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That $80 soldering station from amazon was a complete waste of cash
Bought some no-name brand soldering station off Amazon for 80 bucks last month because I figured it'd be fine for basic board work. First time I tried to desolder a through-hole cap on an old power supply, the tip temperature was all over the place and it lifted the pad instantly. Ended up having to order a Hakko FX-888D for 110 bucks just to fix the board I messed up. Anyone else get burned by these cheap stations or am I just dumb for expecting it to work?
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aliceg613mo ago
The Hakko saved my bacon too.
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alice1213mo ago
Man that EXACT same thing happened to me last year with a cheap station. It couldn't hold temperature to save its life and I lifted three pads before I gave up. The Hakko really is in a whole different league for the money, I wish I had just bought it first instead of trying to save a buck. Those Amazon specials look okay in the pictures but the internals are just JUNK. At least we both learned our lesson the hard way I guess.
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christopher7133mo ago
Did you notice how the Hakko tip stays clean way longer too? I had the same issue with a cheap station where the tip was black and crusty after like three uses. My buddy tried to clean it with a wet sponge and it just made it worse. Then I spent way too long trying to re-tin the tip with some old flux I had laying around, ended up with a goopy mess that smoked up the whole garage. The Hakko just works without all that drama, makes you wonder why anyone bothers with the cheap stuff.
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