Soldering station
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(this is a resend to the list, the first was bounced by QTH.net because their postmaster has some brain-dead SMTP spam checking misconfiguration which produces false positives (for the subject line "Circuit Specialists 701 rework station:. Grrrrr.)
About a week ago, Tom Hammond pointed out that Circuit Specialists had some soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ( http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307 ) for a good price. I noticed that they had a through hole rework station ( http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7789 ) which also looked very similar to a Hakko offering. There has been some conjecture that these are the same as the Hakko units, but are being sold by an OEM to Hakko for considerably less. Since my 20 year old Pace desoldering station recently died, I thought I'd try out one of these, especially since the $200 price was by far better than anything else available. This is about 20% of what a similar Hakko unit runs. I receive my station today, and can report that these are very obviously NOT the same as real Hakko products. They're Chinese clones. As mentioned earlier, these are made by Aoyue ( http://www.aoyue.com/english/index.htm ). From the looks of this unit, I doubt Aoyue OEMs anything to Hakko - some things are close, others are functional, but none are of the same quality. The desoldering handpiece is of decent quality. It appears that it will take Hakko spares, including heaters and tips. It could definitely use a better tip - this one is chrome (?) plated and won't "tin." The soldering pencil has a rubber grip instead of the heat insulating foam a real Hakko has, but is overall of decent quality. Both use multipin "microphone" style circular connectors, which is different than what Hakko uses. The station itself is workable, the electronics seem to do what they're supposed to (they regulate tip temperature and have an LED which lights when power is applied to the tip, so it blinks when the tip is at the set temp). The controls (switches and pots) are pretty cheap, I'll probably upgrade these. They silk screened "Circuit Specialists" on the front, but didn't bother with a Fahrenheit temperature scale. The manufacturer took time to grind the markings off the ICs on the circuit board (they copied Hakko, but don't want to be copied themselves, I guess), and no schematic is provided in the manual. The biggest obvious difference is that it uses a completely different vacuum pump than a real Hakko - meaning no ready source of spare parts. The pump actually works better than that on my old Pace. One strange thing though, is that the instruction manual (in pretty good Engrish [ http://www.engrish.com/ ]) clearly shows how to disassemble and clean a Hakko pump. The actual pump is completely different than that illustrated in the manual. All things considered, it works well. Time will tell how this unit holds up, but it seems to be a good deal. A couple of better quality switches and pots, some real Hakko desoldering tips, and a bit of time should take care of the minor issues. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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Hey, gang!
A "K2'er" who isn't currently subscribed asked me to tell you about Optivisor binocular magnifying visors available at an excellent price. He wrote: Mountain Heritage Crafters is having a sale on Optivisors. $35.95 with your choice of lenses. Web site is www.mhc-online.com. ...thought I would pass this on to you to post on the reflector... I have no interest in MHC other than being a satisfied customer. 73, George, NC5G K2-2217 Optivisor is the "Cadillac" of the magnifiers with excellent lenses, comfortable headband and full binocular magnification. The design lets you wear ordinary prescription eyeglasses under them. I've used them for the past 20 years for all sorts of tiny work. Mine have the #4 lenses which I use in conjunction with my reading glasses to give me a focal distance of about 2.5 inches with the reading glasses or 5 inches without the reading glasses. I have no connection with Optivisor, other than being a happy user, or with this supplier either. Ron AC7AC _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Mike S-8
Mike and all,
Thanks for the heads up, Mike. I'm wondering if anyone has ordered and received the Circuit Specialists soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ? If so could they give us a similar report on that unit? At $35.00 it is indeed a tempting buy, but with Mike's post...? Thanks, Tom McCulloch, WB2QDG k2 1103 ----- Original Message ----- From: [hidden email] (Mike S) Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2004 10:53 pm Subject: [Elecraft] Soldering station > (this is a resend to the list, the first was bounced by QTH.net > because their postmaster has some brain-dead SMTP spam checking > misconfiguration which produces false positives (for the subject > line "Circuit Specialists 701 rework station:. Grrrrr.) > > About a week ago, Tom Hammond pointed out that Circuit Specialists > had some soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ( > http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307 ) for a > good price. I noticed that they had a through hole rework station > ( http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7789 ) which > also looked very similar to a Hakko offering. There has been some > conjecture that these are the same as the Hakko units, but are > being sold by an OEM to Hakko for considerably less. > > Since my 20 year old Pace desoldering station recently died, I > thought I'd try out one of these, especially since the $200 price > was by far better than anything else available. This is about 20% > of what a similar Hakko unit runs. > > I receive my station today, and can report that these are very > obviously NOT the same as real Hakko products. They're Chinese > clones. As mentioned earlier, these are made by Aoyue ( > http://www.aoyue.com/english/index.htm ). From the looks of this > unit, I doubt Aoyue OEMs anything to Hakko - some things are > close, others are functional, but none are of the same quality. > > The desoldering handpiece is of decent quality. It appears that it > will take Hakko spares, including heaters and tips. It could > definitely use a better tip - this one is chrome (?) plated and > won't "tin." The soldering pencil has a rubber grip instead of the > heat insulating foam a real Hakko has, but is overall of decent > quality. Both use multipin "microphone" style circular connectors, > which is different than what Hakko uses. > > The station itself is workable, the electronics seem to do what > they're supposed to (they regulate tip temperature and have an LED > which lights when power is applied to the tip, so it blinks when > the tip is at the set temp). The controls (switches and pots) are > pretty cheap, I'll probably upgrade these. They silk screened > "Circuit Specialists" on the front, but didn't bother with a > Fahrenheit temperature scale. The manufacturer took time to grind > the markings off the ICs on the circuit board (they copied Hakko, > but don't want to be copied themselves, I guess), and no schematic > is provided in the manual. > > The biggest obvious difference is that it uses a completely > different vacuum pump than a real Hakko - meaning no ready source > of spare parts. The pump actually works better than that on my > old Pace. One strange thing though, is that the instruction manual > (in pretty good Engrish [ http://www.engrish.com/ ]) clearly shows > how to disassemble and clean a Hakko pump. The actual pump is > completely different than that illustrated in the manual. > > All things considered, it works well. Time will tell how this unit > holds up, but it seems to be a good deal. A couple of better > quality switches and pots, some real Hakko desoldering tips, and a > bit of time should take care of the minor issues. > > _______________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Post to: [hidden email] > You must be a subscriber to post to the list. > Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): > http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm > Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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My order arrived yesterday but the soldering station was back ordered.
