Brilliant, but fabulously cheap desoldering iron

So, I finally have a de-soldeing iron, I no longer need to use a soldering iron in combination with a manual vacuum pump pen (which worked well enough for me to put off a de-soldering station for a year), and then back over with de-soldering braid, not needed nearly as much as the days of using it alone.

This all started because I am suppose to be getting several thousand dollars in a few weeks and decided it was time to invest in at least a $100-$300 de-soldering station if not splurge on a new de-soldering gun that has been all the rage the last few years, but costs even more. While looking in anticipation on Amazon I came across this funny looking fat little all-in-one unit, similar to the expensive gun, but for only $40! Of course it's of Chinese manufacture, and fully expected it to be totally cheap crap that worked no better than my current manual arrangement.

But then I thought I could purchase it, try it, and if it was cheap crap I could return it to Amazon. After all, I've been a regular customer for years, spending hundreds of dollars every month, as it's cheaper than the petro, even a couple years ago when Americans were paying less than $2 per gallon because we were drilling and had become energy independent, until Biden shut it all down. As well as my time to drive to brick and mortar stores with to purchase even toiletries at the closest store when we unexpected ran out, etc.

Anyway, you get the idea. I've returned a dozen items over the years among hundreds ordered and refunds have never been denied. So I have nothing to lose even if I use the item. If it's crap, I can return it and get my money back. But this beauty is the real-deal. It's solidly built, maybe a bit unwieldy, but in my personal experience of using it for a couple of hours, it works absolutely brilliantly, clearing the solder perfectly on the first attempt, just as fast and easily as the Youtube video's I've watched regarding the gun.

I can highly recommend this de-soldering iron for the price, it's worth 2-3 times the price I paid IMHO. Of course longevity I can't say as of yet. And, it's a plug-and-use device, no power switch and no stand of it's own. Of course you know me, and I remedied those short-comings the first night I got it, even before I tested it out! I took out my old soldering station I replaced last fall and I cut the de-soldering irons cord, connected it to the power switch in the base of the old soldering station, where the old soldering iron used to connect.

And of course I bypassed the board in the soldering station as I would have had to disassemble the de-soldering iron to bypass it's internal one otherwise, and all I wanted was a power switch and a base with stand to hold it. So I merely connected it to the power switch, so one shortcoming fixed and the base with stand while not strong enough to hold this unwieldy beast with it's metal spring stand, it is strong enough to hold my new soldering iron, and the base of my new soldering station is able to hold the de-soldering iron, so I merely swap where the irons are held, conveniently directly next to each other due to their compact size.

The heat dial on my old station isn't connected, so it still works at the one factory heat level they set it at, but that level works fine and I don't need to adjust it, at least so far. hold it flatly over the solder pad for about 3 seconds, push the button, and it sucks ALL the solder in! I had to redo a few solder pads in my use of it, but I lay that blame completely on myself for not having the iron flush with the pad surface. A second attempt was always successful.

But for the incredible price, I highly recommend everyone who even occasionally works with electronics, especially if it's only occasionally due to the price, but even someone like me who needs one all the time, it was worth every penny, even if you have to plug and unplug it each time and make up some sort of make-shift stand for it. Even if it only lasts a year or two and I have to replace it, I'll just buy the same one again! Of course I know the one I have and link to purchase aren't for you guys with your different wall plugs and higher voltages than us in the states, but you know what to look for on Ebay or Amazon (do you guys have Amazon yet?). Best of all for me, I saved hundreds of dollars I can spend on something else and I didn't even have to wait weeks, I have it now, when I need it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0932TJX9X?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

That is the exact model I have, only just used it recently, and I found that there is a small but notable issue with it. After using it on a few IC legs and sucked up solder can get shot out when you press the button to activate the solenoid. It happened a few times, with the PCB getting splashes and tiny solder balls spread over the board.

It seems the thump of the solenoid throws stuff down and out the head of the tool.

I got mine last year, maybe yours is a newer version (looks same)...

I admit that when it isn't vomiting solder it does a good job and removes a lot of solder.. I took a 28pin chip off and just has to lightly blow it with the hot air gun to catch the last bits..

 

Hello @Paul "Mclaneinc" Irvine , I don't know about your previous experiences with de-soldering before you got this item, but I know for myself, that there is the same issue with my manual push-button suckers, and I've gotten used to pushing the plunger and releasing with the button over top of my electronics matte, after each use on a PCB, to make sure excess doesn't shoot/vomit out on the board. And I naturally, out of habit, do the same with this device, so it never occurred to mention it as a fault, as it's just the way it is with solder suckers in my experience (I've gone through three manual ones all the same also. Maybe the gun for hundreds or larger de-soldering stations that cost hundreds don't have this issue, I don't know. But it's a non-issue with me since I'm use to it and that little issue certainly doesn't cause me to want to spend so much more on more expensive de-soldering devices.

 

Don't blame you Matt, it just shows you how little I use gear that I brought this last year and only used it a couple of weeks back (putting the 32 in 1 in). Yeah, I've had some 'dribble' from my normal plunger gun but like you often saw little rolls of solder come out so got into a similar routine as you. Just wasn't expecting to see it blast stuff across the PCB, spent ages with my already dodgy eye's and my big magnifier looking for debris.

