Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station FX-888D FX-888 (blue & yellow)

Its a workhorse in my shop. Nothing else to say.

I used to work at a company that has a couple of Hakko soldering stations. They worked well. But because of the price, I never considered buying one for my own use at home. Every soldering iron Ive ever had cost less than ten bucks. And after a couple of years, it was no surprise that they were ready for the trash can. I looked at several nice irons in the $40.00 to $60.00 range. But I figured if I was willing to spend that much, I would spend a little more to get something really nice. PROS: 1. It heats up really fast. In about forty-five (45) seconds, its up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit and ready to use. 2. Stable temps. And it has a fast recovery. 3. Digital readout of the temp (selectable for Celsius or Fahrenheit). 4. Has up to five pre-programmed temp settings (600F, 700F, 750F, 800F, and 850F) that can be quickly accessed (you can change the preset temps to your own temps if desired). 5. Has a wide operation range of 120F to 899F. 6. Accuracy of the tip temperature can be calibrated (if you have the right thermometer). 7. The iron holder is separate, and not part of the power base. This provides more versatility as to how/where you set up your workstation. 8. The iron holder is heavy and not tipped over easily. Plus, it holds both a sponge and a wire-type cleaner. 9. Many different tip styles are available from Hakko. And the tips are easy to change. 10. The iron is comfortable to hold. And it doesnt get hot during use. 11. Although not important to me, the settings can be protected with a password. This would come in handy if other people use the iron, and you dont want unwanted changes. 12. The iron plugs into the power base. If the iron burns out or gets damaged, you can replace it without having to replace the entire soldering iron. 13. When you turn the power on, it defaults to your last temperature setting. CONS: 1. Because there are only two buttons on the front of the power base, programming or making adjustments are not intuitive. Some changes/adjustments require you to press and hold certain buttons before turning the unit on. Other changes require you to hold a button down for two seconds, then do something else, etc. Once you understand how, the programming isnt difficult. The difficult part is remembering how to do it. Unless you use this device every day and make frequent adjustments, youre probably not going to remember how to make changes the next time you need to solder something. And if you should make a mistake by pressing the wrong button, you may have to do a factory reset (I did). Lets see. Where did I leave the instruction manual for this thing? Hakko has several on-line videos that explain how to make changes and adjustments. Theyre very helpful. But what would have been even more helpful, is if Hakko had decided on a simple and intuitive design. Guess what? Such a design already exists. Its called a rotary knob. Remember knobs? You know. Theyre those round things that are intuitive in operation. A couple of rotary knobs on this unit would have made adjustments self-explanatory. But I guess Hakko considers knobs to be too old fashioned and quaint. COMMENTS: Thats it. I have no other cons. However, I would like to point out that this unit was not made in Japan. Although Hakko is a Japanese company, some parts/accessories are marked Made in China. And on the bottom of the power base, it says, Made in Malaysia. Oh well. Its all about global manufacturing now. Regardless of where the parts were made (or where it was assembled), the quality of this unit seems very good so far. Despite the non-intuitive adjustment/programming process, the unit works well. I havent had this soldering iron very long. Ive only used it for a couple of projects so far. Time will tell if it lasts. Ill do an update in a year or so.

Trained on PACE gear, high reliability and multilayer pcb etc. ..but that is really expensive for what I need with hobby use. Solid, efficient - good kit. Basic, just the controller and iron. Ordered an AMAZING solder sucker to use with it.

It’s nice but overkill for hobby work. It heats in seconds and once hot it idles along at reasonable power levels. I cannot seem to get to the presets, the up arrow button does nothing unless you you hold it down to get to the adj settings. However, for this price it should come with a few more tips. The provided one is only good for heavier stuff, you wouldn’t use it to put pigtails on the leads of to92 parts. I’ve had a lot of soldering equipment in 40 years but always pretty much took them for granted, a good station was just not that important. I also bought a $24 kit that honestly is as good as my ancient weller and would serve my purposes now but the quality and solidity of this Hakko is something I appreciate.

Ive been saying that Im learning to solder for a long time now and thats because I never purchased the proper iron and so I thought it was the fact that I lacked the skill and know how. Now I know the cheaper irons, which I have 2 of, one is not temp controlled and the other just didnt get hot enough. If I would have known that I just needed to invest in a great iron, I would have empowered myself a long time ago. Its sturdy, easy to use, easy to change the controls and I like that the power unit is separate from the holder. The only thing I would suggest is if you are soldering pcbs youll probably need to purchase an additional tip as the one included works but is a little wide for tiny pcb probject IMHO.

