Did you get one already? From what I have seen about the knock-offs is that they have some wiring issues. The live (hot) isn't going through the fuse like it should. They have it wired (maybe not on all of them) so that the neutral is going through the fuse and that leaves a live going to the circuit and that could be dangerous. See this video to see where this guy took one apart and check it all out. ua-cam.com/video/WPy9XYGDmWQ/v-deo.html I'm going to get one and I'm going to check it out and make sure it's safe before I use it. I bought a 937D+ soldering station and watch a similar video on it where someone took it apart and it too had issues, especially with the ground not being connected right. I fixed the slight issues with it and it is working great. I just wished I could switch the temp to F instead of C.
Though this is not a item I am looking into purchasing, just listening to Dave give details about it makes me feel more educated and aware of what to look for on another device. Thanks Dave, you make a difference in this world.
@leosedf Sure, if you are doing advanced professional reworking you'd get a proper pre-heater, advanced tips for the exact part you are removing, better airflow etc. But for general everyday use this unit is perfectly capable. That board in the video is fully lead free, worked just fine.
I have already commented on the ATTEN 8586. I had a faulty Dell D630 Laptop. Recently the device would freeze and give nasty vertical discoloured lines through out on Boot. Got quickly worse and worse, first failing after an hour of use. I read that the nVidia Graphics card is either faulty, or the Heat Sink is compromised or perhaps it needs a Reflow. Tried the clean and repaste on the Heat Sink. Not fixed. Applied the ATTEN 8586 Reflow after briefly testing it removing some SMD devices on a scrap board to get a feel for the capacity of the device. I used some old Hard Disk-Drive Discs to place a barrier around the nVidia chip and gave it a buzz at near full heat for about 70 seconds. Allowed to cool and I am fixed. This was a dramatic change from near useless Dell to fully working. Thanks EEV for excellent tips on the Reflow process. You have upgraded my old Weller soldering skills developed on Playmaster amplifier kits from the 70's!
Thanks for your review. Still available in 2018. I would never have bought anything for that price even for hobby use. You saved me a lot of money. If someone is buying this, too: There is something to do before plugging it in in this price range. Make sure, everything is grounded and all connections are tight. And always replace the mains fuse. Just do your own quality control.
@@stanburton6224 Yeah, I am not saying I did it. Just saying they did it that way. Where it up to me too I would have got proper BOM part or in fact remolded the gun as this is an additional step that can cause issues and loss of part (destroyed fan etc). Also I did buy this Hot air station, am a hobbyist so do not use it as often as a professional will. but till now it has been working fine. It has seen over 15 hours of overall usage in 3 years by me.
I bought a cheap Yihua 858D rework station and had to change the fan. Mine didn't have screw holds or butchered parts. I don't know why but I couldn't find the same so I bought a generic blower and used my dremel aswell...
It is quite funny to compare this review with the Yihua $16 Hakko clone soldering station review. Dave, i love ya brother, but you do need to step back a bit and remember that not everybody has the money to spend on high quality tools and test equipment. Some of us have this bad addiction to eating. Im actually quite pleased how much more forgiving you were in this review, compared to the soldering station one.
What a truly lovely channel and a brilliantly light hearted and yet devastatingly informative video. Watching this hyped me with enough confidence buy one and have a go at fixing both my own and my good lady Wife's tablets (dodgy card reader and faulty USB socket). Result - two working, good-as-new tablets and exactly like you say - Bob's your Uncle! I know this video was published ages ago, but it's still very relevant. Many thanks!
I just purchased a variant of this one.... but yes, if Louis did a review, that would be great. For most hobbyists like myself, I can't justify spending $700+ on air and iron workstations.
Personally i spent 1500+ today euro/dollars in the year 1997 to buy a weller station for solder sucking and hot air pencil.And took separately for 250 euro the adjustable soldering iron itself.
I have the Yihua 858D version, in fact got two of them for a total of $100 bucks (it was cheap enough to have a spare;) There are two issue I've noticed with these devices. One, when changing temperature often, it's inconvenient holding the digital button down till it reaches the desired number. They should have used the same analog knob like for the fan speed (but still connected to the digital readout). Two, the Reed switch is only on one side of the handle, so if you lay it back the wrong way it won't turn the heater off. Other than that, they work like a champ.
It's worth checking the connection from the earth wire of the mains cable goes anywhere since NONE of the ones that I have seen that are appearing in the UK have had any connection to the front, rear, and enclose metalwork. They all failed PAT testing and had to be modified with separate bonded earthing added.
Amir Khan In all honesty if you do not know how to do this modification without being told how then this is NOT a modification you should even consider attempting as your life may depend on you getting it correct The modification requires that you have a working knowledge of basic electronic safety and can use test meters to measure and check earth continutity. If you don't have this knowledge then DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY WORK ON ANY MAINS POWER CABLING.
koyaanisqatsiuk There was another reply which NOW appears to have now been removed but to comment on that, this modification does NOT involve the moving of a wire from the fuse holder IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER!!!. The earth modification does not involve the fuse holder - period.
koyaanisqatsiuk what?... "It's worth checking the connection from the earth wire of the mains cable goes anywhere since NONE of the ones that I have seen that are appearing in the UK have had any connection to the front, rear, and enclose metalwork." LOL...well i'll just follow that video, he does the fuse mod AND the earth mod.
