Hacker News Reader

Comment by lultimouomo | Hacker News Reader

So what's a good soldering iron for a hobbist? Is the TS-100 that was much hyped on the internet some time ago a good choice? Or the TS-80 one? Or should one go for more traditional irons?

View on HN

A Hakko FX-888 or FX-888D is a good hobbyist iron if you're going to be soldering a decent amount. I have one and it's very much worth the money.

I've heard good things about the TS-100 as well but I've never tried one so I can't confirm anything about it.

I bought a Hakko FX-888D a few years ago and immediately regretted all the time I had wasted using crappy irons for a decade and a half. Suddenly, soldering worked as easily as it did on all those YouTube videos.

I solder so infrequently that it felt like spending $100 on an iron was overkill, and I couldn't have been more wrong.

Same! My first iron was a shitty radioshack one. Shelling out the $100 for a Hakko is absolutely worth it for the time and frustration savings. I actually really enjoy soldering with it because it works so smoothly.

My only regret is not getting the analog version because Hakko kinda sucks at making digital interfaces.

It's hyped because it's small and good enough. Great to bring it to a friend to fix their headphones. I'm also planning to buy something like this as a secondary.

If you want some good primary iron, buy a Weller or a Hakko. They are widely available and have a good value/price ratio. Weller WS81 or Hakko FX-888D are both great starter irons. Most likely serve you for life if you don't need it to do any specialized thing.

I've heard good things about both irons! About to order one myself for field work and looks perfect for most use-cases.

(I personally have a Metcal PS900, very happy with it)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com