It is, but I think the idea is that it allows easy development for the hacker community...

I've used one of the KSGER soldering stations (not the hot air station) and actually I'd happily use it as my main iron. The hot air stations use basically the same firmware.

The “real” KSGER T12 station (with the threadless handle) is quite nice. It’s got good build quality and excellent reviews. There are a lot of variants, and I really think you need that iron without the screw on collar to get full value from it.

 

If this is a one-off board, nix the reflow oven idea. You NEED to learn how to handle and solder SMD components properly. From your discription, nothing you have is going to need either the reflow oven OR the hot-air soldering station (though if you are going to do a lot of SMD, they are VERY nice to have). For your board, I would use two soldering irons, one in each hand to solder down the components. It's a skill that you can easily develop for this level of work. As for flux, you don't need the "no-clean" variety - just use alcohol and an acid brush to clean up after all the components are down.

This is like learning to ride a bicycle. Do you need the ultra-light, carbon-fiber framed version to learn (@ $10,000), or will a $199 WalMart version of the same size suffice?

 

I just found one for $37 including shipping... looks like an unbranded version of the 858D... cross my finger... I'll take it apart and check the wiring before I plug it in.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hot...pm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.260.223e3c00MvQckm

The first batch is 100 PCB... but the component count is small. I've done SMD repairs... that's not the issue... I want to turn it into more efficient process. The customer wanted to do 1,000 but I talked him into a smaller initial batch to assess.

 

This one almost matches my HAKKO soldering station:

 

I’m leaning towards the one that looks like a HAKKO. Seriously tho It’s just a power supply. Prob a Triac the heating element and fan is in the handle. I'm in the United States... Chicago.

 

Where abouts are you based

Whilst I would agree with you on don't buy anything but premium, I'm not sure why Amtech appears to be so popular amongst hobbyists. Having used it, it performs no differently to the flux gel from Multicore/Loctite, MG Chemicals, Chemtronics or even TermoPasty. It may be a location thing though as Amtech isn't that prevalent in Europe.

I am in the US. I have no problem with Mutlicore, MG, or Chemtronics, and use products from all three. I don't know TermoPasty.

I use Kester fluxes as well. I've just been very happy with the performance of the Amtech, and I have enough to last a while. Since I don't know with any certainty which products from other vendors offer similar performance, I recommend it. I don't say anything about not buying other, reputable products.

 

I appreciate all good advice and recommendations from folks that use it... I like Kester too haven't tried any of the other stuff...

 

I appreciate all good advice and recommendations from folks that use it... I like Kester too haven't tried any of the other stuff...

Not mentioned, but pretty important is a good set of tweezers. If you don't have one I would suggest these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPFQHM/ and,
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-3-SA-Non-Magnetic-Microelectronics-Applications/dp/B00FZPEWI6/

Top quality construction and cheap as dirt compared to some options.

 

I love all my HAKKO products... I'm sure those tweezers are awesome. I have a nice collection already.

I need to assess what 100 pcb's will take and see if 1,000 is manageable.

 

This one almost matches my HAKKO soldering station:


View attachment 173346

This iooks very nice. It uses the T12 Hakko tips. Not super cheap but I am seriously considering ditching my cheap 858D and getting a second T12 iron out of the deal to add to the FX-951.

https://www.banggood.com/KSGER-STM3...-Soldering-Station-Solder-Iron-p-1407450.html

 

It does look nice. I like the beefy aluminum case. You're paying for the case, STM32 and OLED displays - those feet will get lost tho.. needs better feet at that price. Disappointing that the iron doesn't come with a stand. I think that the base model will perform just as well. It really is just PWM control TRIAC not sure how the temp feeds back...

I believe these are the guts for it:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KSG...ation-DIY-Power-Combo-Solder/32819251501.html

 

OK from what I can tell the STM32 has better software. So there's a wait mode on them. If you're using 400C place the handle on the magnetic cradle and it will park at 200 so you don't have the waste time reheating from zero... you could just turn down manually but it is a good feature. I still don't understand why it needed a 32 bit chip... could have done all this and more with an 8 bit AVR or Pic.

 

OK from what I can tell the STM32 has better software. So there's a wait mode on them. If you're using 400C place the handle on the magnetic cradle and it will park at 200 so you don't have the waste time reheating from zero... you could just turn down manually but it is a good feature. I still don't understand why it needed a 32 bit chip... could have done all this and more with an 8 bit AVR or Pic.

The sleep mode is one of the reasons I like my FX-951 more than my FX-888D. Even if I forget to shut off, the tip is preserved nicely.

 

OK just to get things moving along since my boards will arrive any day now... found the 858D on ebay shipping out of CA. Decent review... like I said just a triac power supply... this one includes a sleep function. Done and ordered... we can get a nice one when we start a little more volume on the PCBs.

REVIEW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=311&v=vva2t21sOAs

LISTING:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/858D-700W-...m=191343139831&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

These appear to be good value for money although I do prefer separate instruments as opposed to 2-in-1 type devices. I'll shortly be doing a review on my YouTube on this iron which arrived today: channel https://www.banggood.com/custlink/DK3DrK8gH4

And I will also order the hot air station as it's looking quite promising as a low cost system: https://www.banggood.com/custlink/DmvGrmZeI9

I like the STM32 idea also... I will eventually get one so I can mess around with programming. I'm going nuts the boards shipped about 2 weeks ago and it's now at a local distribution center... I still have to see what arrives in time from China and order some last minute components to start testing.

The individual systems are great until you need more room on your workbench. Nothing will replace my HAKKO but sometimes I need extra soldering stations in the garage. For the garage I have a MATCO butane soldering iron. It's actually very good and extremely useful. Heats up much faster than those plug in ones and much smaller than a solder gun.

 

OK just to get things moving along since my boards will arrive any day now... found the 858D on ebay shipping out of CA. Decent review... like I said just a triac power supply... this one includes a sleep function. Done and ordered... we can get a nice one when we start a little more volume on the PCBs.

REVIEW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=311&v=vva2t21sOAs

LISTING:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/858D-700W-Electric-Hot-Air-Heat-Gun-Soldering-Station-Desoldering-Welding-Tool/191343139831?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=1&asc=20131003132420&meid=7bf67e6747ae4beaba035669403c5fa2&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=12&mehot=ag&sd=192010037941&itm=191343139831&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

I have this station, it works and seems temperature stable.

 

For the garage I have a MATCO butane soldering iron. It's actually very good and extremely useful. Heats up much faster than those plug in ones and much smaller than a solder gun.

I have a couple of those burtane irons but I also have this which turned out a lot better than I expected, it’s actually quite useful, and more controlled for electronics applications where a mistake with the gas flow can be harmfully hot.



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FZPUA28/

 

I would never use the butane iron on a board! ... it's usually for doing wiring on my garage projects... motorcycles, cars... etc. Hate waiting for heat to transfer to large multistrand splices and such... Hence the need for a station in the garage for more delicate work.

 

My boards and stencil came in. They look amazing. I should be ready in a week to start soldering!

 

By the way, my primary use of the butane iron is hot air for heat shrink away from power.