Amir Khan That is your choice but I merely pointed out that every one of these I have had pass through my hands has had NO earth connection from the IEC to ANY exposed (ie case/front/etc) metal work. I have come across none of the mains 'live wire' mis-wirings mentioned, only missing safety earth wiring. That is why I was commissioned by a UK importer to see that all of these were modified and then tested to comply with UK PAT recommendations afterwards. Before then, NONE of them passed as there were no earth connections to the case - a legal UK requirement.
I bought an ATTEN 8586 which includes a Soldering Iron. Based on the cautions on wiring I observed the following. 1. Wiring standard similar to this blog. Active and Neutral are isolated via rear switch. 2. An additional earth lug has been added to sandwich between the rear metal plate and main chassis. Care is needed to include this in re-assembly. 3. Nice bits of Heat Shrink on the active and neutral wires on the rear switch but no heat applied to shrink them! 4. Rear switch and IEC socket is additionally glued to help prevent accidental dislodging during power cable removal. 5. There is a good English user manual provided. I can upload some pics if interested. All in all a fairly good build. Standard Lab safety caveats still apply.
Pro tip: put something down with a high heat resistance, or something that will indicate before it starts scorching (like heavy poster paper). After I got a brand new ESD workbench, the first thing I did was blister the surface while trying to remove a big SMD linear regulator with hot air. Not a huge deal, but wasn't super happy about it!
Meanwhile there is an improved version - the Atten 8800D. 800 watts and an LCD with an indicator how much power the heater draws. The air speed is set using a jog dial and you can store three profiles with heat and air speed together. In fact the same features like "big" stations just in a smaller form factor and the same hand piece as the old 885D.
Thanks for the comprehensive review, it directly contributed to me buying one from a local supplier. I have found mine to be just as in your review. ATTEN should pay you a royalty.
I just got the Zeny brand version of this for only $32.00 and free shipping, virtually identical inside and so far it works great. The blower inside mine has an updated smooth casing with nothing broken off to make it fit . The replacement heat guns are readily available online for around $12.00.
...... Bought one!!! Just a tiny 'heads-up' , with mine, the handle earth lead, ( around 8:15 in the video } was just stuffed up the sleeve, & the bare wire was wedged in between the metal sleeve, and the elements mica insulation!! just pull it, & the earth lead comes out!!! Yours looks the same, Dave.. On a cold ohm check, the metal sleeve reads grounded, but, its only held in by friction. . I secured mine onto the sleeve with a small nut bolt. Hope that's useful, Guys!!
@netcore2k I just added a link the the main Chinese Atten site which has it when you search, so genuine product, but possibly designed for the Asian market only? The English link takes you to the attenelectronics site which does not list it.
I have the Yihua 858D version, in fact got two of them for a total of $100 bucks (it was cheap enough to have a spare;) There are two issue I've noticed with these devices. One, when changing temperature often, it's inconvenient holding the digital button down till it reaches the desired number. They should have used the same analog knob like for the fan speed (but still connected to the digital readout). Two, the Reed switch is only on one side of the handle, so if you lay it back the wrong way it won't turn the heater off. Other than that, they work like a champ.
I already scrolled to the comment box after you popped the first two chips off with a screwdriver(?) but then decided to watch the end first. Tweezers are much better if you plan to use either the component (you can pull them off vertically instead of lifting them from one side) or the board (slip with the screwdriver, scratch through a trace) afterwards.
I own one of theese. It works really great and it can be compared to higher priced brands. I actually love the handle with built in fan. It is simple, lightweight and very useful. The noise is low, It doesn't bother me when I'm using it. Definitely worth buying.
I'm not sure I like how the unit can turn on when you pull the hand off the holder. What if you forget to turn the main unit off and the wand falls off the holder while unattended?
Those holes on the fan are not for air/pressure related stuff: they just simply chopped the original holder parts of the fan (it had two plastic tabs with holes to secure the fan) and simply did a bad job. Nice little stuff, anyway, thanks for the review!
@Bracerjack The chips are designed to survive a certain temperature for a certain time. So they usually survive. Really not much different to reflow soldering temps.
Another thing to note for Australian users is that while the supplied mains cord does fit in Australian outlets, it's primarily designed for China outlets (which it why it looks upside down here), and therefore doesn't mean Australian regulations (it doesn't have insulated pins for example).
IN a professional lab the hot air rework station had a base plate that blasted the board with heat from underneath to preheat the section of the board with heat and then you hit it with hot air from above. Made surface mount rework ridiculously easy.
Your test has confirmed that it will do the job on my iPad mini Touch FPC socket, that some local workshop wanted a £100 when the iPad mini 3 cost me £73. I could see that there was no way my small pencil iron would replace it. So thanks for your enthusiasm for this product.
