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

This is a great value soldering station and, in my opinion, the best in its class! After a little over a year of usage, I would rate its soldering performance as 5-Stars. You really cant beat this stations performance anywhere in its price range. The quality of the Hakko FX888D is first-rate, exactly what one would expect from a Japanese product. But, like most products, it has its flaws (see below). I have used the FX888D for countless soldering tasks associated with DIY HiFi circuit boards and other small electronics tasks. In performing these tasks, I have used specialized soldering tips (the T18-D16 chisel tip is standard) with smaller tip mass used to solder circuit boards with small component pads. One noteworthy point: THE TYPE OF SOLDERING TIP AND ITS MASS WILL AFFECT THE AMOUNT OF HEAT TRANSFERRED. And, the temperature at the tip will NOT necessarily be the temperature indicated on the screen, especially with lower mass tips (lower mass tips will be colder than the temperature displayed on the screen). All this is to say that this soldering station DOES NOT have a sensor at the soldering tip/handle assembly. Most, if any, soldering stations in this price range dont have soldering tip/handle temperature sensors. So, the Hakko FX-888D is no exception. Just be aware that what temperature you get at the tip is not necessarily what is shown on the screen when you change out the included trip to another type. As other reviewers have noted, the two-button design of the FX-888D is less than noteworthy--unintuitive would be how I would describe it. Why Hakko designers have the calibration temperature adjustment mode on the UP button is a mystery. I, like countless others, have accidentally entered the Performing a temperature adjustment mode (as the instruction manual calls it) and a mis-calibration was made resulting in an inaccurate tip settings incongruent to display screen readings (can be hundreds of degrees off). I accidentally entered this mode by holding in the UP button for more than 2 seconds, which is what one would do IF we wanted (intuitively) to raise the temperature of the unit while soldering. Right? NO! Not according to Hakko designers. Holding in the UP button for more than two seconds actually puts you into the Temperature adjustment MODE and whatever digital inputs you put into the unit at this point WILL CHANGE THE CALIBRATION OF TEMPERATURE SETTINGS (as opposed to just changing the tip temperature) and the result will be in-congruencies between what the screen shows and what your soldering tip temperature is! This anomaly is why I deducted 1 star! What do you do if you, like I did, accidentally mis-calibrate the Hakko FX888D? There are two viable solutions. One is that you purchase a soldering tip temperature reading device/thermometer that will give you an accurate tip reading at high temperatures (not many thermometers out there that will do this). Then you can calibrate any soldering tip to the precise temperature setting the job requires. Hakko makes such a device (Hakko FG-100), as well as others. The second and cheaper solution is to reset the FX888D back to factory settings. However this, of course, puts one back at the start with possible inaccurate tip temperatures when using smaller mass soldering tips--BUT, AT LEAST THIS WILL MAKE YOUR SOLDERING STATION USEFUL AGAIN. If you choose to reset the FX888D, it is almost impossible to find documentation on how to do this. AND, many souls out there in Internet ether-land believe that there isnt a way to do this. I dont know why this factory reset information was NOT included in the owners/instruction manual, SINCE it is so easy to accidentally enter the temperature setting mode to screw up the temperature calibration! Luckily, I have a friend who works for Panasonic, who has a friend who works for Hakko, in Japan. She was able to get me the official Hakko FX888D factory reset instructions. For those that need to reset the FX888D back to factory, default settings, here is the reset sequence: Resetting Hakko FX888D to factory default settings: 1. Make sure unit is off. 2. Hold the UP button AND ENTER button down at the same time. 3. Turn on the unit. 4. Continue to hold down the two buttons until the screen flashes A. 5. Release your fingers from all buttons when flashing A occurs. 6. Push UP button one time--the unit will display a U. 7. Once screen reads U, push the ENTER button one time to exit the reset mode. 8. Unit will begin to heat up to 750℉ (the factory calibration point) and stop at 750℉. 9. Unit is now reset to factory settings. (You can now set your temperature at the desired setting and begin soldering!) Another minor shortcoming involves the soldering iron holder base. It frequently slides around when wiping/cleaning the tip on the cleaning wire. Suction-type feet would have helped. Maybe Hakko designers will make this change in future versions of this base. It does slide around quite a bit, especially on smoother surfaces. In closing, I would just like to state that I love the FX888D! It is one of the best investments I have ever made. After years of using those flimsy, cheap soldering irons you can buy at discount department stores and other big box stores, it is a plesure to use a precision soldering station like the FX88D. To think that I spent MORE than what I paid for the FX88D on all those pieces of junk! I dont know why I waited so long to get a bonafide soldering station. I highly recommend the FX888D (or the discontinued analog FX888, if you can find one) as an excellent, on-the-job performer. Just be aware of changing the calibration by mistake, which is a biggie...

