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Author Topic: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")  (Read 25084 times)

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Slippyblade

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Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« on: July 27, 2015, 05:56:09 pm »
So, just picked up a Hakko 888D soldering station for $69 from Fry's Electronics.  Screaming deal from what I can gather - Amazon has it for almost $100.  Anybody have one of these irons and what are your opinions?  All I've ever had has been the cheap $5 and $10 Radio Shack irons, so I have no idea what to expect.  I'm hoping it heats up and holds heat well enough to finish re-capping this LCD power board I'm screwing with.

« Last Edit: August 09, 2015, 02:05:25 pm by Slippyblade »

shponglefan

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2015, 06:38:39 pm »
I've had one for a couple years now I think.  Used it for everything from minor electronics repair to building a full-blown synthesizer kit.

I have yet to be disappointed by it.

Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2015, 06:40:15 pm »
I wasn't intending on buying an iron today either.  I saw the price and it looked good - then looked it up online and realized it was VERY good.

yotsuya

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2015, 06:48:40 pm »
So do you still think it looks like a Fisher Price toy? :-)

It's an awesome iron, and I'll never use anything other than that type.
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #4 on: July 27, 2015, 06:52:43 pm »
Yeah - I expect it to have "Little People" stickers on it.  When I first saw Hakko gear I had a hard time believing it was real gear.  I thought it was like this stuff.


BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2015, 11:07:19 pm »
I have the old version with the analog knob.  Love it. 

Vigo

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2015, 10:26:05 am »
I almost always prefer analog knobs to buttons. wonder why the change.

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #7 on: July 29, 2015, 06:51:01 am »
Out of curiosity, what temp do you guys keep your's set to?  I keep mine a little below 350° F C I mostly do small gauge wire and decent sized through-hole stuff.

EDIT:  oops, guess the inner ring is Celcius, that would be about 650° farenheit
« Last Edit: July 29, 2015, 10:25:44 am by BadMouth »

yotsuya

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2015, 09:57:39 am »

Out of curiosity, what temp do you guys keep your's set to?  I keep mine a little below 350° f  I mostly do small gauge wire and decent sized through-hole stuff.
750 degrees.
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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2015, 01:53:05 pm »
I usually set mine between 650-700F.  For desoldering, I have had to go higher.

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2015, 11:18:10 am »
hakko 936 here (888 predecessor)

all the way up...i'm impatient and have ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- to do.

if i'm doing something small with thin wires and tiny traces like an AVR board or SMD I'll go down to 750.

I feel it's better to heat it up and get your part soldered before the heat has a chance to soak in and ruin your component or trace than to spend time dicking around heating, heating, heating, to get the lead to melting point.

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2015, 12:46:13 pm »
I usually set mine between 650-700F.  For desoldering, I have had to go higher.

Same here.  These guys going 750 are nuts and like burning holes in their PCBs.


Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2015, 05:12:03 pm »
Fired it up for the first time last night. 

Oh...  My...  God...

From power on to melting solder was about 20 seconds.  Blew my mind - I'm used to waiting 5 mins for the iron to heat up enough to melt solder.  Anyway, 20 seconds after turning it on, I was able to tin the tip.  Awesome.  Just out of curiosity I stabbed the wet foam and it sizzled for a good 5-10 seconds before the temp dipped at all, and then it was back to temp almost instantly.  Soldered up a bunch of connections with absolutely no heat loss, didn't have to even slow down. 

All I can say is, I'm in love.  This is the best iron I've ever seen.  Totally worth the price.  Would have been worth the regular price to be honest, making what I paid for it even more awesome.

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2015, 07:41:28 pm »
All I can say is, I'm in love.  This is the best iron I've ever seen.  Totally worth the price.  Would have been worth the regular price to be honest, making what I paid for it even more awesome.

Next, look for a deal on one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-324-Electronic-Work-Center/dp/B000SSPNBU/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1438385897&sr=8-5&keywords=panavise

RadioShack had them for $30 at one point.  I've never seen them that low again.
According to camelcamelcamel, the lowest it's ever been on Amazon is $48.

Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2015, 07:46:32 pm »
I've got a pair of those "3rd Hand" things with the double alligator clips.  They are nice to have, but that PCB clamp would be super nice.

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #15 on: July 31, 2015, 07:48:46 pm »
No comparison.  This thing is big and sturdy with a heavy base.

EDIT: panavise to helping hands is what Hakko is to a $10 iron.  :D


« Last Edit: July 31, 2015, 07:55:19 pm by BadMouth »

yotsuya

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #16 on: July 31, 2015, 08:16:11 pm »
No comparison.  This thing is big and sturdy with a heavy base.