@jeriellsworth Good point. Same thing with a soldering iron too, but I guess they are usually better supported in the holder. These things I only tend to leave on when actually using them, which isn't very often. YMMV.
One of the advantages of having the fan in the handle as the air source, is that you no longer need a permanently attached air hose. It's a pity Atten didn't fit a removable plug like most of the Kada (et al) units. It's great having a nice clean workbench with the handle stored away somewhere. Thumbs up for having an IEC socket. My Kada station didn't have one so I fitted one myself.
I just received mine. I am really happy with it. I was able to remove small smd and big ones with many legs (more than 80 for the bigest i tried). Impresive. Some months ago I tried the same with a iron, a pump... Without success. I tried with desoldering "wire" and it was ok but quite difficult. With this air gun, it was very easy ! REALLY EASY ! So thank you again for this review Dave. ;-)
Yes, this is an excellent tool from China, for a very reasonable price. Couple of points I'd note is that mine was way off cal at the low end, being more like 150C when set to 100C. This can matter when you're heat-shrinking as other plastic can be melted. Other thing is, there doesn't appear to be any overheat cutout, so things could get a mite hazardous (like, hot enough to set fire to something) if the temp controller were to fail. Therefore I'd advise not leaving it switched on unattended. I was wondering about fitting a thermal fuse.
bought this tool and what can i say, it works very fine !!! for about € 60 include shipping and tax an incredibble nice tool. soldering desoldering ... very nice, perfect results, look as prefessional soldered ... amazing
Thanks for the review ... I'm starting to get into some SMD development and checked into affordable hobby-quality devices ... the 858 seems to be available under at least half a dozen brand names, at least on Amazon.de as well as on the typical Chinese online stores ... assume they are pretty much identical ...
@netcore2k Yeah, not sure what the deal is with the model not being on their site, they only have the older Hakko look-alike units. I now note it only seems to be sold in 240V version? Latest PDF catalog on their site appears to be 2009?
I have a proper BGA rework station but sometimes these smaller things just work better as you don't have to protect the other components and it's not such a hassle to setup
@detectiveinspekta Those attachments are nice, but you need one for every size device you work with. You can also get similar attachments for soldering irons.
And there are replacement handles for about $12. This seems like one of the universally adored designs so even if one company dies away, all the stock can just be 'rebranded' like the 936 irons.
@EEVblog Jups, got an 850D with such a loud pump, paid double for that, and I can't use it in the evening because my kid sleeps in the next room. So cheers for this review. The 858 is now on my shopping list :)
@fourier2020 Yeah, I something clearly needed trimming off on either side. Maybe mounting supports or something? Cheaper to do that than order a custom version without the extra bits?
I just received the AT8586 today and it seems pretty nice. I haven't soldered anything yet but it seems to function fine. I might do a small review on it.
@EEVblog True, it's a neat station some friends have it. If you have a large lead free board with big ground planes you will need a preheater for sure. For small things it's a nice and cheap station, i like it. It's also more "portable" than the bigger stations.
Very nice Video. Although it's quiet aged, it has all information i needed. Moreover the information regarding false wiring is essential for me. I ordered one this morning and i will check all wires. Thank's
@lordchavo I would get too excited about a cheap soldering iron combo. Tips can be problematic. Much better off getting an $80 Hakko, and more versatile with two separate units.
Just checked most popular Aliexpress hot air stations, expecting this one but vast majority is 8858. It has the same handle but the power supply with all the temp adjustments is the size of a laptop power brick! $30 delivered
I bought the station they make. Have had zero trouble with it, and as a hobbyist and general repair it works great. I doubt it will do any professional level work though. It is slow on the heat and the iron is a older design. But for the price.......you cant beat it.
I bought an Atten 858D almost 10 years ago when I was a student. Still going strong! I bet it will soon be in the bin, not due to failure but certainly due to wife :D
I'd really like to see what temperature the handle gets up to if you patch those holes in the fan case. Maybe they were put there to provide some active cooling for your hand.
Thanks for the review! I have been looking for one of these for a few weeks now and was actually about to buy an Aoyue 968, but for this price it's absolutely unbeatable. Exactly because of the noise I was hesitant to buy the Aoyue. And yeah, the price i paid for the 858D now: €42.34 (that's 57.33 AUD). Excellent value for money.
The better rework guns have little dishes or cups that are made to fit the chips. This gives more even heating and the cups help to stop the heat going where it is not wanted. Some chips are also glued to the board as at the factory they glue the chip in place before applying the heat that melts the solder paste. Removing such chips is apt to be a three handed job (two tiny picks plus the gun) Nowadays one can get special stainless-steel forceps for grasping the chip and with these its just a two handed job! Interesting video but for most people the main application will be repairing the infernal digital dashboard in their car. These are apt to go on the blink. Next one gets the squeaking and ticking swan-song of the dying switched-mode regulator. At this point it is wise to avoid asking the Main Dealer the repair cost as the quote is liable to give one a bad turn! (Typically it will be as much as the car is worth or more as they don't like horrible jobs) Watch out for multi-layer boards, allegedly some have ten layers and they are a devil of a job to repair. Good video as the low price is very interesting.
