I have the same FX888 as Tom. I agree with all his comments.
This is a great iron for the price.
I have 2 Pace solder and extractor stations at my office, and I would say this 90 dollar unit works just as well as the quite expensive pace stations. I do wish sometimes I had an extractor though at home....maybe have to keep an eye on the 'bay....
Steve
Structo wrote:A few months ago I wanted a better soldering station so I looked into the Hakko units.
They have discontinued the 936, a long time popular model.
They issued the FX888 which replaces the 936.
At first I thought it looked cheap due to the colors used on it but the reviews were all good for it so I bought it from Kimco.
Free shipping!
After receiving and using it I can say it's the best station I have used.
Heats up fast, recovers very fast and is a quality piece through and through.
The base station is hefty and feels solid.
Not to mention you can buy any of the parts to maintain it.
If you buy one, be sure to order a couple extra tips to take advantage of the free shipping.
There website is very slow so be patient for it to load.
$80
Structo wrote:A few months ago I wanted a better soldering station so I looked into the Hakko units.
They have discontinued the 936, a long time popular model.
They issued the FX888 which replaces the 936.
At first I thought it looked cheap due to the colors used on it but the reviews were all good for it so I bought it from Kimco.
Free shipping!
After receiving and using it I can say it's the best station I have used.
Heats up fast, recovers very fast and is a quality piece through and through.
The base station is hefty and feels solid.
Not to mention you can buy any of the parts to maintain it.
If you buy one, be sure to order a couple extra tips to take advantage of the free shipping.
There website is very slow so be patient for it to load.
$80
Thank you Structo!
I just got one for my B-day.
So far so good.
I have to interject after being in engineering for almost 20 years and a sr. technician for 4 years...
weller is standard, but if you're looking for the best and something special....get a Pace, like me! Besides being digital and going to 1000 degrees for soldering to pots and large surfaces...it uses concave tips that due to surface tension hold the solder that goes over the horizon, thus only the solder touches the component or item instead of the raw tip helping to ensure you don't burn up your components especially when dealing with pedals and SMD devices!
This has me intrigued, price looks excellent, I'll likely need a new iron once in Italy though I bought a cheap step down tranny for my Weller. What I'm wondering is how stable the holder is, is it weighed with a chunk of steel or something so that it doesn't travel across the desk every time I go clean the tip or rest the iron?
Apparently comes in three other colors, the blue/yellow might be alma mater colors (University Of Rochester) but I don't think I can look it every day.