EDIT: panavise to helping hands is what Hakko is to a $10 iron.  :D




Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn.... now I know what to get with my Amazon gift cards....
***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #17 on: July 31, 2015, 08:25:54 pm »
Hmmm.  Could just get the PanaVise 315 instead.  Drill a hole in the bench to fit the upright and call it good.

http://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-315-Circuit-Board-Holder/dp/B000B5Y99C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438388686&sr=8-1&keywords=panavise+315

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #18 on: July 31, 2015, 08:35:03 pm »
Hmmm.  Could just get the PanaVise 315 instead.  Drill a hole in the bench to fit the upright and call it good.

http://www.amazon.com/PanaVise-315-Circuit-Board-Holder/dp/B000B5Y99C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438388686&sr=8-1&keywords=panavise+315
No.  The swivel ball is half of it.  Puts the pcb at whatever angles you want it.
 Edit:  I usually end up with it upside down pointing toward me so I can rest my forearms on the edge of the workbench.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2015, 09:10:24 am by BadMouth »

Vigo

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #19 on: August 02, 2015, 11:52:25 am »
Finishing my workshop is still a long ways away, but I am planning on printing out a larger version of this for my future soldering station. It uses rare earth magnets to hold the arms in place on metal plates.






harveybirdman

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #20 on: August 02, 2015, 01:37:56 pm »
I want those!

I hate having to rig stuff to hold PCBs

melvinbates

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #21 on: August 05, 2015, 08:35:31 pm »
Finishing my workshop is still a long ways away, but I am planning on printing out a larger version of this for my future soldering station. It uses rare earth magnets to hold the arms in place on metal plates.



Sweet thanks for that.  Printing a pair of those off now.

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2015, 12:15:09 pm »
Was using the panavise, so thought I'd post a pic.

melvinbates

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2015, 12:21:07 pm »
Was using the panavise, so thought I'd post a pic.

Wow, those do look nice.  Is that a guitar pedal you're working on?
« Last Edit: August 06, 2015, 03:32:30 pm by melvinbates »

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2015, 01:26:54 pm »
Was using the panavise, so thought I'd post a pic.

Wow, those do look nice.  Is that a guitar pedal your working on?
Yeah, for a friend.  I can't play.

pbj

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #25 on: August 06, 2015, 03:40:49 pm »
Yeah, the Panavise is legit.  Probably one of the nicest specialty tools that I own.


Vigo

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #26 on: August 06, 2015, 03:41:42 pm »
Did you buy it or save it from the trash?

pbj

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #27 on: August 06, 2015, 03:43:16 pm »
Did you buy it or save it from the trash?

I got in on that Radio Shack deal for the Panavise.  The Fluke multimeter was a trash save.


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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #28 on: August 09, 2015, 01:37:24 am »
Panavise also has the "Panavise Jr." which is basically a small traditional vise with plastic jaws.  The jaws do have little slots in them for grabbing thin stuff kinda like the dedicated circuit board holder.  Both are useful.  I do still use my helping hands (99c on sale at Harbor Freight!) all the time, too, mostly for tinning wires.  I'm not fond of the totally integrated Panavise or similar electronic workstations.  I tend to have a separate sponge, iron holder, etc.  I find having them right up at the workpiece like that just gets in the way both with the work and when trying to clean/store the iron.

I've not used the Hakko stations, but they seem well liked.  I have a Weller WESD51 that's going on 10 years old and still works fine apart from a loose themocouple connection at the connector that goes from the base to the pencil which is probably my fault from catching the cable too many times.  I keep it set to ~335C for leaded work and 350-360C for lead free.

I find having an assortment of tips (also available on e.g. the Hakko) to be essential unless you have multiple irons.  Soldering down huge through-hole connectors, especially to multi-layer PCBs with planes, calls for a much larger tip than swapping out an 0402 surface mount passive.

Metcal are still the creme de la creme, but you'll pay for it.  Weller hasn't really kept up.  Their products are still decent, but other lines like Hakko and even the cheap direct-from-China brands now have similar features and even quality for a lot less.

BadMouth

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #29 on: August 09, 2015, 12:40:58 pm »
I'm not fond of the totally integrated Panavise or similar electronic workstations.  I tend to have a separate sponge, iron holder, etc.  I find having them right up at the workpiece like that just gets in the way both with the work and when trying to clean/store the iron.

Yup.  I tossed the soldering iron holder & have never used the sponges.  I do use the solder dispenser because I have rolls of solder from my old workplace that closed.
I don't have it attached to the base though.  I got in on the $30 deal, so it wasn't like I'd saved anything by not getting the whole setup.

Slippyblade

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #30 on: August 09, 2015, 02:04:20 pm »
I really like where this thread has gone.  Any other workbench hardware you folks recommend?  I'd like a legit bench setup eventually, and this is some great discussion so far.

