We think the Hakko 936-12 is the best under $100 soldering station you can buy. So much so we worked very hard to get them in our store and at a great price ($95.00). the Hakko, known by engineers for making excellent quality tools & soldering irons – These are not Chinese/Taiwanese knock-offs, this is the real thing – made in Japan. The Hakkos have quality construction, this iron is the last one you’ll need for decades. Calibrated temperature control knob gives precision heat to minimize cold solder joints. Once you know you’re on the path of electronics, this is the iron you’ll want beside you on your desk. We got the medium tip on this iron, the most popular size, great for through-hole and some SMT.
One of the other reasons we love the Hakkos is the warranty, above – a scan of the included warranty card.
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When I need a replacement heating element (or whatever they call the wired piece), and/or if I want bigger or smaller tips where do I go?
I don’t think Hakko’s warranty applies to the tip under normal usage.
I would probably have gotten one of these instead if I could get the whole line from one source (I have another Ayoue station but I can swap tips).
This is more of a suggestion than a criticism – a good soldering station is very welcome, but if I can’t easily find tips (or the suppliers aren’t convenient or inexpensive) it will become a brick while I have to go to radio shack to get whatever they have until I can find and replace the part.
The reason I went to http://www.srsolder.com/ for my Ayoue is that I also got a half dozen tips – a few for special purpose (two XL), and soldering tweezers, brass sponges, everything, and when I need a replacement for something that wears out, they will have all the parts.
If you don’t plan to carry the accessories, it would be a big help if you could point at some place that does (and ships internationally).
@tz – we just started carrying these less than a week ago, we’ll have the full line of tips soon. the one we stock is the most used and the one most folks will start off with.
the ayoues are considered “knock-offs” and likely many, we do not think the quality is that good compared to the hakko, ayoue had to go to court a few times from what we’ve read. we’ve seen and heard a lot of complaints about ayoues, but we’ve also heard they’re “ok” from many people too. we decided to work extra hard to get the best quality we could at a great price – the hakko.
===============
Hakko won the patent infringement suit at the Intermediate People’s Court in Guangzhou in GuangDong, China
Hakko Corporation had filed a suit against CHEN GUIXING (the owner of Tongyi Electronic Equipment Factory located at Nantou, ZhongShan) and TAN YONG QIANG ( refer to the undermentioned note) with regard to infringement of Hakko’s intellectual property rights (patent number ZL98105582.6) for a heater sensor combined machine.
I have a house-branded Ayoue (a CSI2900 from web-tronics.com) and it’s… OK, I guess. The tips have a tendency to fall apart when you try to get them out of the handle; so I ordered an extra handle (I keep a small tip in one, and a hoof tip in the other). I find I’m almost always using the hoof tip, though… If/when my CSI2900 quits I think I’ll get one of these – or it’s digital version, the 937.
I have a house-branded Ayoue (a CSI2900 from web-tronics.com) and it’s… OK, I guess. The tips have a tendency to fall apart when you try to get them out of the handle; so I ordered an extra handle (I keep a small tip in one, and a hoof tip in the other). I find I’m almost always using the hoof tip, though… If/when my CSI2900 quits I think I’ll get one of these – or it’s digital version, the 937.
This really is the best iron I have ever owned
When I need a replacement heating element (or whatever they call the wired piece), and/or if I want bigger or smaller tips where do I go?
I don’t think Hakko’s warranty applies to the tip under normal usage.
I would probably have gotten one of these instead if I could get the whole line from one source (I have another Ayoue station but I can swap tips).
This is more of a suggestion than a criticism – a good soldering station is very welcome, but if I can’t easily find tips (or the suppliers aren’t convenient or inexpensive) it will become a brick while I have to go to radio shack to get whatever they have until I can find and replace the part.
The reason I went to http://www.srsolder.com/ for my Ayoue is that I also got a half dozen tips – a few for special purpose (two XL), and soldering tweezers, brass sponges, everything, and when I need a replacement for something that wears out, they will have all the parts.
If you don’t plan to carry the accessories, it would be a big help if you could point at some place that does (and ships internationally).
@tz – we just started carrying these less than a week ago, we’ll have the full line of tips soon. the one we stock is the most used and the one most folks will start off with.
the ayoues are considered “knock-offs” and likely many, we do not think the quality is that good compared to the hakko, ayoue had to go to court a few times from what we’ve read. we’ve seen and heard a lot of complaints about ayoues, but we’ve also heard they’re “ok” from many people too. we decided to work extra hard to get the best quality we could at a great price – the hakko.
===============
Hakko won the patent infringement suit at the Intermediate People’s Court in Guangzhou in GuangDong, China
Hakko Corporation had filed a suit against CHEN GUIXING (the owner of Tongyi Electronic Equipment Factory located at Nantou, ZhongShan) and TAN YONG QIANG ( refer to the undermentioned note) with regard to infringement of Hakko’s intellectual property rights (patent number ZL98105582.6) for a heater sensor combined machine.
I have a house-branded Ayoue (a CSI2900 from web-tronics.com) and it’s… OK, I guess. The tips have a tendency to fall apart when you try to get them out of the handle; so I ordered an extra handle (I keep a small tip in one, and a hoof tip in the other). I find I’m almost always using the hoof tip, though… If/when my CSI2900 quits I think I’ll get one of these – or it’s digital version, the 937.
The tip that I’d like to see carried is the 5C hoof tip:
http://www.hakkousa.com/detail.asp?PID=1103&Page=1
And FWIW, Hakko’s 936 product page:
http://www.hakkousa.com/detail.asp?PID=1250&Page=1
I have a house-branded Ayoue (a CSI2900 from web-tronics.com) and it’s… OK, I guess. The tips have a tendency to fall apart when you try to get them out of the handle; so I ordered an extra handle (I keep a small tip in one, and a hoof tip in the other). I find I’m almost always using the hoof tip, though… If/when my CSI2900 quits I think I’ll get one of these – or it’s digital version, the 937.
The tip that I’d like to see carried is the 5C hoof tip:
http://www.hakkousa.com/detail.asp?PID=1103&Page=1
And FWIW, Hakko’s 936 product page:
http://www.hakkousa.com/detail.asp?PID=1250&Page=1