Atten 850B is 120 VAC for $59. I bought a Hako and the square clip nozzles and have $800+ in them. I do keep a cheapo everything, I deem important as a spare. $800 for a LCR was spendy, but the main model was $5995! With it, and some other items I can see into potting compounds, check caps in circuit, etc. Without my test gear and soldering tools I am pretty much screwed! I have spent more money on a spare tire than this SMD soldering rig!
Nice review and much better unit than mine. I calibrated my unit at 300C and measures about 160C when it is set to 100C. It can be a bit of lottery I guess. I also noted that it displays the set temperature (not real temp) and while temperature is changing the changes of the display have nothing to do with the real temperature when the temperature is ramping.
Yes it will remove the GPU without problems as i have done it on around 4 with this rework station alread.You actually don´t have to use that nozzle to remove the GPU at all but if you have a stand and a nozzle it might be easier depending on how much experience you have had earlier.Just don´t forget to preheat the board.Temp is kind of hard to say because i am assuming you would use some kind of preheater first but without a nozzle 3-310degrees celsius is fine.Send me a pm if you want more info
@detectiveinspekta a pre-heater is a great idea for serious work. Then the boards ambient temperature is more even and the rework time is much much less because the area of board is almost up to temp with the pre-heater. This reduces the chances of de-laminating the board through excessive heat. Dave doesn't really show it but you shouldn't thermally shock a board by just blasting hot air at a spot. You should swirl it around the area first to heat it all up before focusing onto a part.
@MetalPhreakAU : I agree. Finding the right power cord will not be a problem at all. The only issue is the "hot air gun". If it breaks soldering a new one to the board should not be a big problem but... good luck to find it ! :-( I saw another station using the same gun but its one had a connector. If shit happens, it will be the occasion to add a female connector to the 858D+ before buying this new part.
Just what I was looking for. Just purchased one using eBay. I look at the Atten site and there models.. they all use a completely different style which makes me think this might not be a genuine Atten product. The 850D model has a very different case. Not that this bothers me, because I've seen it working and the price is that low its still worth buying one. Thanks Dave!
Miles quieter that the air-pump in the box one I have. The HUGE metal box vibrates like a bastard and makes a massive noise plus takes up a _lot_ of bench space too. The fatter air-tube cable to the handle is also _really_ annoying. Very nice to hear it running in your video! Next on my shopping list!
I'm scared to watch this... go easy on it Dave;-) 9:40 Looks like they relieved a low pressure area forming to increase the airflow. Put a propeller that creates 5lbs of thrust in a 1 lb round duct and put it on flat ground sealing the bottom sides and you create a suction cup due to the low air pressure area created inside the duct and the surrounding higher 14.7 lb sq in (at sea level) air pressure pushing it down. You might think it would lift off but it won't until you... create a gap that breaks the seal.
You should test it on the top of range graphic cards trying to desolder and resolder the bunch of mosfets to check its efficiency.The entire pcb is acting like a large copper heat sinker and it needs a really powerful hot air torch to work them.
They still sell the 858's under dozens of different names.. check amazon.. they're $50US. They even come with decent quality solder sucker, tweezers, and cutters. In fact the current generation we have branded Toolour & Noevsbig are better than what Dave has here. They have double-sided FR4 boards and use ATmega8a's. They're well designed inside an use lot of insulated sleeving and good connectors. Also, the fan is not botched it fits properly. They work good for most stuff. I end up using mine more than my expensive Pace unit just because it's easy to use.
Very strange about those fan holes! I typed the number on the fan into google, and the few images that came up showed radial blower fans with mounting lugs in the same places the holes in your fan are, so it looks like they were ground off to make it fit the case.
In such components like bga and dual or more layers flux is always needed for heat transfer and solder boiling just like the oil for the frying.With 415 celsius temp it took more time than usual just because the lack of flux.In small smd resistors,capacitors,3 pins components it is not absolutely needed.
I got the Indian Version of this for like 50$ USD. That 10K trim pot will fail in a few months. Replace it with a quality 10 turn pot and have finer control on the airflow.
"How tough are you"
"How tough am ?! I removed an IC chip"
"So"
"Using a soldering iron"
"My apologies, you may enter"
i've done it multiple times when I had no soldering station xD
you gotta be tough when you are a poor student.
Just used one to replace a HDMI port on a PS4. Great unit! Great video!
Anyone else being recommended this 9 years late 🤣
I just bough one ripoff version of this based on this video. 42€ delivered :) I have to open it up and see if it has similar construction
Did you get one already? From what I have seen about the knock-offs is that they have some wiring issues. The live (hot) isn't going through the fuse like it should. They have it wired (maybe not on all of them) so that the neutral is going through the fuse and that leaves a live going to the circuit and that could be dangerous. See this video to see where this guy took one apart and check it all out. ua-cam.com/video/WPy9XYGDmWQ/v-deo.html I'm going to get one and I'm going to check it out and make sure it's safe before I use it. I bought a 937D+ soldering station and watch a similar video on it where someone took it apart and it too had issues, especially with the ground not being connected right. I fixed the slight issues with it and it is working great. I just wished I could switch the temp to F instead of C.
haha, I am using it from over a year time, just wanted to find a review to recommend it to friend of mine.
