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

I used to use Wellers professionally, but its been a long time, and so as a non-professional, Ive been using cheap crap for the little jobs Ive needed. I decided to splurge on this Hakko instead of a Weller mostly because theyre nearly identically placed in the market, but I have a bunch of heat set insert and other tips that will work on this Hakko without having to buy new ones. My god, how fast this heats! Its ready to go pretty much by time I get my jar of flux open. Im not sure what everyone is complaining about with the UI. Maybe the under 30 crowd thats only ever used touchscreens? Its a classic UI used on professional test equipment and industrial controls since the dawn of the microprocessor. If youve never used either of these types of equipment, it might be strange to you, but its certainly not hard to use. If youre over 30, its a bit nostalgic! I wish Id gotten this years ago.

I was pleasantly surprised by this station, the temperature accuracy was within 15 degrees of the displayed temperature straight out of the box. After calibrating with my thermometer, it has remained accurate with little deviation. The user interface is no intuitive, but after watching a video on YouTube, it is fairly simple. Overall, I would recommend this station and I would not hesitate to purchase again.

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...

It looks like a toy but is built like a tank. It heats up really fast and maintains the exact temperature while you work. Sure, I wish it had more than two buttons so if you dial in too high a temp you can go one down instead of cycling back around, but I wouldn’t give up any of the FX-888D’s excellent qualities for that one button. There is a Weller that is pretty similar for around $100-110, but this Hakko has a larger heating element and so it will maintain its temperature better (in theory), but that Weller would be the only other unit I would consider.

Since getting back in to RC, I quickly realized my 15/30W stick from Radio Shack had lived a hard life in my toolbox, and was never very good in the first place. I needed a real soldering iron. For weeks, Ive agonized over the

First, let me describe how I use this, for reference. Im not even a hobbyist, but simply needed to quite getting bogged down in the middle of making the simplest of home electronics repairs and having piles of unfinished projects build up all over the place. The height of my technical skill is custom-building HTPCs (Home Theater PCs), which I wouldnt sell if Id soldered any electronics components in them, BTW. Also, Ive done a bunch of fun stuff like adding fans to home wi-fi routers, installing my headset into my XBox 360 controller (yes, so I dont lose it--Im THAT BAD), and routine laptop DC jack repairs (that one, for paying clients, with 100% cust. satisfaction in over 5 yrs.). So, my perspective on this unit comes from a 100% utility viewpoint--to the true hobbyist (like many reviews Ive read on this item), that makes me not much better than the grandma who goes out to Lowes to buy a hammer to hang some family photos. Overall, I like the unit--yup, sure wish wed gotten a better color combo for the U.S. production unit than something that looks like a toy, but how many people are using a soldering station made in the same colors as their high school colors? I mean, its not like were asking for red, white and blue here, Hakko--maybe something like, ohhh, basic-black? (GAH!) Past that...who cares? Really? It works as good as everybody agrees it does; I couldve used less hype than some reviewers give it for its speedy warm-up times, though. My last soldering iron was/is a Black & Decker WPS18MP that heated up much faster, even to lower temps. So, why did I even buy this one? Thank you for asking! The B&D used a ridiculous tip system that plugged in with 1/8 mini stereo-type-plugs which were both difficult to find online, AND >$10 apiece. Mine had needed replacing for more than a year, and when the single original tip for it died recently, Id had no luck in finding any local or online source that made it realistic to continue using it. This unit has tips that are easy to find anywhere, including some pretty good looking generic-ish ones--heck, they even threw in a little sheet telling me what other model tips would work with this one, adding to the collection comfortingly, I might add. THIS SECTION REVISED AFTER MONTHS OF USE (revisions in CAPS--sorry) Regarding the warm-up times and temps of the Hakko FX-888, I found them to be entirely quick enough, yet rather routine, considering its size. Aside from the rubber lip in the wand-base, I also like the build of the thing--pretty solid, the wand base solid metal powder-coat. WHUUUUT? WHAT WAS I THINKING?! IT HEATS UP TO 900°F IN UNDER A MINUTE, TRUTHFULLY; SORRY, NO IDEA WHAT POSSESSED ME...MAYBE I WAS BLACKING OUT MYSELF. The controls are very easy to use--just dial up your temp, and basically, if thats not hot enough...turn it to eleven...it makes that next temp in a minute or so...mine reached the highest temp setting in around two minutes. Oddly, my very first job required 750°F, nearly 80% of its highest temp...and this was for a personal shaver repair, so I wonder how truly useful this thing will be on hi-temp stuff Ive been wanting to do, like motherboard cap replacements and more crucial stuff. IN MORE THAN 10 SEPARATE HI-TEMP JOBS, ALL REQUIRING 900°F, EASY...ITS NEVER FAILED TO PRODUCE THAT TEMP IN WELL UNDER A MINUTE, AND IM CONFIDENT EVERY JOB TURNED OUT BETTER--THE BEST I COULD DO, FOR HAVING THIS STATION. I LOVE THIS THING--IF I WERENT (SEMI) NORMAL, AND HAPPILY ATTACHED TO MY GIRLFRIEND, ID GO ON DOWNTOWN AND MAKE THINGS FINAL BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY LIL HAKKO UNIT HERE. One final Yeesh on the color...I kept expecting Rainbow Brite to walk in and start barking orders for me to finish my job on time. IM NOT NOTICING THE COLOR ANY MORE--IT NEVER REALLY MATTERS ANYWAY, RIGHT? MY PARENTS WOULD GET USED TO MY MARRYING A PURPLE/GOLD, JAPANESE-MADE LIL HOTTIE LIKE THIS, SO WHY WAS I SO WORRIED?

The soldering iron was a little skinny to hold but performance was more of a deciding factor. When applied to the workpiece the iron was unable to maintain heat transfer and was not useful. I was unable to measure actual power draw. The two piece design is thoughtful and allows for flexibility in placement of the iron

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...

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.

It was fine but I ended up replacing it with a pinecil, which is less bulky, way more controllable, and has all sorts of cheap tips available.