I have the WESD51, and my friend has the WES51. Bothe are equivalent and the temp dail on the WES51 is accurate enough. If I wanted to conserve dollars I would go for the WES51. It is sufficient. The only time I find the digital readout of any value is when trying to heat up a big piece of metal I can see the temperature of the tip drop and then rise back up again or stablize below the setting depending on the size and heat disapatin properties of the piece I am soldering. But this is rare since mostly I do micro soldering.

Originally Posted by motoguy1

Title sums it up. My Weller EC1002 started acting up on me tonight. It may just be in the pen, or the whole unit may be bad. This model was discontinued in '02, so even if my unit was the very last one ever made (highly unlikely), it's still 10 years old.

I'll look more into repairing this unit, but I'm also researching a bit in case replacement is necessary. Right now, the prime candidate is the Weller WESD51, which is the digital version of the replacement for my iron (WES51). Looks like I can buy a new one for $90 or so.

I plan on doing a LOT of soldering in the future, with my increased involvement in RC an FPV. I'd like to get a unit that is versatile, capable, and durable. Anyone have any suggestions aside from the WESD51?

It does look like the temperature just got way too hot (the tip was glowing orange) and I think this has cooked the sensor, as the sensor is just open circuit regardless of temperature.

So looks like I am building one up - and will document this if people are interested in another thread?

I got myself a fx888 and I can confirm it is a fantastic thing with great quality, I love it. For ~80USD it is a bargain (I paid much more in Japan ...). Highly recommended (I am no expert).

Originally Posted by deswong

It does look like the temperature just got way too hot (the tip was glowing orange) and I think this has cooked the sensor, as the sensor is just open circuit regardless of temperature.

So looks like I am building one up - and will document this if people are interested in another thread?

Pl get it documented....

Sent from my GT-I9100G using Tapatalk

So I was looking for a decent soldering station and I found this thread. I've never heard of the Hakko brand before, but after a bit of research I decided to go ahead and purchase one.
I emailed Tom on Wednesday to see if he's still honoring the RCG member special since it was the lowest price I could find (especially with free shipping), and he was. I placed an ordered for the FX-888 with a couple of tips and paid for it around 2:30 PM CST. I came home today and a package waiting for me

Tom, thank you very much for the great deal, and excellent service. And as far as the FX-888, I love it. I've already soldered connectors on 2 ESC's effortlessly. I'm off to solder the motor connectors

Agreed, I'm really liking my FX-888 as well.

I tried one of these and it works well.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1722684

Originally Posted by tignmeg

The thermistor wires are connected to pins 9 and 10 of the controller which is the sensor input. If the sensor in the soldering iron was a k-type thermocouple then that is all that would be required. Unfortunately the thermocouples in the HAKKO irons are a themistor so it needs a resistance across pins 8 and 9 so that the controller can correctly sense the temperature. A 10k ohm variable resistor is connected and this resistance needs to be adjusted to calibrate the temperature correctly.

Hi, I am having a bit of trouble with this - I am not sure if I have the same idea in my head as to how this is set up.

So you have the temperature sense pins from the Hakko going to pins 9 and 10 of the controller - but you have a resistor across 8 and 9? I tried this and could not get mine to alter the detected temperature.

I think I need to add around 100k in series with the Hakko temperature sensor to then bring it to the same "range" as the P100 type sensor, and then use this with the PTC100 sensor setting.

Any other hints or tips? I have completely melted one soldering iron as it heated up way too quickly and the controller never saw the massive temperature difference.

I've noticed on mine the controller wants both 8 and 9 tied together and then the PTC100 across 9 and 10 - that's what is in the diagrams I have, so I was wondering how you came across the resistor across 8 and 9 and how this influences the input.

Regards,
Des.

What solder are you guys using for your FX- 888.
I need to solder small LED strips,10amp ESCs, 50amp ESCs and Deans. I image the solder type would differ and would using flux or rosin change too?
Thank you for your time

Originally Posted by NaterPin

What solder are you guys using for your FX- 888.
I need to solder small LED strips,10amp ESCs, 50amp ESCs and Deans. I image the solder type would differ and would using flux or rosin change too?
Thank you for your time

I would recommend http://www.cmlsupply.com/

I have bought from them and they have some very good soldering supplies and the materials are fresh.

Best Regards,
Tom

Originally Posted by NaterPin

What solder are you guys using for your FX- 888.

The solder station you are using makes little difference.

What does make a difference is where in the World you are and is this just DIY, or will you be selling stuff ?

Originally Posted by deswong

Hi, I am having a bit of trouble with this - I am not sure if I have the same idea in my head as to how this is set up.

So you have the temperature sense pins from the Hakko going to pins 9 and 10 of the controller - but you have a resistor across 8 and 9? I tried this and could not get mine to alter the detected temperature.

I think I need to add around 100k in series with the Hakko temperature sensor to then bring it to the same "range" as the P100 type sensor, and then use this with the PTC100 sensor setting.

Any other hints or tips? I have completely melted one soldering iron as it heated up way too quickly and the controller never saw the massive temperature difference.

I've noticed on mine the controller wants both 8 and 9 tied together and then the PTC100 across 9 and 10 - that's what is in the diagrams I have, so I was wondering how you came across the resistor across 8 and 9 and how this influences the input.

Regards,
Des.

Des
Sorry about the tardy reply. For some reason I stopped getting notifications for this thread.

YES The circuit I used is as simple as you describe. The sensor is wired across pins 9 and 10. The variable resistor is across pins 8 and 9.

I figured mine out by turning off the switch on pin 14 so that no power could get to the heating element. Then adjusted the zero and high temperature using the zero offset in the controller and the variable resistance for the high temp. I had to do this several times to get it right because the variable resistor also affects the zero setting.

Note that you only need this type of adjustment if you have a PTC (thermistor) type of sensor (Used in Hakko irons) If you are using another type it may have a K type thermocouple and does not need this. With K type thermocouples all you do is connect it up across pins 9 and 10 and leave the resistor out. You also need to change the "input sensor type" (See table 2 of the temp controller manual posted above)

Tig

hi tig
can you share what offset value is set in controller ? after connecting sensor to pin 8&9 and jumper wire to pin 9&10 .. display shows -133°C.
intty is set to PT100.

Also if I connect the sensor across pin 9&10 and VR between 8&9 display shows error input. what is resitance value set for VR?

Rahul

Hi Rahul
Sounds like your iron is different to mine so the settings could be different. However, I disconnected the variable resistor and put a meter across it. It is set at 2.6k ohm. The offset (PSb) is set to -225.

When I initially set it up I put the tip in hot (boiling) water to get a high which I adjusted with the resistor. I then allowed it to cool down and adjusted the offset. I had to do this numerous times before it was right. Later I tweaked the settings using a k type thermocouple on my multimeter to check my 350°C range.

If you can't get it to calibrate properly change the sensor type to K type (u) and try to calibrate it in the same way with the resistance and the offset. As long as the high and low are set correctly the sensor type doesn't really matter.

I haven't checked how linear the calibration is but it doesn't have to be that good. If you have it set at 350° and its 355° who cares. The important thing is that the temperature is repeatable and precise. That way you will always get a good stable temperature for soldering with.


Tig