The price on this unit was more than I usually like to pay, which is why Ive struggled most of my life with inadequate soldering irons. But one day, while trying to take some capacitors off a circuit board, holding the iron on there endlessly in frustration, I decided enough was enough. I scoured the reviews in Amazon, initially looking at a Weller unit, but someone pointed to the Hakko unit and I was impressed by the number of positive reviews. So I plunked down my hard-earned cash, and waited. One week later, I unboxed the unit, noticing the solid construction. And after trying it, I knew I had reached soldering iron nirvana! Here are the features I really appreciate: 1. Hot in seconds flat. Theres a little red LED on the front that tells when the iron is heating. When it goes off, the tip is ready. I didnt time it but turning the heat dial up half-way only takes about 5 to 10 seconds before the tip is ready. Wow! so different from what I was used to. 2. Performance. Most soldering can be done at about half temp. A few times Ive cranked it up all the way, to melt some stubborn joint, and it really works! 3. The brass tip cleaner. I really like the little brass wool that you can rub the tip on. It works very nicely and is much more convenient than water/sponge (although you can use that too). 4. Good stand. Its solid and doesnt fall over easily. Same with the transformer-temp control unit...its really heavy. 5. Flexible cord. Dont you just hate it when you get a tool that has a stiff plastic cord that never seems to straighten out? Well this one doesnt have that. The cord from the iron to the controller is nice and flexible. 6. The heating takes place so quickly that as soon as Im done a joint and have a break, Ill just dial the temp down and leave it on low, knowing that I can get it back up in less than 10 seconds. Im sure that helps the tip last longer. Theres really nothing not to like about this unit. Well, the tips are a bit expensive (about $10), but they look like they will last a while. Ive also seen some sets of tips on eBay for less...not sure about the quality of these though. Im in my early 50s now, and am a bit ashamed that Ive been doing occasional electronics work for about 30 years without such a good tool. Im pretty sure, unless my unit suffers from a defect, that this will be the last soldering iron I buy for the rest of my life. Should have bought it a long time ago...

Good for just about anyone as long as the price works for you, feels like it should cost more

I love this soldering iron, it heats in less than 15 secs and the quality is very good. Im not a professional but I using the soldering station very often and this one is the best you can get for the money. Hakko is one of the best brands on the market.

With a few different tips, Ive been able to use this with surface-mount parts (I even did some 0402 parts with this thing. Its a pain, but doable!), through-hole parts, and even some big ol transformer anchor lugs. First off, Im spoiled by the equipment I have access to at work, but thats a full-blown professional setup that costs three orders of magnitude more. (Yes, seriously.) With that in mind, here are my thoughts on this little soldering station: - Thermal control. THERMAL CONTROL. Every soldering device should have thermal control. It just makes life easier. This thing has it, and mine was calibrated well right out of the box. - It takes a 15 seconds or so to warm up. (again, spoiled rotten. By force of habit, I expect the tip to be at operating temperature within 2-3 seconds.) - It takes long enough to unscrew the tip that you really should wait for it to cool before swapping tips. Its possible, but Im clumsy enough that I almost burn myself way too often. - The handpiece is a bit bulky for surface-mount work. Id love to see a handpiece about half this things size for SMD work. - The main power cable isnt detachable. I initially placed the control unit up near head level, with the cable draped down to the stand on the bench. I like having detachable power cables; it makes rearranging cables or moving equipment a little easier to deal with. - And, while you can get tweezers for this station, it only has the one tool plug, so you wont be doing a multi-tool setup. Now. All of that being said, this thing is pretty awesome. For what I paid for it, I am quite happy with it; its been reliable and has done its job well. Its construction is quite robust, its temperature control, while not perfect, is acceptable, and its just flat out easy enough to use. My baseline for an excellent tool is one that becomes transparent to me -- I dont think them about while Im using them; they just work, easily and reliably. This soldering station really does meet that criteria. It doesnt have all the bells and whistles, but it gets the job done, time and again.

