(Part 2) Best products from r/soldering

951 is substantially better than the 888D. I personally used an 888D for close to a year and recently upgraded to an FM-202. It's similar to the 951.

So, the 888D definitely is not a bad station. It's actually pretty good. For general purpose soldering (wires, large electronics like perfboards, protoboards, etc) it works wonderfully. It uses the standard thread-lock tips, and my personal favorite tip for the 888D was the T18-BR02. It's a bent conical tip, and being bent like that turns it into a very useful multipurpose tip. I used it exclusively for just about all the work I did. This included working on SMD components on smartphone motherboards under a microscope.

HOWEVER, as time went on and I read more and more about the 951 I just wished I got one of those. The 951 contains very many features that the 888D lacks. I'll break those down for you now.

Firstly, the 951 has a built-in auto-sleep. When you put the iron back in the stand, the unit automatically puts the tip to sleep until you take it off the stand again. This dramatically improves tip life. If you find yourself leaving your current iron on for minutes at a time before you actually start using it, then this sleep function will save you a lot of tip replacements. This sleep function is not a replacement for turning the station off. You should always turn it off when you are done, but the sleep will preserve tip life for those few minutes between soldering where you don't want to turn the station off.

Secondly, the 951 uses a very different tip system compared to what you might be familiar with. Most cheaper stations and irons use the standard thread-lock tips. The ones that screw down onto the heating element in the iron. The 951 uses a cartridge-based system. The tips you buy are a lot more expensive (around $20 to $30), but the tips themselves contain the heating element. Since the tips themselves actually have the heating element in them, you never have to worry about buying a new heating element for your soldering station. Just get a new tip if you notice something is off with how it's heating.

This cartridge system is leaps and bounds better than the thread-lock tips. You can very quickly and easily swap tips while the iron is hot with no danger to harming yourself. You'll need to get some Hakko tip sleeves and a tip holder to do this. The sleeves themselves slip over the tips, and lock at a certain depth. The sleeve functions as the locking mechanism that secures the tip into the handpiece. When you swap tips you never have to touch any hot metal. You just clip the sleeve out of the handpiece and stick it into the tip holder, then grab another tip and slide it into the handpiece and lock it. If you want a more accurate description of this system in action let me know, I can record a video. The 202 is different from the 951 but it uses the same handpiece and tip system.

Honestly, you can probably skip this step of the additional sleeves and tip holder if you don't find much of a use currently for switching tips. The J-tip (like the T18-BR02) is my favorite all-around tip because it's very versatile in what it can do. The 951 has a similar tip, the T15-J02. They also have the JL02 and JS02, both are similar to the J02 and T18-BR02 in shape but have different size profiles.

The 951 also has a very unique heating system. The tips themselves contain a feedback sensor that is able to very reliably detect when you are touching the tip to a larger thermal mass (like a ground plane). When tip temperature drops from doing this, the station is able to push out more power to maintain the tip temperature. It has a very state-of-the-art regulation system for keeping tip temperature consistent. The 951 is basically your entry-level "professional" soldering station.

The 951 also allows you to use a micropencil with it. It's basically a soldering iron handpiece that allows you to use very, very fine tips with it that are much smaller than standard tips. These are useful for working with SMD components under a microscope. The 888D does not have support for this.

If you want to futureproof yourself and get a really really nice station, I'd go for the 951. The 888D is not bad, not in the slightest. The 888D is geared more towards hobbyists at this point, but you really can't beat having a professional station like the 951.

You certainly can use that soldering gun but it won't be fun or easy because it is so large (that's what I started with and used for a few years). I'd suggest picking up a Hakko FX-888D or Hakko FX-951 if you have a desire to continue with electronics.

Definitely add more solder because it has flux in it which will clean the oxides and allow the solder to flow out. You will also need to use a bit of solder wick/desoldering braid to clean up the pad before fixing it. You'll want to get some Kester leaded solder to work with.

