Budget Soldering Station Shootout!

[Greywolf74]

Ok, Finally my latest video which is way overdue! In this video we discuss and compare the difference between 2 60W budget soldering stations versus a known quality 60W station. Welcome to the Budget Soldering Station Shootout! I'm always trying to find quality hobby products that will work well for folks on a tight budget

Models Tested:

• Sigma 60D
• Yihua 936
• TrakPower TK-950

 

[sv250]

Thanks, I'm glad I got the Tk

 

[Alexander_0_1]

I'm also glad I got a TK, now I just have to use it.

 

[roger25186]

Thanks for the vid. Now I'm torn between the TK 950 & the 955.

 

[Greywolf74]

The digital one would be nice if for no other reason it would be easier to calibrate. as far as being able to set the temp and have it displayed digitally I'm not sure Id pay an extra $30 for that. Assuming that is that they havent made any other changes to the unit.

 

[WoodiE]

Great video @Greywolf74 thanks for sharing and the shoutout to RCNT!

Here's the full length video for those that want to see it too.

 

[Greywolf74]

Wow, they changed up the color of sigma and also marked up the cost of the station to $51. Now its suddenly much harder to recommend the sigma to people even if they are on a tight budget.

btw guys. Id really appreciate any feedback on my videos that you guys have. even if you dont watch the whole thing please just give it a little bit of a look and let me know your thoughts

 

[Greywolf74]

Ok, so I need to correct a mistake in my video that I just found out about. I show in the video how the trakpower tips are much bigger and beefier than the smaller tips on the other stations and I was under the impression that the bigger TK-950 tips were the same tips that the hakko 936 used. I wont go into all of the circumstances that lead me to that conclusion but I discovered yesterday that this isnt correct. The hakko tips are smaller like the budget systems and should be compatible with the budget systems. The trakpower tips seem to be the odd man out in this case. After buying a new tip that was supposed to be compatible with the hakko 936 i discovered it didnt fit because it was to small like the tips on the budget stations. I knew I had bought the tip from a licensed hakko reseller so I called hakko to confirm that the Hakko fx-888 tips were indded compatible with the 936 and they were so apparently I was wrong about the 936 being compatible with the TK-950. Just thought Id let you know as it may be a bit before I can get a video up correcting the mistake.

p.s.
I also found out when I called hakko its pronounced hock-ko not hay-ko just an FYI

 

[Greywolf74]

Heres another piece of news I found out. If you have a trakpower soldering station and you want to mod it to be able to use hakko 936 and hakko fx-888 tips I found a way to do it. If you're not aware the trakpower only has 3 different sized tips and the Hakkos have a boatload, probably a dozen or more. Anyway if you want to be able to use the Hakko tips you can order this piece HERE. It fits directly on the trakpower pencil and holds the smaller Hakko tips. I bought one to try out. works like a charm and doesn't cost but a few bucks.

 

[WoodiE]

@Greywolf74 have you tried the Weller WLC100 iron by chance? It's on sale right now for $37

 

[Greywolf74]

I have not tried it but I've never seen a bad Weller product. the main thing that concerns me about that one though is that its only 40W. Still for light work I'm sure its fine