- Joined
- Dec 1, 2005
- Posts
- 27,750
Was that the hammertone finish?
Tools of the trade
- Thread starter shadows
- Start date
Was that the hammertone finish?
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2005
- Posts
- 27,750
Since I've had time now with the 808, I'd like to share my pros and cons about it.
Pros
------
Great Suction
Tip is heated from core instead of exterior like other stations
Great collection design, prevents premature clogging
Tips are nicely rounded without sharp edges
Cons
-------
Gun Configuration - I suffer from CTS so holding something in a gun shape for long periods of time is very fatiguing
Collection tube is plastic and not glass, makes clean outs not as easy as they can be
Ceramic Filters are too small and have to be changed after desoldering about .25oz of solder and they aren't cheap. They are also not very easy to remove from the recess in the gun as they should be. There should be a notch on the side to stick something in and pop it out instead of having to stab it and pry it out.
Power Switch - there isn't any. Makes it a pain if you have busy work station and have to keep plugging and unplugging when you want to use it.
Power Indicator - none as well, would be nice, I don't really need it since I keep track of what is plugged in but for the absent minded folks it would be good to have.
I realize that these points might not be understandable for the average user, since I've used 5 different desoldering stations in my time I have a bigger field of reference when it comes to desoldering tools.
I rate it 8/10, pretty damn good but could have some improvements.
If you have the opportunity to get one for a sub $100 price, go for it. I got mine for $200+ as a full kit with tips and stand. I think it's a good price even at $200.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
Last edited:
Evilpoptart
Kula's Candy
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2014
- Posts
- 293
I conquer,
Really great info for anybody looking for it. Was looking for a nice solder/desolder station to purchase and found this. My vote is for a sticky on this.
skinny503
NAM-75 Vet
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2013
- Posts
- 1,003
I rock one of these at work and sometimes bring it home to use. No complaints and it has a small footprint! I like the dials on it to fine tune current and voltage. Not sure how "good" they are but for a cheap power supply I dont think you can go wrong
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2012
- Posts
- 7,611
I have been looking at various ways to extract IC's from boards. I just find the humble flat head screw driver works best tbh. I have noticed there seems to be a type though that works like a mini crowbar - basically a screw driver with a bent head. The only ones I could find online were in the range of $15 which I thought is a bit stupid for what is basically a bent screwdriver so instead I just stuck one of my own flat heads in a vice, gave it a bit of a pull and came up with this:
Much easier to get under chips that are bunched together with this.
Much easier to get under chips that are bunched together with this.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
I fully understand why you did it especially as you explained why but it just makes me sad to see a tool damaged despite how humble it may be or how many spares you might have just sitting around.
This is the proper tool to use btw.
This is the proper tool to use btw.
Last edited:
aha2940
AH, A, COLUMBIAN!,
- Joined
- Dec 15, 2013
- Posts
- 2,528
I would like to add the TOP3000 EPROM programmer to the list of tools. I recently asked and this was suggested by many people to me as a very nice and not very expensive (about $140) EPROM programmer. The VP390 was also suggested, but it's more expensive.
Regards.
Regards.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
I suggested the top3000 to Fox and by bad odds he got a faulty unit which ultimately lead to him buying a more expensive programmer. I felt bad about the whole thing even though I have been using my top programmer for more than 4 years with no problems. Not to say that the same could not happen to the Vp390. I now know one person on this forum who had a top go bad and another who had a VP go bad.
So remember people when buying China designed and built equipment you must remember you are buying China equipment because you couldn't afford the name brand stuff and as such are taking a risk. If you have the funds buy Fluke, Tek, EEtools, etc.
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2006
- Posts
- 2,386
That's for PLCC chips. Not all that useful for removing dip chips.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
It's more of a it wasn't designed for dips but works in actual practice none the less thing.
This is what I use which is designed to extract dip packages.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2001
- Posts
- 3,169
lol don't worry about it. I knew what I was getting into. Basically the problem with China programmers is if it breaks, you have to return it to China and pay them a fee. Well, it led me to a much better programmer, so it all ended well lol.
I found their warranty quite funny. When I returned it, the guy said "Ok that will be $20". I was like, "Wait, this is still covered under the warranty that you advertise on your page." He said, "Yes it is, but that's labor only. They want to put in new parts to fix the programmer. I can ask them to not put in new parts and fix it that way if you want?" Me: "Yes, I just want them to fix the programmer without having to pay them anything." Them: "Oh, I can't do that." Me: "You just said you could." Them: "They need new parts to fix the programmer."
Oh..this is not a cut and paste, I had to edit the English to make it readable :P
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
Unbelievable.
I had a similar incident with my faulty out the box China DSO, the multimeter section kept locking up but the scope section worked flawlessly. I paid a lot of money for my scope and did not feel I should have to investigate the problem myself so I contacted the Chinese manufacturer. Long story short they did not care I bought a lemon and did not want to fix or replace a product that was advertised with a 3 year warranty that failed out the box.
It wasn't until I called them out on the eevblog forum with a video of the fault that they actually offered a remedy which was to replace my 100Mhz DSO with a 60Mhz version but only if I took down the review I left. Needless to say this was unacceptable and I told them to screw off and I left the video up. In the end I fixed the DSO myself. Despite the flaw to the multimeter section that I never use or plan to use because that feature is shit poor to a stand alone meter, the actual scope section is outstanding which is what I really needed.
Basically I couldn't afford the fluke equivalent which was $1500
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2001
- Posts
- 12,499
Well, my beloved Hakko 808 has shit the bed on me. I've been using it a lot in the past couple of months mostly removing cart slots to make my Neptunes and it stopped working on me yesterday when I was troubleshooting a Master System 2 cart slot. Fuck. I don't know how long the warranty is, but I've had it less than a year so I should be able to get a replacement.
As much as I love the thing, I'm not certain I'm going to recommend it so readily now.
As much as I love the thing, I'm not certain I'm going to recommend it so readily now.
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2005
- Posts
- 27,750
What's wrong with it exactly?
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2001
- Posts
- 12,499
I was removing the solder from the cart slot pins, and it just stopped. I let it sit for a few hours since I thought I may have tripped the thermal protection circuit, but nothing. The tip still heats up, but no suction at all, the motor doesn't come on. I removed the collection tube and filter to make sure there wasn't a clog, still nothing.
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2005
- Posts
- 27,750
Same problem I had, most likely the rectifier died. On mine if there was any resistance instead of the motor ramping up it would wind down to a slow speed. If yours is out of warranty you can ship it to me if you want and I can swap out the rectifier and see if it fixes the problem.
bustedstr8
Trollbox Trade Federation,
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2007
- Posts
- 943
You could always go back to your Rat Shack iron
Man you guys had some shit luck with yours.....mine dropped 3 feet onto concrete and still works like a baus.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
Looks like Hakko might be turning into Aoyue using your 808 and Xian as examples.
When doing marathon work I will split the load between my Aoyue474 and my Hakko472
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2001
- Posts
- 3,731
Finally decided to stop straining my eyes doing SMT work with a eye loupe and decided to upgrade to a microscope. Best immediately beneficial investment I made in a long time. It's like going from a solder sucker to a hakko 808, now it takes me a quarter of the time to do the same job even better than before.
