[rellik]

well its time for a new iron...

someone in my family tripped over the cord, landing the power unit on the floor, and thus turning it on, the handle remained on it its stand for who knows how long, and is now cooked, the worst is that none will admit it...

it was a oldish circuit-specialists hakko clone iron, which they have changed
what new ones should i look at? im looking at one of those hakko irons at the moment, anything else i should consider?

 

[flecom]

well if you wanna go for broke you can always look at the wellers, radio shack has a new inexpensive soldering station with an lcd that ive been thinking of getting to see if its any good

 

[rellik]

i dont mind shelling out the cash for a hakko 936, this is actually a good chance for an upgrade

i am just wondering if there were any other irons that might be better at a similar price and where the best place to pick up a hakko would be?

 

[jerb]

From what Ive found talking to various techs at a local buisness + peoples opinions on the forum is that the Hakko is the best in its price range, above that some argue the weller wtcpt (I think thats the modle #) beats it but the consensus on the forum is that the hakko beats it still. after that your looking at $200+ for a Metcal or Pace

 

[Pars]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rellik i dont mind shelling out the cash for a hakko 936, this is actually a good chance for an upgrade i am just wondering if there were any other irons that might be better at a similar price and where the best place to pick up a hakko would be?

tequipment.net has it on sale right now for ~$78. Someone else posted about another place that also has it on sale at the moment (another current thread). TEquipment.net is on the east coast... check for the other place, might save some shipping depending on where you are. I've bought stuff from tequipment and they are good to do business with, as I'm sure the other place is.

 

[rellik]

checked out tequipment, what is the difference in the small, medium vs large irons on the hakko 936?

 

[Pars]

Not sure what the difference is. I would suppose the small iron is better suited to SMD soldering work, and the large for cables with large gauge conductors/sheilding. The 936-12 (907 medium iron) is what everyone gets it seems. Mine worked fine for terminating some Kimber Postmaster spades on some Kimber 8TC cable (9 ga). You might want a slightly large screwdriver or chisel type tip than the stock one (in addition to the stock one). If you have any Fry's near you they stock a pretty good selection of Hakko tips, or ask when you order for recommendations.

 

[HiGHFLYiN9]

HMCElectronics generally has them for good prices too.

 

[rellik]

woah, thats exactly where i got it from, good price!

 

[vixr]

I just bought an iron from radio shack part# 64-2184, for 23 dollars. 20/40watts. It works very well. I fire it up on 40 watts for a fast up temp, then 20 for soldering. At that price you could go thru one a month... sorry about yer old iron, may it rest in peace...

 

[sanaka]

More iron discussion here:

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147640