for in a station and is aoyue any good ?

thanks angel

 

You will NOT find a "Good" AND "Cheap" hot air/solder iron combo unit in your price range..
Cheap..yes
Good (High quality)..no

Aoyue/APGtek,etc.. are all just Hakko knockoffs and basically identical units.. All with more or less the same "low" quality.. But for the price they work just fine..

Basically find one in your area for a decent price and go with it.. Or find some more money...

 

what do i need to try and compaire the irons them selves

ceramic core or

what about repalcment tips i think from looking auyue use hakko tips ?

thanks angel

 

any replys on the auyoe useing hakko tips ?