There were items in stock (according to web site) when I ordered mine. By the way the free gift VOM Multimeter (when you order $50 of stuff) is very nice, big digits, nonslip rubber housing, etc. Anthony [hidden email] wrote: >Mike and all, > > Thanks for the heads up, Mike. I'm wondering if anyone has ordered and received the Circuit Specialists soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ? If so could they give us a similar report on that unit? > >At $35.00 it is indeed a tempting buy, but with Mike's post...? > >Thanks, >Tom McCulloch, WB2QDG >k2 1103 > >----- Original Message ----- >From: [hidden email] (Mike S) >Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2004 10:53 pm >Subject: [Elecraft] Soldering station > > > >>(this is a resend to the list, the first was bounced by QTH.net >>because their postmaster has some brain-dead SMTP spam checking >>misconfiguration which produces false positives (for the subject >>line "Circuit Specialists 701 rework station:. Grrrrr.) >> >>About a week ago, Tom Hammond pointed out that Circuit Specialists >>had some soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ( >>http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307 ) for a >>good price. I noticed that they had a through hole rework station >>( http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7789 ) which >>also looked very similar to a Hakko offering. There has been some >>conjecture that these are the same as the Hakko units, but are >>being sold by an OEM to Hakko for considerably less. >> >>Since my 20 year old Pace desoldering station recently died, I >>thought I'd try out one of these, especially since the $200 price >>was by far better than anything else available. This is about 20% >>of what a similar Hakko unit runs. >> >>I receive my station today, and can report that these are very >>obviously NOT the same as real Hakko products. They're Chinese >>clones. As mentioned earlier, these are made by Aoyue ( >>http://www.aoyue.com/english/index.htm ). From the looks of this >>unit, I doubt Aoyue OEMs anything to Hakko - some things are >>close, others are functional, but none are of the same quality. >> >>The desoldering handpiece is of decent quality. It appears that it >>will take Hakko spares, including heaters and tips. It could >>definitely use a better tip - this one is chrome (?) plated and >>won't "tin." The soldering pencil has a rubber grip instead of the >>heat insulating foam a real Hakko has, but is overall of decent >>quality. Both use multipin "microphone" style circular connectors, >>which is different than what Hakko uses. >> >>The station itself is workable, the electronics seem to do what >>they're supposed to (they regulate tip temperature and have an LED >>which lights when power is applied to the tip, so it blinks when >>the tip is at the set temp). The controls (switches and pots) are >>pretty cheap, I'll probably upgrade these. They silk screened >>"Circuit Specialists" on the front, but didn't bother with a >>Fahrenheit temperature scale. The manufacturer took time to grind >>the markings off the ICs on the circuit board (they copied Hakko, >>but don't want to be copied themselves, I guess), and no schematic >>is provided in the manual. >> >>The biggest obvious difference is that it uses a completely >>different vacuum pump than a real Hakko - meaning no ready source >>of spare parts. The pump actually works better than that on my >>old Pace. One strange thing though, is that the instruction manual >>(in pretty good Engrish [ http://www.engrish.com/ ]) clearly shows >>how to disassemble and clean a Hakko pump. The actual pump is >>completely different than that illustrated in the manual. >> >>All things considered, it works well. Time will tell how this unit >>holds up, but it seems to be a good deal. A couple of better >>quality switches and pots, some real Hakko desoldering tips, and a >>bit of time should take care of the minor issues. >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Elecraft mailing list >>Post to: [hidden email] >>You must be a subscriber to post to the list. >>Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): >>http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >>Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm >>Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com >> >> >> > >_______________________________________________ >Elecraft mailing list >Post to: [hidden email] >You must be a subscriber to post to the list. >Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm >Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com > > > > -- |--------------------------| Anthony A. Luscre K8ZT Stow, Ohio |--------------------------| Visit My Website at http://www.k8zt.com |--------------------------| _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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In reply to this post by Tom Mc
At 09:54 AM 12/2/2004, [hidden email] wrote...
>I'm wondering if anyone has ordered and received the Circuit Specialists soldering stations which looked like Hakko 936's ? If so could they give us a similar report on that unit? > >At $35.00 it is indeed a tempting buy, but with Mike's post...? The 936 clone appears very close to the Hakko 936, they even copied the PC board layout: http://www.flatsurface.com/pics/Hakko-Aoyue936.JPG On the top is the Hakko 936 layout, courtesy Tom Hammond, on the bottom is a picture of the Aoyue station, from their web site. That doesn't, of course, address quality of construction. I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. At $200 (vs. about $1000 for a real Hakko), the CSI710 rework station is a great deal. The soldering station is a bit less of a deal, since you can get a real Hakko for under $85. I used to use Weller WTCP*, then a Weller labelled Ungar 921ZX, but since Cooper Tools decided to discontinue the Ungar stuff shortly after taking my money for one, no more. _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [hidden email] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com |
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