Nope 11 years
Nope 12 years
Though this is not a item I am looking into purchasing, just listening to Dave give details about it makes me feel more educated and aware of what to look for on another device. Thanks Dave, you make a difference in this world.
@leosedf Sure, if you are doing advanced professional reworking you'd get a proper pre-heater, advanced tips for the exact part you are removing, better airflow etc. But for general everyday use this unit is perfectly capable.
That board in the video is fully lead free, worked just fine.
I have already commented on the ATTEN 8586. I had a faulty Dell D630 Laptop. Recently the device would freeze and give nasty vertical discoloured lines through out on Boot. Got quickly worse and worse, first failing after an hour of use. I read that the nVidia Graphics card is either faulty, or the Heat Sink is compromised or perhaps it needs a Reflow. Tried the clean and repaste on the Heat Sink. Not fixed. Applied the ATTEN 8586 Reflow after briefly testing it removing some SMD devices on a scrap board to get a feel for the capacity of the device. I used some old Hard Disk-Drive Discs to place a barrier around the nVidia chip and gave it a buzz at near full heat for about 70 seconds. Allowed to cool and I am fixed. This was a dramatic change from near useless Dell to fully working. Thanks EEV for excellent tips on the Reflow process. You have upgraded my old Weller soldering skills developed on Playmaster amplifier kits from the 70's!
Thanks for your review. Still available in 2018.
I would never have bought anything for that price even for hobby use. You saved me a lot of money.
If someone is buying this, too: There is something to do before plugging it in in this price range.
Make sure, everything is grounded and all connections are tight. And always replace the mains fuse.
Just do your own quality control.
I know its Too late . But at 9:25 the butchered part are screw holds of the fan. they were removed to make it fit.
Were it me, i probably would have taken some adhesive foil tape and covered the holes.
@@stanburton6224 Yeah, I am not saying I did it. Just saying they did it that way. Where it up to me too I would have got proper BOM part or in fact remolded the gun as this is an additional step that can cause issues and loss of part (destroyed fan etc).
Also I did buy this Hot air station, am a hobbyist so do not use it as often as a professional will. but till now it has been working fine. It has seen over 15 hours of overall usage in 3 years by me.
I bought a cheap Yihua 858D rework station and had to change the fan. Mine didn't have screw holds or butchered parts. I don't know why but I couldn't find the same so I bought a generic blower and used my dremel aswell...
It is quite funny to compare this review with the Yihua $16 Hakko clone soldering station review. Dave, i love ya brother, but you do need to step back a bit and remember that not everybody has the money to spend on high quality tools and test equipment. Some of us have this bad addiction to eating. Im actually quite pleased how much more forgiving you were in this review, compared to the soldering station one.
What a truly lovely channel and a brilliantly light hearted and yet devastatingly informative video. Watching this hyped me with enough confidence buy one and have a go at fixing both my own and my good lady Wife's tablets (dodgy card reader and faulty USB socket). Result - two working, good-as-new tablets and exactly like you say - Bob's your Uncle!
I know this video was published ages ago, but it's still very relevant. Many thanks!
Louis Rossmann should try to do a board repair with this.
I just purchased a variant of this one.... but yes, if Louis did a review, that would be great. For most hobbyists like myself, I can't justify spending $700+ on air and iron workstations.
Personally i spent 1500+ today euro/dollars in the year 1997 to buy a weller station for solder sucking and hot air pencil.And took separately for 250 euro the adjustable soldering iron itself.
I have the Yihua 858D version, in fact got two of them for a total of $100 bucks (it was cheap enough to have a spare;)
There are two issue I've noticed with these devices. One, when changing temperature often, it's inconvenient holding the digital button down till it reaches the desired number. They should have used the same analog knob like for the fan speed (but still connected to the digital readout). Two, the Reed switch is only on one side of the handle, so if you lay it back the wrong way it won't turn the heater off. Other than that, they work like a champ.
It's worth checking the connection from the earth wire of the mains cable goes anywhere since NONE of the ones that I have seen that are appearing in the UK have had any connection to the front, rear, and enclose metalwork. They all failed PAT testing and had to be modified with separate bonded earthing added.
Can you give details on how to do this please?
Amir Khan
In all honesty if you do not know how to do this modification without being told how then this is NOT a modification you should even consider attempting as your life may depend on you getting it correct
The modification requires that you have a working knowledge of basic electronic safety and can use test meters to measure and check earth continutity. If you don't have this knowledge then DO NOT ATTEMPT ANY WORK ON ANY MAINS POWER CABLING.
koyaanisqatsiuk
There was another reply which NOW appears to have now been removed but to comment on that, this modification does NOT involve the moving of a wire from the fuse holder IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER!!!. The earth modification does not involve the fuse holder - period.
koyaanisqatsiuk what?...
"It's worth checking the connection from the earth wire of the mains cable goes anywhere since NONE of the ones that I have seen that are appearing in the UK have had any connection to the front, rear, and enclose metalwork."
