Ok lol, spill it. By the way thanks for the tips. Certainly have come in handy.

I purchased the Hakko FX-888D and used it for the first time yesterday. Why didn't I get one of these years ago.

The heatup time is nearly instant. Gonna have to look for more stuff to solder now just to use this iron some more.

Exactly how I felt last week when mine came in the mail Pick up a 5.2mm chisel tip and it makes short work of just about everything!

You never know... some people take this hobby very seriously, who knows what they may do after a bad race day. I sure wouldn't want to have to do a board repair on one of these ESCs though.

And I'm glad you have found the post useful.

See... thats what happens when people listen to me.

Lol, true that. Nothing like working on the E-Maxx for two hours and promptly running it into a tree lol.

I noticed something with the Kester solder(s) you linked in the original post. The flux in the solder is described as "High activity rosin core formulation" on Amazon. Is this ok, or is the RMA type only recommended for the extra flux?

Unfortunately, I can not find any RMA cored Kester on Amazon. If you can find it, get it, but I wouldn't stress the difference between RMA and RA flux core. The amount in the core isn't very much. Just make sure you clean up well after use.

Actually, due to being a little stronger, RA core solder needs less added flux. Which can be handy if you run out of flux... but don't count on the flux core alone, as there are benefits of adding flux.

Ok, I found some RMA solder here at .031" diameter. However, from your response it seems as if the RA will be easier to work with. Considering I'm new to soldering, I'll just get the Kester 44 as you linked. Thank you for all your help and time.

The difference isn't that much, especially if you use extra flux, and with the cheaper price you linked, I would get that.

One more question(s) . Is mixing fluxes ok? Granted there isn't much in the solder itself, but the flux core in that solder is #285. I can't find that alone in liquid form. #186 seems abundantly available though. Also, is it possible to find some flux in bottles with needle tips already so that I don't have to purchase a full gallon of flux?

Thanks!

Mixing flux types should be fine, but I would try to stick to the same type of flux. (RA and RMA for example) I have mixed no clean cored with RMA flux before with no issues.

You should be able to find smaller amounts of flux. Paste, liquid, or pen, any will work. A long as you are using some. Paste and pen form are most common for consumer use, and will work fine if you can't find small bottles of liquid.

ill have to show the kids in my robotics class

By all means do.

Hi! First of all, thanks to marine6680, your initial writeup is very useful. I am in need of help regarding my freshly purchased TK950. The thing is, I live in Switzerland. You can see where this is going, right ? That's right, I purchased a 110V station when I needed a 220v one. Now how do I make this right ? I've taken a look at some ebay converters but I am going to hate myself every time I see myself unpacking this extra pound of copper wire before plugging my pretty TK950. Considering I have no warranty over the thing anyway, I am willing to open it and re-wire things or even replace parts if that's what it takes to get this thing to work on 220v. Any advice ? The only help I've found so far by googling is this ;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK3pTam0Gkk

I've tried too look for the transformer this guy uses but couldn't find it on the bay, anyway I'm not sure how much of this technique could apply to my 936, maybe it's different.

Thanks in advance !

Not knowing the guts of the iron power supply, I can't tell you off hand.

Other than trying to get a swap for the correct one, the easiest thing is a converter.

You could make your own converter with the proper transformer, just mount it in a plastic food container or something.

I wish you luck in this endeavor... You may be able to call up trakpower, (or they may refer you to hakko) give them your best sad voice, weave a tell of woe, and see if they can provide you with a basic wiring schematic for the unit, and you may be able to use that as a guide to help find a way to mod the unit directly... You may even convince them to swap the iron with one that works on 220 if they have one.

But a converter in the end will be the easiest route, and not too bad of a inconvenience.