Help me find my first soldering iron

[barqy]

get a hakko 936!!

leaps and bounds difference

if youre planning to solder one or 2 things here and there, get a pen...

i got my hakko off ebay for $30!!

 

[jsmithepa]

I owned 2 portasols and both loses efficiency after awhile, don't know what the prob is, new tips didn't help. Then I owned a Radio Shack which took like forever to heat up, then finally broke down and bought myself a 936. Love it. Ready to solder in like 20 seconds. I wouldn't be able to replace my ER6i cables wo the Hakko's super-fine tip. Today's electronics is just getting smaller, availability of a super-fine tip mandatory.

If u don't think u need a super-fine tip, and it's kinda expensive to spend $100+ for a couple of jobs... that cold iron they advertise in late night TV sounds intriguing. Says to heat up instantly and cools down just as quick.... althought any battery powered iron I hesitate.

 

[JohnerH]

Does anyone actually know where I could get a 936 in the UK?
 
I have been searching and can't pin point it.
 
J
 
 

 

[liamstrain]

http://www.donberg.co.uk/descript/h/hakko_936.htm
 
You might have better luck looking for the FX-888, which is the updated re-design (and usually a bit less spendy). 
 
Dancap is the Hakko UK distributor:
http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/soldering.htm

 

[blackshuck13]

I just recently bought a hakko FX-888 from Dancap, and I was really impressed. Ships the thing out with the most amount of foam ive ever seen lol

 
The only problem with ordering from him is there is only two options for payment, check and bank transfer. However don't let these put you off, and besides buying from him is the easiest way to get a FX-888 without importing it and messing around with the transformer inside the power supply.
 
Also make sure you get a replacement tip for the iron as it only comes with a conical tip, and well these just arn't very usefull tbh. Get a chisel tip around 1.6 mm
 

 

[DingoSmuggler]

I bought my FX888 in Aus from element14 (Farnell), so that might also be a decent option in the UK, well worth a look anyway. 

 
At the time i got it, the extra tips were only around $5 or $6 each and i grabbed a bunch of useful sizes, but the price on those seems to have risen significantly since then 

.

 

[shrimants]

Hakko FX-888. Dont cheap out on a soldering iron. I did and it made my 250 dollar project cost 500, and that was with a pro-builder salvaging it for me and not charging me labor.

 

[JohnerH]

Well at the moment I've got a Weller SP25L but, I can't seem to find any fine tips for it (ie.: 1.6mm).
 
Further, the more I read/investigate I'm beginning to understand if I am going to get serious about DIYing I need a temperature controlled iron.
 
Still searching for a decent UK station...
 
J