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #31 on: August 09, 2015, 03:44:52 pm »
Well a solder sucker is nice to have.  I also keep a metal plate handy.  I took one from an old jewelers kit and it's really nice because it catches stray solder, you can put the iron on it without having to worry about burning a hole in the table, ect...

Slippyblade

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #32 on: August 09, 2015, 03:48:45 pm »
I've got a granite slab on my workbench.  I play around with lampwork glass and have a surface that is impervious to heat is really nice for that.  :)

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #33 on: August 09, 2015, 07:09:50 pm »
I use an old beat up Pac-Man cocktail glass top as my table topper when I solder.  I have the Hakko solder station too and it is freaking awesome.  For Father's day "the kids" got me a de-soldering station which has really changed the way I do cap kits.  It's so nice to just heat and pull the trigger and bam a perfectly clean solder pad.

Slippyblade

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #34 on: August 09, 2015, 07:18:11 pm »
For Father's day "the kids" got me a de-soldering station which has really changed the way I do cap kits.  It's so nice to just heat and pull the trigger and bam a perfectly clean solder pad.
I've got one of those spring loaded solder suckers.  It does the job.  Mind you it does the job way better now that I've got a reliable, powerful iron behind it keeping the solder liquid!  I'm super jealous of some of those de-soldering tools with the motorized vacuums.

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #35 on: August 09, 2015, 09:13:41 pm »
Desoldering gun or GTFO.


***Build what you dig, bro. Build what you dig.***

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #36 on: August 09, 2015, 09:22:41 pm »
Other small recommendations:

A flux pen.  Sometimes I was too lazy to brush on flux. 
(half the time ended up costing more time than it saved)
Since getting a pen, I use flux every time.

A radioshack micro test lead set, the older cheaper looking version.  I use these more often then I thought I ever would; connecting to header pins, clamping onto parts in place.  There is a long skinny spring loaded lead that is amazing for cleaning pocket lint from the headphone jack on cell phones.


BadMouth

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #37 on: August 09, 2015, 09:42:24 pm »
These

MonMotha

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Re: Hakko 888D
« Reply #38 on: August 09, 2015, 11:05:21 pm »
Yup.  I tossed the soldering iron holder & have never used the sponges.  I do use the solder dispenser because I have rolls of solder from my old workplace that closed.
I don't have it attached to the base though.  I got in on the $30 deal, so it wasn't like I'd saved anything by not getting the whole setup.

There is the Panavise 333 which is basically the setup linked earlier in this thread without the extraneous attachments.

I'm a bit mixed on solder dispensers.  They're nice to have, but I've never had too much trouble just setting the spool on end on the bench and pulling on it, manually rotating when necessary.  Then again, I'm normally doing super small SMT work, not bulk through-hole, so I don't use that much solder.

I don't know how people can solder without a sponge.  The metal brush tip cleaners can damage high-end tips that have alloy coatings designed to easily take solder and not require complex tinning procedures like the crappy Radio Shack tips.  You usually need something ot remove excess solder and flux that accumulates on the tip.  It does depend somewhat on what you're doing.  Again, small SMT rework is very different than bulk through-hole assembly.

For flux, I have liquid and paste rosin flux on the bench.  I mostly use the liquid.  I use a small paintbrush to put it where I want and dispense out of a small travel make-up container that you can easily get in a "TSA approved" kit.  I use a similar container with anhydrous isopropyl alcohol for cleaning the brush and removing flux residue from the PCB.  Q-tips are handy but can leave lint.  Kimwipes don't do that but are less convenient and much more expensive.

I have a couple of dedicated vacuum desoldering stations.  They both pretty much suck or rather don't.  I mostly just use braid and a "soldapult" manual vacuum tool.

I have a standard vinyl ESD mat as my work surface.  It is definitely getting torn up over the years, but that's expected.  I would love to get a laminate top with ESD foil underneath.  You can build this yourself if you want to.

For parts dishes/trays, I just use stainless steel pet bowls.  They're readily available and cheap.  If you get ones without rubber rims and have a static free worktop, the dish itself should also remain pretty much static free.

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Re: Electronics workbench talk (was "Hakko 888D")
« Reply #39 on: August 10, 2015, 11:09:46 am »
     While soldering my dresses (polyester) would melt to my legs, quite painfull, so now I keep them under the table...The manual sucker actually does work? Been messing around off and on for years with mine with no luck, about just ready to throw it away. Mostly use just wick .... The sponge seems cheesy to me, so Jennifer keeps a wet rag on the table. And OMG, stainless pet bowls how awesome would that be, baby"s going shopping. 8)