LOL...well i'll just follow that video, he does the fuse mod AND the earth mod.
Amir Khan That is your choice but I merely pointed out that every one of these I have had pass through my hands has had NO earth connection from the IEC to ANY exposed (ie case/front/etc) metal work.
I have come across none of the mains 'live wire' mis-wirings mentioned, only missing safety earth wiring.
That is why I was commissioned by a UK importer to see that all of these were modified and then tested to comply with UK PAT recommendations afterwards. Before then, NONE of them passed as there were no earth connections to the case - a legal UK requirement.
I bought an ATTEN 8586 which includes a Soldering Iron. Based on the cautions on wiring I observed the following.
1. Wiring standard similar to this blog. Active and Neutral are isolated via rear switch.
2. An additional earth lug has been added to sandwich between the rear metal plate and main chassis. Care is needed to include this in re-assembly.
3. Nice bits of Heat Shrink on the active and neutral wires on the rear switch but no heat applied to shrink them!
4. Rear switch and IEC socket is additionally glued to help prevent accidental dislodging during power cable removal.
5. There is a good English user manual provided.
I can upload some pics if interested. All in all a fairly good build. Standard Lab safety caveats still apply.
Pro tip: put something down with a high heat resistance, or something that will indicate before it starts scorching (like heavy poster paper). After I got a brand new ESD workbench, the first thing I did was blister the surface while trying to remove a big SMD linear regulator with hot air. Not a huge deal, but wasn't super happy about it!
Meanwhile there is an improved version - the Atten 8800D. 800 watts and an LCD with an indicator how much power the heater draws. The air speed is set using a jog dial and you can store three profiles with heat and air speed together. In fact the same features like "big" stations just in a smaller form factor and the same hand piece as the old 885D.
Nice teardown!
@enginerdy The ESD mat I'm using is a special one that can survive high temperature and direct soldering iron contact.
Thanks for the comprehensive review, it directly contributed to me buying one from a local supplier. I have found mine to be just as in your review. ATTEN should pay you a royalty.
I just got the Zeny brand version of this for only $32.00 and free shipping, virtually identical inside and so far it works great. The blower inside mine has an updated smooth casing with nothing broken off to make it fit . The replacement heat guns are readily available online for around $12.00.
...... Bought one!!! Just a tiny 'heads-up' , with mine, the handle earth lead, ( around 8:15 in the video } was just stuffed up the sleeve, & the bare wire was wedged in between the metal sleeve, and the elements mica insulation!! just pull it, & the earth lead comes out!!! Yours looks the same, Dave.. On a cold ohm check, the metal sleeve reads grounded, but, its only held in by friction. . I secured mine onto the sleeve with a small nut bolt. Hope that's useful, Guys!!
@netcore2k I just added a link the the main Chinese Atten site which has it when you search, so genuine product, but possibly designed for the Asian market only? The English link takes you to the attenelectronics site which does not list it.
I have the Yihua 858D version, in fact got two of them for a total of $100 bucks (it was cheap enough to have a spare;)
There are two issue I've noticed with these devices. One, when changing temperature often, it's inconvenient holding the digital button down till it reaches the desired number. They should have used the same analog knob like for the fan speed (but still connected to the digital readout). Two, the Reed switch is only on one side of the handle, so if you lay it back the wrong way it won't turn the heater off. Other than that, they work like a champ.
do u use for professional work. i am not sure i need quick 861w or yihua 959d+ . i will use for hobby for smd generally.
@@serdar-ors - I use it at my phone repair shop, that's why I got two to have a backup. For hobby use anything should work for you.
@@BillAnt if u use for phone repair, it is already sufficient for hobby. I thought it maybe not enough for big soldered chips or big mainboards.
@@serdar-ors - It's fine for most jobs using different nozzles. the temperature range is from 100-500 C with plenty of air blowing (also adjustable).
Louis Rossman is screaming - USE MOAR FLUX!
I already scrolled to the comment box after you popped the first two chips off with a screwdriver(?) but then decided to watch the end first. Tweezers are much better if you plan to use either the component (you can pull them off vertically instead of lifting them from one side) or the board (slip with the screwdriver, scratch through a trace) afterwards.
I own one of theese. It works really great and it can be compared to higher priced brands. I actually love the handle with built in fan. It is simple, lightweight and very useful. The noise is low, It doesn't bother me when I'm using it. Definitely worth buying.
I'm not sure I like how the unit can turn on when you pull the hand off the holder. What if you forget to turn the main unit off and the wand falls off the holder while unattended?
Call fire marshal Bill
Simply turn off maintain switch always once not in use. Never rely on sensors.
Now you get these for less than 30 Bucks on Ebay - Shipping Free !!! - what a bargain! Ordered mine immediately !!!
Those holes on the fan are not for air/pressure related stuff: they just simply chopped the original holder parts of the fan (it had two plastic tabs with holes to secure the fan) and simply did a bad job. Nice little stuff, anyway, thanks for the review!
@Bracerjack The chips are designed to survive a certain temperature for a certain time. So they usually survive.