Watch these Pace soldering tutorials before you begin to understand the basics. Heat the pad and wire then touch the solder wire to the joint. If you add it to the tip of the gun/iron the flux will burn away and it will start to oxidize. Doing it that way certainly has it's place but it isn't for this type of work as you'll need to add extra flux to protect the joint.

I'm not good at soldering myself but can offer simple tips:

• patience, have lots of it.
  
• get conformable. sitting, standing, whatever, make sure your work it at a nice working height for you
  
• have lots of work space
  
• have good lighting, adjustable, movable. (flashlight)
  
• watch you tube videos that reflect as closely as possible what you want to do. (good videos, at least three)
  
• practice with something worthless to get a feel for how the solder will flow.
  
  Supplies to make it easier (Amazon (canada) links of stuff the I have bought for my similar attempt.)
  
  
• soldering pen (iron) [I have an older, cheaper, non digital version]
  
• thin solder (there are probably better deals)
  
• flux (very important for hope of a decent solder)
  
• wick (helps to clean up the old solder, and helps if you get too much solder on your new attempt)
  
• magnifier
  
• tweezers and spudger kit (you might find something else more suitable)
  
• magnifier with tweezers (probably not necessary for this project)
  
• new part (if you can reuse the one you have, great)
  
• backup new part (my part was under $3, so I ordered a spare)
  
• heat resistant tape (probably not necessary, might help hold the part in place)
  
  and of course try to avoid getting smoke in your eyes, and burning yourself.

Consider adding a decent multimeter. you don't need anything crazy but continuity mode will help you test the connections you solder. Cheap ones can be had for $10 but the $30-40 range will get you something good enough that you shouldn't need anything else for a long time.

Also helping hands like this and/or a small vise, are great for holding smaller work.

Finally a silicone baking matte makes a great heat resistant work area so you don't damage whatever table you're working on.

I do plan to solder a lot. I have an IT background and I really want to get better into electronics, so I plan to do a lot of training.

• Buying stuff on ebay: Like fixing old video game consoles and other vintage devices. Besides, one thing I'd love to do is get an 3-1 Black & Decker waffle maker and convert it to 220V/UK plug (start simple!)
  
• IoT: I want to tinkle with Arduino -- A LOT. Love those things and I really want to move away from breadboards and do some cool stuff with it.
  
• Fixing stuff: Why shall I be throwing away perfectly good devices just because a capacitor or resistor has blown away? I've fixed some stuff in the past so I plan to do more of that in the future.
  
  So yeah... I'd like to find excuses to solder 🙃. One thing I've been doing is salvaging components from throwaway stuff. For instance, I got the alarm system from a previous house (when I was a tenant) and I salvaged all sorts of components like keypads, LCD panels, etc.
  
  While I certainly want to move away from my 12 EUR soldering iron towards a soldering station, I am starting off so buying a 1,200+ EUR Soldering+SMD station sounds like a stupid overkill.
  
  This is why going for individual components probably makes more sense. I can see from all the comments that the Hakko is an indisputable winner. And if I get it, I can always buy the other components/devices separately, like a hot-air gun and eventually a desoldering gun, and I would still have a top-notch soldering station. Buying a cheap all-in one I might end-up with a decent iron but a not so decent hot-air gun (for example), and having to buy a separate hot-air gun down the line anyway. But I gotta say that as a n00b, seeing the YIHUA is enticing but I'll fight the urge. If I was a good enough pro making money out of soldering jobs already I would be buying a YIHUA with spare cash and try it out just for kicks (gotta love some soldering, though!)

This is what I ended up with when I was struggling just as you are. I read a lot of reviews, asked my friends who solder a lot, and read a ton here.

http://smile.amazon.com/ALL-ONE-X-TRONIC-SOLDERING-PREHEATING/dp/B00DRHRZ3S

So far I have been very happy with it. But, depends on level of quality and how much you want to spend. Hakko would be a better brand/quality. But at $200 a shot for iron/air/plate.. That was too much for me, I don't use it enough to warrant $1k in equipment. I have had it for 2 years and I still am very happy with my purchase.

