I just bought the Hakko 936 and try to use it for the first time. To this, I must add that I'm a real noob when it comes to using a soldering station.

I was expecting to plus everything in place, set temperature, wait... 10 minutes and selt things. Well, that didn't happen. Look at the instructions and it said to set up the desire temperature, screw the nut that is below the dial thingy THEN turn it on so I did that.... not much happened.
I set it up to 360C and the tip I'm using is a very thin pointy one. I couldn't melt anything. It got hot but not hot enough to melt the lead to connect to bullets on my Scorpion motor. Waited longer, tried repeating the process a few times but nothing change so I touch the lead with the back of the gun instead of the very pointy part and it melted the deal. I was expecting to be able to melt things with the point and not with the middle of the gun.

Since I never used a soldering station before... what am I missing. It says something about calibrating, why would I want to calibrate a new soldering s tation... I guess if I need really precise temperature but I just want to melt the darn lead with the tip, which is how it should work, right?

I hope someone using this same soldering station can give me a hand, thanks.

I am curious to see if you get her going cause I was looking to get one...hope you solve the issue.

stupid question... is the tip completely attached??

Originally Posted by merlin703

I just bought the Hakko 936 and try to use it for the first time. To this, I must add that I'm a real noob when it comes to using a soldering station.

I was expecting to plus everything in place, set temperature, wait... 10 minutes and selt things. Well, that didn't happen. Look at the instructions and it said to set up the desire temperature, screw the nut that is below the dial thingy THEN turn it on so I did that.... not much happened.
I set it up to 360C and the tip I'm using is a very thin pointy one. I couldn't melt anything. It got hot but not hot enough to melt the lead to connect to bullets on my Scorpion motor. Waited longer, tried repeating the process a few times but nothing change so I touch the lead with the back of the gun instead of the very pointy part and it melted the deal. I was expecting to be able to melt things with the point and not with the middle of the gun.

Since I never used a soldering station before... what am I missing. It says something about calibrating, why would I want to calibrate a new soldering s tation... I guess if I need really precise temperature but I just want to melt the darn lead with the tip, which is how it should work, right?

I hope someone using this same soldering station can give me a hand, thanks.

I have one also, it's a great iron for the price.

1. Make sure the tip is not loose.

2. Do you have a thermometer? Probably not...So can you remember how much and in what direction you turned the screw? If so, try setting it back to where it was.

Myself, I would turn the screw counterclockwise (to the left) all the way, set the dial to 190C and turn the calibration screw clockwise in very small increments (10 degrees) until solder starts to melt and flow on the tip so it's shiny & molten. Wipe off the tip with the wet sponge between each test. This procedure could take an hour or so, but I think it's worth it.

If you're not using 60/40 solder, here is a chart of the different melting points of solder.
http://www.bhavanimetals.com/Solder_...ore_Solder.htm

3. Try a different tip. If you have another tip right now, try installing it before the second step.


I usually use a general purpose 900M-T-2.4D tip, big enough for a Dean's connector, but can solder a small surface mount chip if needed. You might need a bigger tip than the one you described for soldering bigger stuff like 14 gauge wire and a Dean's connector.

Yes, I checked the tip and it was completelly attached. I doubt the equiptment is wrong, it most likely just me that I never used anything like this before.

Eagle777, for what you are telling me the soldering station will need to be calibrated. I do not have a thermometer. I guess I will have to get one... I wich I would have known. According to the manual sheet, the recommended thermometer is the Hakko FG-100 or FG-101 so I will order one of those and a couple of more tips.

What I'm still really confuse with is with the right below the nob part, the instructions says:
1) Set the temperature control knob to the desired temperature.
2) Lock the knob (the hex nut on the underside of the knob mount). Turn the nut clockwise to tighen the knob lock.

So number 2 is what I don't understand. "lock the knob", why? otherwise it will come off? "turn the nut clockwise to tighen the knob lock" what does that mean????
Do you have to loosen up and tight again teh lock knob everytime I need to change the temperature or it's just when calibrating or when setting it up the very first time?

I think understanding those points, will help me to understand how the calibrating part works. Thanks for the help!!!

Sounds like the iron is heating, but the tip isn't getting hot. My guess is the tip is not screwed on tight enough. The tip has to get its heat from the part it comes into contact with, so make sure that connection is mechanically tight. A loose tip will not get hot enough. Also, did the instructions indicate tinning the tip? Some tips need to be tinned to get a good thermal transfer to the solder.

Originally Posted by merlin703

Yes, I checked the tip and it was completelly attached. I doubt the equiptment is wrong, it most likely just me that I never used anything like this before.

Eagle777, for what you are telling me the soldering station will need to be calibrated. I do not have a thermometer. I guess I will have to get one... I wich I would have known. According to the manual sheet, the recommended thermometer is the Hakko FG-100 or FG-101 so I will order one of those and a couple of more tips.