Really not much different to reflow soldering temps.
Another thing to note for Australian users is that while the supplied mains cord does fit in Australian outlets, it's primarily designed for China outlets (which it why it looks upside down here), and therefore doesn't mean Australian regulations (it doesn't have insulated pins for example).
IN a professional lab the hot air rework station had a base plate that blasted the board with heat from underneath to preheat the section of the board with heat and then you hit it with hot air from above. Made surface mount rework ridiculously easy.
Your test has confirmed that it will do the job on my iPad mini Touch FPC socket, that some local workshop wanted a £100 when the iPad mini 3 cost me £73. I could see that there was no way my small pencil iron would replace it. So thanks for your enthusiasm for this product.
@jeriellsworth Good point. Same thing with a soldering iron too, but I guess they are usually better supported in the holder.
These things I only tend to leave on when actually using them, which isn't very often. YMMV.
One of the advantages of having the fan in the handle as the air source, is that you no longer need a permanently attached air hose. It's a pity Atten didn't fit a removable plug like most of the Kada (et al) units. It's great having a nice clean workbench with the handle stored away somewhere.
Thumbs up for having an IEC socket. My Kada station didn't have one so I fitted one myself.
I just received mine. I am really happy with it. I was able to remove small smd and big ones with many legs (more than 80 for the bigest i tried). Impresive.
Some months ago I tried the same with a iron, a pump... Without success. I tried with desoldering "wire" and it was ok but quite difficult. With this air gun, it was very easy ! REALLY EASY !
So thank you again for this review Dave. ;-)
Yes, this is an excellent tool from China, for a very reasonable price. Couple of points I'd note is that mine was way off cal at the low end, being more like 150C when set to 100C. This can matter when you're heat-shrinking as other plastic can be melted. Other thing is, there doesn't appear to be any overheat cutout, so things could get a mite hazardous (like, hot enough to set fire to something) if the temp controller were to fail. Therefore I'd advise not leaving it switched on unattended. I was wondering about fitting a thermal fuse.
I got one of these in 2011 and its still going.
ty. just looking to get one :)
Chech out the description.
Where did you buy it. Seems decent for home use.
GG64du02 Since I'm from Austria that would be great. Thanks let's see if there's one on ebay.
Try this one amzn.to/2nQ1AYG got also a soldering iron on board.
bought this tool and what can i say, it works very fine !!! for about € 60 include shipping and tax an incredibble nice tool. soldering desoldering ... very nice, perfect results, look as prefessional soldered ... amazing
Thanks for the review ... I'm starting to get into some SMD development and checked into affordable hobby-quality devices ... the 858 seems to be available under at least half a dozen brand names, at least on Amazon.de as well as on the typical Chinese online stores ... assume they are pretty much identical ...
@netcore2k Yeah, not sure what the deal is with the model not being on their site, they only have the older Hakko look-alike units. I now note it only seems to be sold in 240V version? Latest PDF catalog on their site appears to be 2009?
I got a combo one, hot air and soldering iron in one ... late 2017 ... seems quite a timeless design
I have a proper BGA rework station but sometimes these smaller things just work better as you don't have to protect the other components and it's not such a hassle to setup
@leosedf Yes. As always, it's horses for courses. You trade off some thermal capacity for lower noise, cost, and portability.
Bought this quite some months ago now because of this video and am incredibly satisfied with it.
@randomgarfield Yeah, the big bench units with the pumps are pretty darn loud, really quite annoying in a quiet lab.
I got one bakku 858d+ 5 years by now
Fits perfectly for regular basys
@detectiveinspekta Those attachments are nice, but you need one for every size device you work with. You can also get similar attachments for soldering irons.
Thank you David! I pushed the trigger for the same unit off eBay after viewing this incredible review, and it only cost me $58 (delivered), great!
And there are replacement handles for about $12. This seems like one of the universally adored designs so even if one company dies away, all the stock can just be 'rebranded' like the 936 irons.
This no-name product is also sailed as ZHIAOXIN 858D and YiHUA 858D, and it has the same heater as AOYUE and PT products.
@EEVblog
Jups, got an 850D with such a loud pump, paid double for that, and I can't use it in the evening because my kid sleeps in the next room.
So cheers for this review.
The 858 is now on my shopping list :)
just got the atten 852d, first thing i do is measuring conductivity between plug and iron/airgun. it was like 55 euros new.
Have had mine about 2 years now and have had dam much use of it and still works like it was new, way cheaper a year after this review though.
@fourier2020 Yeah, I something clearly needed trimming off on either side. Maybe mounting supports or something? Cheaper to do that than order a custom version without the extra bits?
A fine presentation. I do enjoy your teardowns and liked the demo. I would have loved to see you re-install the BGA, though :)
I have been using mine for two years now.No problems at all.
I just asked the seller to change it for a 110v model, slight delay in shipping but no problem.
I just received the AT8586 today and it seems pretty nice. I haven't soldered anything yet but it seems to function fine. I might do a small review on it.
@yanava That's because it is the same board...
