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Wasted $180 on a fancy desoldering station that barely works better than my old bulb
Bought a Hakko FR-301 last year thinking it would speed up my board repairs. Spent $180 on it plus tips and cleaning supplies. After using it for 6 months on various through-hole jobs, I honestly get the same results with my $15 desoldering bulb for most stuff. The pump clogs way too easy if you don't clean it after every 10 joints. My buddy who's been doing this for 20 years laughed and told me he still uses a manual pump on 9 out of 10 boards. Anyone else regret dropping cash on hyped up gear that doesn't deliver?
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cameron4265h agoMost Upvoted
@michael_bennett11 I heard EEVBlog guys say the same thing about hot air stations.
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michael_bennett117h ago
Man that's a bummer about the Hakko. I've noticed this same pattern with a lot of hobby tools and kitchen gadgets. People get sold on some fancy new thing and it turns out the old simple way works just as good for most everyday jobs. My neighbor bought one of those expensive smart thermometers for grilling and still just uses a $5 instant read probe 90 percent of the time. Sometimes the basic stuff that's been around forever is popular for a reason.
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