What I'm still really confuse with is with the right below the nob part, the instructions says:
1) Set the temperature control knob to the desired temperature.
2) Lock the knob (the hex nut on the underside of the knob mount). Turn the nut clockwise to tighen the knob lock.

So number 2 is what I don't understand. "lock the knob", why? otherwise it will come off? "turn the nut clockwise to tighen the knob lock" what does that mean????
Do you have to loosen up and tight again teh lock knob everytime I need to change the temperature or it's just when calibrating or when setting it up the very first time?

I think understanding those points, will help me to understand how the calibrating part works. Thanks for the help!!!

The station doesn't need to be re-calibrated. I wouldn't order the thermometer just yet. Let me check out my station for a sec... So the calibration screw is only 2/3 turn full range. Mine was set at 1/3 turn. Just set yours there and try again. Thats all you need. Try soldering at between 600 and 700F. If it's too cool at 700F, turn the screw a *little* to the right (not much at all! 1/16 turn).

The station is sold for a rework shop, which is why there are so many tips for it. The calibration step is just to set many solder stations exactly the same - to use a known best temp for soldering the certain set of parts they are working on.

The lock on the knob is to prevent an impatient tech from trying to solder something faster by turning up the heat to full. Sometimes you have a lot of board to heat up, but you can't heat the thing you're soldering to the board too hot, otherwise you'll damage it. So you just have to sit there for a few seconds, until the solder flows.


I work in engineering, and solder quite frequently - 24 gauge wire in through holes and 1" square chips with 144 pins. I kind of enjoy it...I have worked a lot of types of solder/flux but still haven't managed to like lead free solder yet.

Yes, it's very tight. Took it off and tried again same results.

So some soldering tips need tinning... that is good to know for future reference. I will check to see if this station will need it.

Originally Posted by 10Thumbs

Sounds like the iron is heating, but the tip isn't getting hot. My guess is the tip is not screwed on tight enough. The tip has to get its heat from the part it comes into contact with, so make sure that connection is mechanically tight. A loose tip will not get hot enough. Also, did the instructions indicate tinning the tip? Some tips need to be tinned to get a good thermal transfer to the solder.

Thanks for the extra info. I will do as you suggest. So tightening the knob is just to prevent people from changing the tempera, nothing else. In that case I will keep it loose.

I will check my calibration screw when I get back home.

Thanks for the help!

Originally Posted by eagle777

The station doesn't need to be re-calibrated. I wouldn't order the thermometer just yet. Let me check out my station for a sec... So the calibration screw is only 2/3 turn full range. Mine was set at 1/3 turn. Just set yours there and try again. Thats all you need. Try soldering at between 600 and 700F. If it's too cool at 700F, turn the screw a *little* to the right (not much at all! 1/16 turn).

The station is sold for a rework shop, which is why there are so many tips for it. The calibration step is just to set many solder stations exactly the same - to use a known best temp for soldering the certain set of parts they are working on.

The lock on the knob is to prevent an impatient tech from trying to solder something faster by turning up the heat to full. Sometimes you have a lot of board to heat up, but you can't heat the thing you're soldering to the board too hot, otherwise you'll damage it. So you just have to sit there for a few seconds, until the solder flows.


I work in engineering, and solder quite frequently - 24 gauge wire in through holes and 1" square chips with 144 pins. I kind of enjoy it...I have worked a lot of types of solder/flux but still haven't managed to like lead free solder yet.

OK, mistery solve.... I purchased the Hakko 936 S series,which comes with a handle that is to solder small electronics. The problem is that the handle costs almost as much as the entire unit so... I will have to think about what I'm going to do.

crap...that kills it for me....

looks like you needed the 936-M

That is correct. They also have one specially for RC Hobby, not sure why is cheaper than the other one. At least you will benefit from my mistake.
Hey, do you know there is a clone out there for like 50 bucks? I think dealextreme has it.

Originally Posted by ATIS

looks like you needed the 936-M

Found it, it's actually $39.95
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7307

And the digital model is only $44.95
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7508

And this is where I heard about it. I will do some more research later on today or tomorrow but so far I'm leaning towards this one. Let me know what you think!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...g#post10232256

Wow, that's a nice soldering station for the price. I use a cheap Radio Shack 20W/40W. But, I found out a couple days ago that there are no replacement tips for it, and I'm about due for a tip. The iron is also way too long for accuracy and comfort. Look like I may very purchase this tonight, after some research.

Dealextreme also has another clone but it needs a transformer from 220 to 110. The transformer is also sold by dealextre for like 13 bucks. I'm way to tired to do some research tonight but here is the link.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.d...874~r.83936938