Nothing wrong with a Hakko, but I personally like Hexacons. Still made in the USA (Roselle Park, NJ) and they support their products a long time. I have a good number of their Therm-o-Trac and Select-o-Trac stations. All of mine have been bought used, they are around $600 new. Thanks, Jonathan -------- Original Message -------- On Aug 3, 2021, 10:12 AM, Bob Shuster via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
I'm looking for a recommendation for a new soldering station. I think it's time to retire my 40+ year old Archer soldering pencil - that I've had at least since I built my first TRS-80 Model I expansion interface, maybe longer! I'm looking for compact, with an auto-off feature, temperature controlled, and a variety of tips. Is this pretty much every current station? I'm looking at the Hakko FX888, or maybe the less expensive X-Tronic 3020? Mainly I repair or modify vintage electronics, but occasionally modern stuff where I need a finer tip and less heat. Thoughts/recommendations? Thanks. - Bob Shuster