Hakko 888 or Trak Power
 

I am trying to decide which one. The Trak Power is really a rebadged older model Hakko. I really like the dial as opposed to the digital control. Both can be had at great prices now, but I can get a better deal on the Trak Power. Has anyone tried both?

I had the TrakPower unit for a while. There is a reason it's basically rebadged. It quit working after a while (maybe 6 months of occasional use) and I opened it up to take a look. It had a Hakko board in it with shoddy solder joints on it. It's like Hakko sold off all the sub-standard parts to other OEM's to try to use. I used another iron to fix the poor connections and it worked after that.

My opinion is get the original real deal and not have to worry about it. I use a Hakko now that was years old when I bought it used and it works great.

Hakko. I've had mine for 3 years replacing a 20 year old soldering station. it is the best soldering station I have ever used; plus optional tips and parts are very easy to get.

I just picked up a hakko new on eBay for under 100 bucks, and I'm extremely impressed with it, I've only ever used cheapy soldering irons, and the hakko is on another level.

I was originally in the same boat as you, but after finding the hakko for similar price, I figured why not, and I'm glad I did.

the hakko almost has too many features. I still am exploring mine.

I bought a trakpower. I don't use it enough to worry about extended use. I got it for a steal when tower put them on a super sale awhile back.

I also seen that sale and should have jumped on it. I got the Hakko and still trying to figure it out. I also have a problem with it not getting hot enough for rc work. I have some new tips coming in, so that may fix it. I am used to a 60 watt iron for heavy stuff. The tips are super easy to replace, and the iron is very light. I got mine from TD off eBay, and have nothing but good things to say about their service, awesome!

Your issue may be due to a couple of different things. Tip size is important. I find that I use a 5 mm or so chisel tip for most r/c things. Also it depends on what you are working on. A lot of OEM solder, like on ESC posts, etc is silver solder which has a higher melting point and is much harder to work with.

:nod: (or lead free solder, similarly more difficult to work with)

Also Hakko stations are typically available with different wands, the little one isn't ideal for most RC. The RC marketed models have the middle sized wand if I remember correctly. It's good to save money, but something to watch for when shopping.

That's what I was after. I was just struggling with coming up with the term for whatever reason.