For nearly 20 years I have been too cheap to understand the difference between a soldering iron and a digitally controlled soldering tool. If you want to save money, time, frustration/agony, and save the planet by not having to waste precious resources of your time and logistical costs, buy this now! Heck, since you are looking at this, buy this. I have never been able to get a solid understanding of how to solder. TURNS OUT I NEVER HAD THE RIGHT TOOL! If you dont buy this, you will forever regret it. I unboxed it. Fumbled with how to turn it on, and finally noticed the on/off switch on the side. It was set at 750 by default. I instantly became a soldering MASTER! 5 Minutes later, I am here writing this review to save all those out there the woes caused by those cheap soldering irons. SOLDERING MAGIC!!! I CAN SOLDER! YEEEHAW!

Im an electrical engineer, and while I dont do a lot of soldering in my day to day work, I am capable enough. I decided to make an Arduino-based quiz show timer for a couple of youth organizations with whom I work. I had a cheap soldering station that I had bought a decade and a half ago. It was OK for crude soldering, but I wanted a more capable station. After reading several reviews on a few different stations, I decided to go with the Hakko FX888D-23BY. I have been very happy with my choice. The station is organized nicely--the iron rest is small enough that it can sit right next to my work without getting in the way. The digital temperature control is nice, and the iron heats up almost instantly. The station also has two modes of operation--manual or preset (adjustable) with two to five presents. I have been using the preset mode with two presets--this allows me to switch quickly between hot (380C) and standby (135C) to keep my tips from oxidizing when Im positioning parts or checking connections before moving to the next joint. Programming the iron is very easy--if you read the manual. I highly recommend this soldering station!

Ive used this quite a few time since I bought it (was $104.95 when I purchased it) and its worked well each time. IMHO though, it seems like its only worth $100 at most - especially with what else is on the market. And lets be clear - theres really only 2 brands that people actually want to buy from; Hakko being one, and the other being Weller.

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.

Ive used this product extensively at my previous electronics company, and it was always beyond dependable and the temperature accuracy was usually very good. We still had to calibrate it every year, but it was never too far off. Pros: Will melt any solder that I worked with. Its temperature range is more than adequate. If you need any hotter, youll surely damage a component. Comfortable grip, and never had an issue with its holder. It displays the temperature as it is reaching your desired temperature, which is nice to see how long you have until its ready for you. Nice to have a brash mesh to clean the tip, albeit I seldom used it. Changing tips is quite easy, as long as you dont accidentally weld it on (keeping it on max temperature for an extended period of time will do it), but parts are relatively cheap if you do, as you will surely break it (if you weld it). I would say its irons leash is a perfect length, measuring around 4 ft. Power switch is on the right side of the unit. Cons: Now, I am nitpicking here. It does have a digital input and it takes a little bit to change the temperature. I do prefer an analog knob for my soldering station so I can easily change temperature rapidly. However, some people may find a digital display is more professional. Its non-square sponge holder means a basic yellow square sponge will not fit without some modification. Tips can be expensive, but can easily last a year or two of heavy use, if you take care of them. All that said, I would still definitely recommend this product. It is much better than just a plug-in iron. Very well priced as it is definitely a professional grade station, but more than welcoming to the amateur hobbyist.