I picked up one of these and the hand-held Hakko desoldering gun. I struggled to justify the expense over the cheaper import products out there. In the end, it was one of the things Im really glad I splurged on, both items are just a delight to use. Yes, the Hakko soldering station looks like a Fischer Price kids toy, but in the end I got over that annoyance and ordered the thing. The criticism on the interface and challenges of shifting temperature setting are not that big a deal, because Im not changing temperature all the time. Just keep read the instructions. Why do I love this thing? It heats up super fast, and then locks on to temperature. I have not verified the accuracy of the temperature, but Im assuming there is a circuit that monitors it. It takes just a few seconds, perhaps 15 to go from stone cold to 700 degrees and ready to go. The stand works well, the cord is soft so its easy to work with, and the tip that came with it is just about right for most things I need to do, though it would be a bit wide for micro sized things. This is one of those things that seems expensive until you use it. Its a power tool, and good power tools are really nice to have! Overlook the kiddie industrial design and you will appreciate this thing for how well it works.

After experiencing Radio Shack and similar soldering irons for 35 years, I was accustomed to long heating times, overheating, and never finding replacement tips. I splurged on this Hakko using an Amazon gift card, and I have to say it was a real joy to use this soldering station. Tip is up to temperature in literally seconds, defaults and stays at 750F (which can be changed), and youre in-and-out on circuit board items, no longer lifting traces or burning components by accident.

Worked like a champ over several audio amplifier and preamp rebuild projects, a couple of reel to reel tape recorder recapping jobs (Im a hobbyist), but its just so hard to get it to work right lately - mening for about the last year and a half. Ive bought nearly all the tip sizes HAKKO makes for this, have the temp maxd out at 750, do the usual tricks of cleaning tip on scouring pad, wet sponge, wetting the tip with solder before using to ensure heat is transferred quickly to components and MAN does it get annoying waiting for parts to heat enough to get the solder onto the leads. Moreso lately than even a few months ago, it seems. Even SMALL SMD components are hard to solder with this. Ive read similar complaints from others; for the price, youd think it would WORK, and KEEP working, but lately Ive been pulling out a 50 year old 40 watt iron more suitable for wood burning and it gets the job done faster, heat sinks I use on component leads dont get nearly as hot, and it works better on those large fiberglass THICK copper trace boards on things like amplifier power supplies and heavy wire leads on rectifiers and power transistors as well. Ive built and rebuilt innumerable guitar/bass amps, stereos, preamps, many a heathkit kit in my time, thinking the units Im working on lately are smaller traces, smaller leaded components in crowded boards this would be the wise choice, I chose poorly. I gave it 3 stars for temperature control and stability - the unit SAYS 750 degrees the whole time, never varies. Solder with MP of half that temp (0.022 AND 0.031 flux core) both hard to melt, sometimes right after cleaning, wiping, Ill stick the solder right against the tip of the iron and count the second or two it takes to melt, then it doesnt stick. Yes, I use the Hakko tinning compound. Even 4-0 steel wool. A real PITA. This came highly recommended to me from a well-known tech (in some audio circles) and its been a major disappointment. Maybe its time for a new heating element. But failing after just 6 months use, when other irons decades old still work well (but unregulated, fewer tip size choices). Seriously, I wouldnt recommend it.

Ive been doing electronics work for a long time - both for fun and at radio stations and my home recording studio - and Ive used a lot of irons. Ive used mostly the pencil sort and not paid any attention to how worn the tip was and such, because Ive always thought of the extras more as frills, and if I can do surface-mount laptop motherboard repairs with a 25w Weller, why do I need anything else? Because it makes life easier, thats why, and I was an idiot. Sure, its not as portable, and I still have my pencil irons for when I have to reach into cabinet equipment, but on the whole I wish Id had one of these 10 years ago. Mostly I just love the speed; theres no wait to speak of for heat up or cool-down, you dont have to dive in and out super-quickly for temperature-sensitive components, and, most of all, I dont have to worry so much about some of that stupidly fragile (and heat-sensitive) insulation thats floating around out there in audio cables these days. I havent had to re-do a cable end due to insulation heat failure since I bought this iron, and I _very_ much like that. I put extra tips in the back behind the metal sponge, and it all just fits together nicely. Its a lovely little design. If you dont like the looks - and I think it looks fine, I dont know what people are complaining about - wait till its out of warranty and paint it. But buy it, regardless. Its a good little iron.

Sturdy well made unit and easy to use.