FYI -- I am not affiliated with them in any way, just a hobbiest hardware hacker.

Braid is great for small surfaces and quantities but pins..... I found the investment in a good desoldering pump to be totally worth it.

I got this one from Amazon. Yeah, it's kinda pricey but it works so well! I took apart a computer keyboard with 30+ switches (2-pins per switch) and it was less than 10 seconds to desolder each pin.

Total amateur here. I use a Weller WES51

https://www.amazon.ca/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU

i went from using a cheap piece of crap bought locally to this unit. i've never used a non-cheap soldering iron before and i find this thing to be awesome. heats up super fast and it's way smaller than any other iron i've ever used. the silicone cord is worth the price of admission alone, imo. i frequently solder in a canadian unheated garage. not fighting with a stiff cable is heaven. parts are easy to come by online for whenever i break it or wear it out.

i recap a few game systems every now and then, i dont have many hours on it.

+1 for the Hakko FX888D-23BY

Some solder wick and a desolder pump is something else I would add. Also a cheap tip thinner for a noob (like me). Helping hands are cheap and can be useful. Also a cheap variety pack of tips. Nothing expensive till you are comfortable with keeping them clean and tinned.

These are all things I bought when I purchased my Hakko FX888. All have been useful.

Desolder Pumps and Wick

[Tip tinner] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NS4J6BY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_k1kZDbJ5TS5Q6)

Helping hands w/magnifying glass

Various Tips

Hakko FX888D-23BY


All of this cost me $146 shipped. Right now, it'll all total to $139.83 shipped if in the US

Which components did you mess up? That capacitor meniscus is too far in the PTH for one thing. For the microchip, that's a little more challenging. You can try chip quick. It's a special alloy that has a longer melting point. Apply it to all of the holes on the bottom and keep heating the pins while grabbing that chip from the top. Or take that long route and set your board in a vice vertically and used your iron to heat that pin from the top and solder sucker on bottom of board. Make sure to flux each joint well and you should be able to remove all of the solder from the PTH. Good luck.

EDIT: More flux will make the solder flow like water. This is a decent brand: VIPFIX High Synthetic BGA Solder Flux Paste Activated Rosin Soldering Paste Flux Cream (50g or 80g) For PCB,BGA,SMD, PGA Repair Soldering Rework Station (80g) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078RGS1H4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_NRJTBbHA9NMTR

I think I'm about as far down the 'easy melt' solder spectrum I can get? I'm using MG chem 63/37 non-lead free like this, but in a large spool.
https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Leaded-Solder-Pack-81mm/dp/B073T71J4X

I will try a larger tip as well, thanks!

Best option would be a hot air rework tool and some decent flux.

tutorial video

Some changes I want to suggest from that video:

You don't need to add solder or solder paste to those pins. When you remove the chip from the donor board, let the board cool down until you can touch it without frying your fingers, then run that flux pen over the leads then heat them back up again until they melt down - you'll burn off that flux, it shouldn't leave any residue and the pads will be even. Let it cool down again, or if you're fast drop the new chip on then, then let that solder harden enough so you won't knock the chip off of the pads, flux it then reflow the chip again, should be perfect. There's enough solder on those pads to do two or three chip replacements typically, and really you won't be losing any solder at all because you're using a donor board and a used chip with solder already on the pins. I also recommend staying at 320C for that board, and practice on some scrap stuff first so you have an idea on how everything's gonna behave when it's melted down.

Other than that, should be good. There's nothing near that chip that you'll blow off with too much airflow or damage with heat and it's pretty difficult to scrap a board at 320C.

Edit: try not to inhale the flux fumes, 959t is unusually harsh as far as fumes go and you won't really enjoy it

Thanks for the information. This is the liquid flux I ordered. Would you recommend something different?

is this a good one?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00NS4J6BY/ref=crt_ewc_img_oth_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A614WYM65K035

Tip tinner.