The Aussie Pinball Arcade
Aussie Pinball Forums => Technical Matters => Handy hints and tips => Topic started by: humpalot on October 12, 2008, 11:57:00 PM
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Been meaning to post for awhile. I've tried a number of cheap type desoldering tools and stations and none of them really cut it.
I ended up thinking that I wanted a Hakko, I didn't like the local prices so started looking O/S.
Ended up importing from the US. I did this about 6mths ago when the AUS $ was better. Can't recommend enough as how good these units actually are for board repairs, such clean and trouble free results.
This is what I did.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/500W-110-220V-Voltage-Converter-Transformer-up-down_W0QQitemZ270283754305QQihZ017QQcategoryZ88759QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem
and
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/808-5-808-KIT-P-Hakko-Desoldering-Gun-w-Pump-New-in-Box_W0QQitemZ380067780859QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item380067780859&_trkparms=39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A1|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
So much cheaper than buying here in OZ.
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Good prices there. My 500W step down cost me over $200!!
How were the postage costs??
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The postage for the transformer was about $30.00
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I agree... Hakko's are definitely the way to go these days. Mind you, I like the old Royel's better, but they don't exist anymore, and you can't get parts for them.
I have a portable desoldering gun I take with me when I'm out servicing machines... a DIC SC7000Z. It's not a bad unit, but does have it's troubles. At least it works well enough to remove the odd chip or transistor here and there without any causing damage.
EDIT: Didn't realise the one you got was a portable one! I've only used the Hakko bench versions.
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Hakkos are the way to go... Great irons...
I've heard whispers that Jaycar will have a new soldering / desoldering station that was to be released in Australia last quarter, but it did not conform to Australian standards - it needed an isolation transformer to be sold here. It should be out before christmas and be around the $200 - $300 as a solder / desolder station.
I'm waiting for that to be released - I'm not sure if it is a re badged iron or not..
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
Yes - it would do both jobs and a lot more. The good ones are expensive, but if you can justify the price by either being filthy rich or using it everyday... it would be worth every cent !
I will be investing in a Hakko desoldering station shortly..
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
The trick to taking off most components without a desoldering gun is to cut the legs of the component off. Once you do this remove the component and heat the leg. You should then be able to easily slide the leg out of the socket with no force. If it requires any force STOP and re-examine. Whenever you try to pull something out and it resists is when you'll probably pull a pad and/or a trace. This trick works with about everything but axial lead caps and chips.
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I'm a cheap bastard. I'm also a tool junkie.
To balance the two out regarding my soldering rig, I went to ePay to start. I picked up a Hakko station for $40 that had no wands. I figured I'd just be patient and find them later. Of course I discovered that handpieces are harder to find than base stations, but I just kept digging and found a place that sells cheap import ones. They were billed to be temperature controlled, but once I got into them (after finding they didn't work with my station) I discovered that they were definitely NOT temperature-controlled as there weren't even temperature sensors or wires for them. Just yer basic cheap wattage-rated stuff. Cheap Chinese crap.
Not to be deterred, I went back to ePay and found genuine Hakko replacement heating elements for a pretty good deal, and once they arrived I was very surprised and pleased to find that they assembled into the import handpieces perfectly. Turns out the cheap imports I bought are dimensionally exact clones of the Hakko stuff. Whew!
I immediately plugged everything in and fired it up. I cannot tell you how extremely comfortable it is to use good quality soldering/desoldering equipment. It's just amazing how well it functions. My first experiment was to desolder a 40-pin chip. Once I hit all the pads, it just fell out! The quality of my soldering instantly doubled at least. At the time I didn't do that much soldering, but since then I've got into learning microcontrollers and getting into electronics, so what was going to originally be an occasionally-used tool turns out to be used all the time these days. Even if I didn't use it that much, it was worth the expense to have the good stuff even for occasional use.
The total cost for the stuff I bought ended up around (US)$175, but that is a screaming deal for the rig I ended up with. It's a pain in the ass to chase the parts and put it together, but that was worth it too - at least this time.
