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The thermostat on it makes a huge difference--the tip doesn't overheat when doing fine work, and when soldering heavier stuff, the station keeps the tip temperature up. My only wish is that it remembered the last temperature you used instead of resetting to 200C. I've been using cheap radio shack irons for years and finally decided to buy a real station and glad I did. The station is chinese-made, but I don't have any complaints.
The unit heats up very quickly and is fairly cool to handle.The included replacement heating element is a nice touch. The sponge included is very thin but I don't recommend using them anyway due to thermal shock stresses on the tip.
Something with a smoother entry to avoid tip damage. Hakko makes a good one.When done using the unit, lower the temp to the lowest setting (200) and wait for it to reach that temperature before turning off.
get yourself a nice brass wire tip cleaner. Also, before it cools off, apply some solder to the tip and let it harden on there to prevent oxidation.The only real grip is the iron holder - I would have liked to see that designed a little better.
I have a slightly older model at work - same part# but the newer one has venting holes in the shaft of the iron. I am still on the original one at work.
This will prolong the tip life.
This soldering station is very good and does its job very well. Please do not pay attention to the negative reviews. And for $50 you will not find anything that comes close.
It work with no problems till about a two months after having it the iron broke were the plastic screws it all together. That is were the break happened.
It's not that big a deal, but it's worth mentioning I believe. It was hard to find a replacement iron, but I eventually did find one.
I think the weight of the cord and the back side of the iron might have been too much weight for the plastic to handle. Another thing is that the sponge when wet is way to big for the holder.
I used this iron a lot during a project I was working on. I think it is partially the fault of the holder.
I still use this thing, and I still do like it, but with it was built just a little better.
Aoyue will not be the brand of my next several "higher end" irons. I still need to modify the handle to keep it from flopping all over the place. I was impressed with this iron at first, good temperature stability, great price, but it wasn't long before the ceramic and tip section started separating from the rest of the handle. It really was not made to hold up to regular usage. Surface Mount devices can be tricky as it is, and a pencil that doesn't hold it position doesn't help.
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