Soldering Stations

[Richard Deane]

I have a Hakko FX-888D soldering station , purchased in November 2017, which has developed an annoying fault of intermittent connection at the DIN plug/socket.

Youtubers have videos of how to fix the DIN socket to cure a "known" design/manufacturing problem. The YouTube video fix is very dubious - why do they need to fit much larger bolts with the then ensuing mechanical size issues? Looks very much like a bodge job.

The UK dealer swears that there is no known problem. They suggest replacing the cable/handle assembly which would be a plug problem.

The dealer won't touch a transaction of less than £250 so is not offering a repair.

The whole item new was £125 from Amazon

A replacement handle is £74 - with no guarantee it fixes the problem.

Unless anyone advises against because they have info of a better fix, I shall replace the Hakko with something definitely not Hakko due to the poor dealer response.

I am investigating the "Aixun 200W T3A Smart Soldering Station Supports T12/T245 Handle for Motherboard PCB BGA Welding Repair Soldering Station Tools(T3A-245-Senior+3Tips)" on Amazon.

The T245 tip sounds interesting.

Can anyone offer advice about soldering stations, the AIXUN or others? And any recommendations of tip type?

I mainly use a medium-fine cone-tip for the pin and component wire soldering - the bulk of my soldering. I occasionally use a chisel tip for ground planes or large pads where the heat gets sucked out quickly. Also for desoldering I use a very fine tip which will poke through pcb holes to clear out any blockage.

I do not normally use lead solder as I find the lead-free ok. I am using (from Amazon) ZSHX Lead Free Solder Wire Sn99 Ag0.3 Cu0.7 Rosin core solder wire for electrical soldering (0.6mm 50g).

I occasionally use much finer solder for SMD or microSD socket soldering.

My fine soldering is quite good but not perfect, though my desoldering is awful so I try to solder the riskiest components first to minimize the cost of a throwaway if I have to move onto a new pcb. I love that JLCPCB supplies 5, I usually have a few spares.

As an aside - I use small blobs of Bostik Blu Tack to hold components onto the pcb while soldering on the other side. Works effectively for me to keep good component placement.

Cheers

Richard

[T Gerbic]

I have a  Weller WTCPN/TC202 Soldering Station I got about 1980 and have gone thorough three P7 (I think) tips but have soldered hundreds of thousands of joints with it over the last 45 years.  I use the same tip for soldering tube sockets, heavy gauge wire, automotive sockets/wiring, through-hole/surface-mount PCBs, 100+ J leg ICs or surface mount components down to 603. I only use leaded solder, sized for what I am doing.  I have some tips for lead-free de-soldering but generally just use an adjustable temp desoldering station for the higher temps when taking things apart. 

You need to use solder wick, and sometimes a little liquid flux, to solder fine pitch ICs and a long needle (like in biology/dissecting sets) to hold down the really small resistors. Otherwise all can be done with the same setup. 

Just learn how to use a soldering iron properly and skip all the fancy bells and whistles. Use the right diameter solder as well. Practice, practice, practice. 

With the hotter tip installed, you can do lead-free soldering. A stereo microscope or a camera microscope can be handy for the really small component soldering but sometimes it just gets in the way. 

[Doug Jackson]

I second the Weller option.

I still have the same Weller station I have had since 1984.  The only thing it has had is a heater switch replacement, but it simply works.  

And - yep, solderwick is amazing for removing components.

Kindest regards,

Doug Jackson

em: do...@doughq.com

ph: 0414 986878

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[T Gerbic]

Solderwick is good for removing but also for soldering. When you drag solder fine lead components, you need to go back and do a quick solderwick over the leads to remove any shorts. The leads will remain soldered down but will look like they were professionally soldered. That is the trick to fine pitch soldering with an iron.

[Bill McMullen]

I also have a Weller WTCPN that I bought new in the mid 70's and until recently I really liked it.  I use it a LOT and have replaced a couple of heaters and switches through the years.  I got tired of replacing parts and finally broke down and bought a new TC201T pencil ... actually two.  The first one crapped out after perhaps 50 hours and the second one doesn't seem to be as good at temperature regulation.  Moreover the plugs to the base station are now slightly different and very hard to lock into place.

I've gone through dozens of tips and often use the PTS7 (.015" long conical) for doing SMDs, especially QFNs.  When they changed from the red bags to the blue bags it appears to me that they also changed the coating and these new tips don't seem to last nearly as long or "wet out" the same way.  I believe the overall quality has gone downhill and I even received one new tip that didn't even have a temperature sensor base but simply a hollow for it.

Given the quality issues I've experienced and the high price of the TC201T pencils, I'll likely switch brands when I run out of Weller replacement parts.

[Terry Fox]

I also still using a Weller WTCPN, mostly using the PTS7 tip, since the late 70s.  I also have a temperature controlled (X-TRONIC) iron/hot air unit that is rarely on.
Terry

[Richard Deane]

Thank you. Do you have a brand name for the liquid flux? There seem to be a lot on sale on Amazon. It will be good to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Richard

[Bill McMullen]

I used to use Kester 952 which I really liked but when my main suppliers quit shipping it to Canada I used 951 for awhile which didn't seem to work quite as well.  I now use MG Chemicals 8351 (no clean, halogen free) as its cheaper and I can buy bottles of it locally.  Overall, 952 worked the best for me.  FWIW I also use Sn63 solder.

[Bill McMullen]

I forgot to add that I occasionally use MG Chemicals Rosin flux pens (835-P).  That works really well for dense areas of small SMDs as it's slightly tacky and it also works well under SMT PLCC sockets.  The negative for me is that it takes careful cleaning with flux cleaner to get rid of all the tacky goo left behind.  My overall preference is for no-clean flux even though I still use flux cleaner afterwards.

[Richard Deane]

Thanks everyone for  all the comments - very useful

I can get the Canadian MG flux on Amazon UK.

Richard

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[Long Dmtvape]

K