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Soldering Station - Was going to get a CSI Model (Circuit Specialists) but...

post #1 of 50
12/10/08 at 7:03pm
Thread Starter 
I sent Circuit Specialists two e-mails over the past two weeks, not a single response. I was hoping to find out about tip compatibility, but if this is how they run their businesses, I think I might look elsewhere...

I am thinking of either going for the Hakko 936 or a Hakko Clone (preferably one that can accept Hakko tips as I have a local dealer who sells the tips fairly cheap).

I'm a casual user, but with a soon to build Milled MiniMAX and a Nixie Clock, I'd prefer something halfway decent (at least better than my pencil iron I currently have). Its a present from the wife, so I'd like to stay around $75 or under. The Hakko 936 fits, but with shipping its closer to $90.
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post #2 of 50
12/10/08 at 7:15pm
I have one of these: Amazon.com: aoyue 2900

Love it, many tips to choose from, plenty powerful, slim iron, fair price. The tips are not the cheapest but they do include the heating element.
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post #3 of 50
12/10/08 at 8:03pm
You'll find the 936 mentioned more here than any other.
I bought the Rad Shack digital soldering station, it's the same as the Madell AT 201 D. It has the heating element built into the tip, with many different tips to choose from. I have used it a lot lately, and the first tip I will order will be some kind of skinny chisel tip(I have the pencil tip now and it's a bit small to heat joints in tight places).
Thing I like the most is it tells me the temp, and it heats up very quickly.
I like it. Probably close to the same price as the ones online, when you include shipping.
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post #4 of 50
12/10/08 at 8:04pm
my csi station is JUNK.

damned thing blinks 'OFF' all the time. it was poorly built and I would not waste money on it.

buying a radio shack $10 iron is probably a better move than csi! ;(

tip avail is also an issue. stay mainstream and you'll be better off.
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post #5 of 50
12/10/08 at 8:11pm
The xytronic 379 is also recommended a lot, but I have no personal experience with it.

Xytronic 379 Temperature Controlled Soldering Station

^ there it is for $50.
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post #6 of 50
12/10/08 at 8:50pm
Ahh my favorite kind of threads, back for its quarterly visit
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
my csi station is JUNK.

damned thing blinks 'OFF' all the time. it was poorly built and I would not waste money on it.

buying a radio shack $10 iron is probably a better move than csi! ;(
I'm gonna have to disagree with you on that. Are you sure that's not what it's supposed to do? I've seen many many people around here say their CSI stations are great. They're made by Aoyue, as are many of the other Hakko 936 clones. Supposedly the Aoyues can use Hakko tips, but I saw some thing a couple months ago about people who were having problems with that.

I have the Xytronic 379 (with the brass wool instead of a sponge) and I love it, but mine the LED on mine turns on and off with the heater, maintaining the temp set on the dial. That link from Omega is actually where I got it.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/rec...g-iron-239702/
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/sol...gevity-341055/
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post #7 of 50
12/10/08 at 9:06pm
I'm sure its not supposed to go 'offline' like that!

its a digital display and its supposed to just display the set and the actual temp (move the knob and its 'set' and release and it times-out to show 'actual').

I might have a bad pencil and that's why it goes offline but still - I consider it junk and won't waste money on no-name brands on irons again.

weller or hakko and that would be pretty much it for me.
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post #8 of 50
12/10/08 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by digger945 View Post
I bought the Rad Shack digital soldering station, it's the same as the Madell AT 201 D. It has the heating element built into the tip, with many different tips to choose from. I have used it a lot lately, and the first tip I will order will be some kind of skinny chisel tip(I have the pencil tip now and it's a bit small to heat joints in tight places).
Thing I like the most is it tells me the temp, and it heats up very quickly.
I like it. Probably close to the same price as the ones online, when you include shipping.
x2 - I have now built 6 or 7 amps, and redone a lot of other modding, and this thing always does the job. I am a fan but not an evangelist.
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post #9 of 50
12/10/08 at 9:38pm
I'm not stumpin' for Rad Shack either, I'm just not willing to pay what some want for the shipping, that and I'm a little impatient sometimes LOL.

It is after all a RS branded Madell, and now I have more than one source for tips.
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post #10 of 50
12/10/08 at 10:20pm
Have the Hakko 936, love it, won't go back to anything else.
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post #11 of 50
12/10/08 at 10:37pm
i have a csi station 1a and it's fine. i have a hakko 936 and it's fine as well. 936 tips work on the csi.

not much tech in soldering stations, there's nothing unique about the technology. it's all just preferences. to be honest, it doesn't much matter what's used. all you need are tips and temp control. i can tolerate slow heat up, though the quick heat up of the hakko and the csi stations are nice.

I have 5 irons, and can use any of those for building anything. desoldering is a bit trickier, but can use 4 of the 5 for that.

csi station 1a
hakko 936
nte j060vt
tenma soldering station ($10 woo) 21-7945
ratshack 15/30W pencil

I've used 4 of the 5 to build many amps. I double up to remove smd components, instead of getting a tweezer.

personally, if something goes wrong, in the trash it goes. i don't need support for a $40 soldering iron. got my hakko 936 @ fry's for $50, iirc.
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post #12 of 50
12/10/08 at 11:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
I'm sure its not supposed to go 'offline' like that!

its a digital display and its supposed to just display the set and the actual temp (move the knob and its 'set' and release and it times-out to show 'actual').

I might have a bad pencil and that's why it goes offline but still - I consider it junk and won't waste money on no-name brands on irons again.

weller or hakko and that would be pretty much it for me.
ahhh you have the digital one, and the display blinks off? Ok well then ya something's obviously wrong. The Xytronic 379 I have is analog and just has a single LED that goes on when the heater does. As mono said in one of the links I posted, Xytronics are higher quality than the CSI & other Hakko clones. So I guess the 379 would be my recommendation for you aphexii. I've been using the one chisel tip with mine for the year and a half I've had it and it's still truckin. That said, if you can afford to, I'd get a few extra tips just in case they stop making them... it looks like alot of these companies are stopping production on older models for newer ones designed for lead-free soldering.
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post #13 of 50
12/10/08 at 11:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holland View Post
i have a csi station 1a and it's fine. i have a hakko 936 and it's fine as well. 936 tips work on the csi.
mine is digital so maybe those are less reliable. I took it apart and replaced the pot and that helped but it still goes 'OFF' (blinks) pretty frequently.

what I'm seeing is cheap build. its not about tech about the company caring enough to not buy rock bottom cheap parts and labor ;(

I have little confidence in this when I opened it up and saw its 'quality'....

Quote:
got my hakko 936 @ fry's for $50, iirc.
that's a deal! wish I could find one at such a nice price. they're more like $80 now I think.
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post #14 of 50
12/10/08 at 11:46pm
I just had a thought: how compatible do you guys think they are?

ie, could I order a replacement pencil from hakko and wire it to the din plug that my 'fake' uses? if the pencil is the thing that is broken for me (and it seems to be the pricey part) maybe I can upgrade mine just via a repair?

I know the dins are not going to match but I'm ok hacking it
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post #15 of 50
12/11/08 at 12:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
what I'm seeing is cheap build. its not about tech about the company caring enough to not buy rock bottom cheap parts and labor ;(
they are all pretty much cheap builds, including the hakko.

Quote:
Originally Posted by linuxworks View Post
that's a deal! wish I could find one at such a nice price. they're more like $80 now I think.
it was a weekend sale not too long ago. fry's seems to repeat sales every now and then. keep an eye out. good price indeed.
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