The only potential downside is it isn't very portable, so if that's a concern then you should look at different types than I got, but be sure to get the good stuff whatever you get. For me the portability isn't a big deal as I much prefer to work at the bench anyway. For "in-the-game" work I have a standard soldering iron with a long cord that works fine for soldering wires to tabs & such.
So IMPORTANT NOTE: When you buy cheap import stuff, it may not be at all what it claims to be, so verify the facts first. I got my cheap handpieces from http://store.sra-solder.com/index.php (http://store.sra-solder.com/index.php). It looks like good stuff, and I'm sure some of it is OK, but check things out first before spending your money. I'm still happy I got the handpieces from them as they were still very inexpensive and comfortable in the hand, but it cost me $50 more than it could have if the stuff was what it was supposed to be.
Here's a pic of my rig:
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
yep. and don't forget de-soldering braid. its not a sexy big unit but its fast and cheap and clean. i have a good de-soldering unit but more often than not just use braid unless there is a lot to do...
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
The trick to taking off most components without a desoldering gun is to cut the legs of the component off. Once you do this remove the component and heat the leg. You should then be able to easily slide the leg out of the socket with no force. If it requires any force STOP and re-examine. Whenever you try to pull something out and it resists is when you'll probably pull a pad and/or a trace. This trick works with about everything but axial lead caps and chips.
I'll second that. Had the same tip from Ian (MarkC's] today. I had to remove 2 x 6821 PIA's from my System 11 board today. I cut the pins off each IC (removed it as I knew it was trashed anyway). Heated solder, pushed pins through then cleaned up with a solder sucker and finally a bit of iso alcohol. No damage and very clean removal...
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Wish I had one yesterday. I'm no PCB soldering expert but trying to take off an opto from a TZ clock PCB was a teo man job. The wife pulling (like all good wives should do) and me pushing with a hot poker...I mean soldering iron.
Would one of these desoldering guns help in such a case as well as replacing pins on PCB's etc etc or am I mistaken on the discussion?
The trick to taking off most components without a desoldering gun is to cut the legs of the component off. Once you do this remove the component and heat the leg. You should then be able to easily slide the leg out of the socket with no force. If it requires any force STOP and re-examine. Whenever you try to pull something out and it resists is when you'll probably pull a pad and/or a trace. This trick works with about everything but axial lead caps and chips.
Its obvious when you think about it. I'll commit this to memory next time. I'm not sure though if I had the luxury the be able to cut off the legs on the opto but can't be sure now. Thanks for the tip Chuck and avoidance of any future disappointments by way of wrecking pcb's due to inexperience.
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I should mention that you can remove chips with this method by using a dremel and a cutting disc and carefully removing the leggs from as close to the chip as you can. The EE on the Nucore team does this. I really just prefer a desoldering station =)
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I should mention that you can remove chips with this method by using a dremel and a cutting disc and carefully removing the leggs from as close to the chip as you can. The EE on the Nucore team does this. I really just prefer a desoldering station =)
Thats the way I prefer doing it.. After all, you are going to replace the chip, so its a lot easier to damage the chip than the tracks or the PCB.
I believe Jaycar are going to stock a new desoldering station in the new year.
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Hi All,
I'm about to kit up in the new year with a new "Pace MBK350" de/solder station, with full smd-rework etc etc, although it'll cost me $3k - i could be a nice pinnie for that.
I can do most of the same work with an ebay/jaycar cheapy too, and if i've learnt one thing, it's "keep your iron clean!!!!" and it'll do what you need it to do.
If you can get into the practice of spending 1/2hr on your iron after you've finished your job, it'll still work just as fine the next time around ;-)
i know, i know, 1/2hr of iron cleaning is a waste of time, but, don't say i didnt warn you hehehehe.
Marty.
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1/2 hour! holy crap. I can lathe up a new tip in less than that!
Of course for that you need a thousand or two for a lathe, then you have to have the material in stock, and you really should plate it afterward so there's more tools & supplies.
But still...
*%*
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hehehehe, i think i'll stick to cleaning the tips :D
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Hakkos are the way to go... Great irons...
