Is this a counterfeit Hakko 936? - Page 2

Almost all the irons are made by the same company and have different names tossed on them. I never pay for a name, you can buy the same thing for a lot less from online vendors like circuit specialists. If you want the best iron you can get for the cash hands down, go with the blackjack BK3000LF for about $60 and thank me later *LOL* Also lf16d tip is flawless for general SMD or small to medium soldering jobs.

I bought an Aoyue 936 for £35 and I love it. It's far, FAR better than my Maplin (UK Radioshack equivalent) cheapo iron and it seems pretty well made.

I say copy shmoppy as long as it works well. Although I can understand people's concern if they've payed a premium for a fake.

There's a couple of internal pictures in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/462616/hakko-936-and-clones-differences

I won the bid and bought my Hakko 936 also from eBay for a really good price and it looks like the real thing from all of your pictures. On the face, the red led cover is too extended on yours. Also the cal should have a cover. On the back, mine has a silver sticker with the manufacturing date, 2008.09 1. Another bigger sticker with Hakko 936, input and output voltages and Made In Singapore.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/458188898-FREE-CHINA-POST-SHIPPING-Best-Selling-220V-Hakko-936-Soldering-Iron-Soldering-Station-Hakko-Solder-Gun-wholesalers.html

is this fake ? comparing with the first post pictures, the only part looking weird is the stand

So what do you think, should i pull the trigger and buy one ?

edit : after reading this thread http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=32407 i'm not so sure right now ...

edit2 : ok i found this, seems legit : http://www.leboncoin.fr/materiel_professionnel/208121753.htm

what tips should i buy ? is this okay : http://cgi.ebay.fr/For-Hakko-900M-2-4D-3C-K-2C-B-1C-and-I-TIPS-/370459046419?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5641147213

(i wanna build cmoy/amb mini3 and maybe b22 later...)

it may be an aoyue station. i have an aoyoe 937+ and it is very similar to the hakko equivalent (aoyue is a hakko clone). the iron looks almost exactly like yours in the picture, except the heating elements housing has some holes in it near the grip. unscrew the housing and see if the tip says aoyue or hakko on it. if it is aoyue, then its still a good station, but you probably overpaid for it.

this is the aoyue 936