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2 years on HRT now babyyyyyy
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Does anyone know a good, and hopefully not super expensive, soldering iron/station? I'm trying to make things and need to solder a lot of small things. I think I can get jlcpcb to put the maim IC on the board for not too much, but so many components require repositioning things so if I do them all it gets expensive fast. So I'll be soldering on everything from big thru holes to the tiniest SMDs (and possibly removing or re-soldering them too)
What I want: changeable tips, ability to specify temperature, and if there's a hot air gun included in it that would be nice but not needed.
I have no idea how to evaluate soldering irons/stations, and everyone just wants to sell you things or shovel llm slopsites into you, so I dont really trust the comparisons between the products I find. I dont need perfect, just good enough. I've been looking at yihua, their general stations. I can find them online for sub 100 USD (specifically the 8786, though there's an 862BD+ on sale for sub $100 right now) and they seem solid. But I have no idea what's what anymore with online shopping.
Its been a long time since I soldered anything, and even back then I was doing component to component and not working with boards, just tiny wires. It will be fun to start again tho, and i would love to be able to make electronics projects again.
I have a Yihua 862BD+! So far no complaints. I've had it for a few years now but only used it for light duty work. It gets pulled out here and there when I need it, which is usually when I do to do smd stuff or I need more precise temperature control than what my cheap little barely temperature controlled iron can do. Though I've also found a few other nice uses for the hot air unrelated to soldering. For example, I use it to heat up these cheap little disposable polyethylene pipette droppers so that I can stretch them out to give them an ultra fine tip. Super useful for dispensing instant CA glue for model building and stuff.
Noted! I would love one with integrated heater in the tip but those are pretty expensive. I'm debating whether I need the hot air. On the one hand, it would be useful. On the other, it would probably be fine without it? Like, I found how to get the hardest stuff soldered on by jlcpcb (namely the IC) for not too spendy... So I could probs get by with just a fine tip. But also hot air fun and then just solder paste+flux and go.