Now I know what to expect, I do the desolder a slightly slower way after the initial suck, not too long to lift a track but just keep the head in place for a second longer. I love all the gear FJC etc has, but I could not even start trying to justify even saving up for it. To be honest, I got the same result as I've seen those expensive ones do, ie most pins free and just needing a little hot air to free the 'stickers', not a fan of those folk why try and pry off the chip / socket with mild brute force.. Seen enough tracks lifted on older boards that way.

I'd also love to see a bit of uniformity from these so-called more professional repair channels, people twisting caps off a PCB, really, snip the legs if you want to or desolder as per normal and either hot air or desolder the remaining leg part. I'm stunned Adrian's basement does not destroy old boards with this ripping of stuff. Sure people can do as they like, but I think there should be a group mentality to not promote contrary ways to get components off a PCB while promoting yourself .

 

LOL! when you said you have had it for a year, I was going to say that's good, as I know mine will last me for at least a year, but then yours has very low use over the last year, so that shows nothing about longevity. I'll just have to use it and see how long it lasts. Though even the cheapest iron I've ever bought, about $20 soldering iron that was also plug and go, still works to this day, just the tips wear out and can be replaced. They are very simple devices and not a lot can go wrong with them.

Of course all of these devices are meant for through-hole DIP electronics, I wouldn't use them on surface mount without a dial to dial in lower temps needed for surface mount PCB's. But my soldering station does have a dial and with surface mount PCB, using it and some flux and solder braid works fine and there is no struggle to remove the minute amounts of solder and no hole to worry about getting it all out and making sure pins don't stick. I just have to change my soldering tip to a very fine pointed one to work with the small components.

 

Not done a lot of SMD work, depending on component size I use hot air or an iron, but as you can tell I do very little work on PCB's, it's just a useful skill for the odd job here and there.

Have to order a turned pin IC socket for the 32 in 1, having an issue where it just won't work, but if I put the old OS back in the newly added socket it boots. Someone suggested it may be the cheap and nasty socket. Triple checked all the points, and it's not exactly a complex job, but it just won't boot with the 32 and 1 in. It didn't help that while doing that job, my 8833 mk II decided to cook it's fllyback transformer. Had to wait ages to get one, they seem to be rarer than rocking horse shit.

Got it now, but making sure I know how to discharge the crt and the caps. I used to live above my landlord who had a TV repair shop below me, every so often I'd hear an 'oww', I went down and asked if he was ok, and he just laughed and said he often got belt from the crt. Not so long after all that he had a stroke..

 

It's been a while now since I've used the 32-in-1 since I haven't gotten around to repairing my 1200XL yet, with the 800XC up and running. I intend to do it very soon though. But IIRC, you would hold SELECT when powering up to reach the OS menu, OPTION to got to BASIC, otherwise with nothing held it boots as if you were turning on a stock computer with Basic built in and holding OPTION to bypass basic. It works in reverse. IIRC holding either START & OPTION or START & SELECT together brings up the remote control menu where you can control A.P.E on the PC from the Atari.

Though I assume right now you mean the computer just isn't working at all with it installed. On my 1200XL I of course had to install new 28-pin sockets, but I just used the same double-swipe type that the 24-pin sockets I removed were, and it worked fine.

Something else I think I totally forgot to send with it is the 600/800XL/XE MMU, something that just occurred to me. It will not work without a newer MMU installed in it, and of course the jumpers have to be reset from the old spots that are meant to work with the old 24-pin socket two-dip OS to work with the new 28-pin OS on one chip and 8K rom, generally Basic in the second socket.

Have you done this? If you need instructions for the conversion I can send them if you don't require them. But if your original two-chip 1200XL OS works when plugged back in then something is wrong, it should not work at all. It is still set for that OS and not the newer one's, due to wrong jumper placement (W11, W12 and W13 for the new OS & Basic). Also, you do have to have something in the second socket closest to the rear, if not BASIC, then any 8K rom or eprom like a copy of Star Raiders or something, or it will not work either. And I know on the BASIC eprom that usually comes with the 32-in-1 that pin 26 is cut. I don't know if that has to be done to other roms, but it does too BASIC. If the 32-in-1 doesn't work after that it's the wrong MMU.most likely. If it hadn't been so long since I used it myself, I would have remembered to send a proper MMU along and the Basic eprom I forgot. There are a couple more things like a resistor that has to be removed near the OS chip closest tot the front, IIRC, and something else...let me know if you need the install instructions and I'll see if I can dig them up, but you should be able to reach them through the Atarimax site too on the page for the 32-in-1 OS.

Sorry if you know all this and you meant you were changing everything above back and then the 1200XL works again with the original OS, I don't mean to patronize, but mentioning it works but not the 32-in-1 alarmed me as only one or the other should work when everything is set right for one or the other and I'm imagining you just swapping in and out the board with the original roms...but at the same time, would have had to have wondered and found out were the wires from the harness on the 32-in-1 get soldered and must have searched for instructions for that at least...

 

Hi Matt, it never ended up in the 1200, a uk mate installed a U1MB in it as a surprise after he did all the NTSC to PAL stuff. So it was going to go into my 130XE but just goes brown screen yet the old OS boots fine when put in the same socket..

 

LOL! As the old saying goes, ASSUME and you make an ASS out of U and ME. One totally unconsidered of assumption on my part and we are on completely different pages...

 

As spoken in The Long Kiss Goodnight by Mr Samuel L. Jackson..

Other great line, "That's a duck, not a dick"..