I've heard whispers that Jaycar will have a new soldering / desoldering station that was to be released in Australia last quarter, but it did not conform to Australian standards - it needed an isolation transformer to be sold here. It should be out before christmas and be around the $200 - $300 as a solder / desolder station.
I'm waiting for that to be released - I'm not sure if it is a re badged iron or not..
I had a look at the Jaycar Soldering / Desoldering station a few days ago... not a bad unit by the looks of things, but can't be used to remove through hole parts. This unit is only for soldering and SMD re-work.
I was hoping to buy one, as I would like to leave my soldering iron and portable desoldering gun in my tool box for on site work... Ahh well, not this time.
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I think I have tried everything out there because mine is on all day everyday , As others have realized there isnt much out there that can touch the Hakko 701 for desoldering :)
Just a small tip for people that own them , Hakko calibrate their optimum desoldering tip temperature with the control at zero , (all the way anti clockwise) , You will find when left in this position it will work perfectly all the time , if you try increasing the temp it will start melting the end surface of the desoldering tip , it will then become uneven and jaggered .
You will know fairly quickly because it will damage tracks easily and seem like it's not hot enough.
The best choice for anyone serious about board repairs :)
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I have an Edsyn ZD500dx desoldering station which i find is excellent for all types of board repairs.
It's the only station i've owned or used so i can't compare it to any other brand.
So far it has worked flawlessly and is simple and easy to clean......i love it!
Made in the USA
I did a lot of research before buying and in the end It was a toss-up between Hakko or the Edsyn
I decided on Edsyn after seeing a lot of non-working Hakko's for sale on ebay US with missing or damaged handpieces and that turned me off them.
I'm sure Hakko desoldering stations are good as well as a lot of people rave about them.
I have had a Hakko 936 iron for years ,never a problem with it and wouldn't trade it for anything.
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I have an Edsyn ZD500dx desoldering station which i find is excellent for all types of board repairs.
It's the only station i've owned or used so i can't compare it to any other brand.
So far it has worked flawlessly and is simple and easy to clean......i love it!
Made in the USA
I did a lot of research before buying and in the end It was a toss-up between Hakko or the Edsyn
I decided on Edsyn after seeing a lot of non-working Hakko's for sale on ebay US with missing or damaged handpieces and that turned me off them.
I'm sure Hakko desoldering stations are good as well as a lot of people rave about them.
I have had a Hakko 936 iron for years ,never a problem with it and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Thats an interesting looking unit , never it seen it before , can you get parts for it here in Aus ??
I've had the same hand piece on my Hakko for 8 years , you really need to maintain them as they are nearly $500 to replace , probably why you saw so many without hand pieces for sale.
The 936 Iron is interchangeable with the Iron on the 701 so really handy when an element dies .
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I have an Edsyn ZD500dx desoldering station which i find is excellent for all types of board repairs.
It's the only station i've owned or used so i can't compare it to any other brand.
So far it has worked flawlessly and is simple and easy to clean......i love it!
Made in the USA
I did a lot of research before buying and in the end It was a toss-up between Hakko or the Edsyn
I decided on Edsyn after seeing a lot of non-working Hakko's for sale on ebay US with missing or damaged handpieces and that turned me off them.
I'm sure Hakko desoldering stations are good as well as a lot of people rave about them.
I have had a Hakko 936 iron for years ,never a problem with it and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Thats an interesting looking unit , never it seen it before , can you get parts for it here in Aus ??
I've had the same hand piece on my Hakko for 8 years , you really need to maintain them as they are nearly $500 to replace , probably why you saw so many without hand pieces for sale.
The 936 Iron is interchangeable with the Iron on the 701 so really handy when an element dies .
I think Mektronics are and Aus distributor for them but they are dear as poison compared to overseas prices.
I bought spare filters ,tips and other spares for it directly from Edsyn in the US....luckily just before our dollar shit itself #*#
The complete handpieces for these units are also around the $500 mark to replace so i'll definitely be keeping it well maintained also.