Just bought a AT8586 2 in 1 from a local ebay store. I am sure they sell spare heating elements for these units. I am pretty happy with it :)
@EEVblog True, it's a neat station some friends have it.
If you have a large lead free board with big ground planes you will need a preheater for sure. For small things it's a nice and cheap station, i like it. It's also more "portable" than the bigger stations.
Very nice Video. Although it's quiet aged, it has all information i needed. Moreover the information regarding false wiring is essential for me. I ordered one this morning and i will check all wires. Thank's
@lordchavo I would get too excited about a cheap soldering iron combo. Tips can be problematic. Much better off getting an $80 Hakko, and more versatile with two separate units.
I just bought one of these. I wonder how it would fare in a eevblog review today. @eevblog you should do re-reviews.
Just bought it as per your review. They should give you a kick-back!
Thanks Dave
Just checked most popular Aliexpress hot air stations, expecting this one but vast majority is 8858. It has the same handle but the power supply with all the temp adjustments is the size of a laptop power brick! $30 delivered
I just bought the 2 in 1 898d on ebay for 59 bucks and it was in the US. It has a regular soldering iron plus the hot air station WOW! can't wait
+James skippinhopper
And its good ?
Nice to see you show some appreciation even of the 'one hung lo' stuff. ;)
I ordered a unit on ebay few minutes ago. Thank you for this nice review, Dave.
@lordchavo The Saike 858D+ has a 110V version.
I bought the station they make. Have had zero trouble with it, and as a hobbyist and general repair it works great. I doubt it will do any professional level work though. It is slow on the heat and the iron is a older design. But for the price.......you cant beat it.
People wanting a 110 Volt version can order the SAIKE 858D+ SMD Hot Air Rework Station Solder 110V 700W.
Look on the USA ebay site.
I bought an Atten 858D almost 10 years ago when I was a student. Still going strong! I bet it will soon be in the bin, not due to failure but certainly due to wife :D
Thanks :) Bought one now because of the review ...
I wonder how they drive the display. Numbers with fewer segments are clearly brighter. Seems easy to prevent without increasing cost.
@fivefishdiy Can't add links here, but google Okay ESD Mat
I'd really like to see what temperature the handle gets up to if you patch those holes in the fan case. Maybe they were put there to provide some active cooling for your hand.
Thanks for the review! I have been looking for one of these for a few weeks now and was actually about to buy an Aoyue 968, but for this price it's absolutely unbeatable. Exactly because of the noise I was hesitant to buy the Aoyue. And yeah, the price i paid for the 858D now: €42.34 (that's 57.33 AUD). Excellent value for money.
The better rework guns have little dishes or cups that are made to fit the chips. This gives more even heating and the cups help to stop the heat going where it is not wanted. Some chips are also glued to the board as at the factory they glue the chip in place before applying the heat that melts the solder paste. Removing such chips is apt to be a three handed job (two tiny picks plus the gun) Nowadays one can get special stainless-steel forceps for grasping the chip and with these its just a two handed job!
Interesting video but for most people the main application will be repairing the infernal digital dashboard in their car. These are apt to go on the blink. Next one gets the squeaking and ticking swan-song of the dying switched-mode regulator. At this point it is wise to avoid asking the Main Dealer the repair cost as the quote is liable to give one a bad turn! (Typically it will be as much as the car is worth or more as they don't like horrible jobs)
Watch out for multi-layer boards, allegedly some have ten layers and they are a devil of a job to repair. Good video as the low price is very interesting.
Atten 850B is 120 VAC for $59. I bought a Hako and the square clip nozzles and have $800+ in them. I do keep a cheapo everything, I deem important as a spare. $800 for a LCR was spendy, but the main model was $5995! With it, and some other items I can see into potting compounds, check caps in circuit, etc. Without my test gear and soldering tools I am pretty much screwed! I have spent more money on a spare tire than this SMD soldering rig!
Nice review and much better unit than mine.
I calibrated my unit at 300C and measures about 160C when it is set to 100C. It can be a bit of lottery I guess.
I also noted that it displays the set temperature (not real temp) and while temperature is changing the changes of the display have nothing to do with the real temperature when the temperature is ramping.
Yes it will remove the GPU without problems as i have done it on around 4 with this rework station alread.You actually don´t have to use that nozzle to remove the GPU at all but if you have a stand and a nozzle it might be easier depending on how much experience you have had earlier.Just don´t forget to preheat the board.Temp is kind of hard to say because i am assuming you would use some kind of preheater first but without a nozzle 3-310degrees celsius is fine.Send me a pm if you want more info
@detectiveinspekta a pre-heater is a great idea for serious work. Then the boards ambient temperature is more even and the rework time is much much less because the area of board is almost up to temp with the pre-heater. This reduces the chances of de-laminating the board through excessive heat. Dave doesn't really show it but you shouldn't thermally shock a board by just blasting hot air at a spot. You should swirl it around the area first to heat it all up before focusing onto a part.
Amazing review! Thank you so much for all the details, tips and the demonstration! Keep up the good work!
It´s cost only 29,95 € at Amazon last week in germany with english manual. Thanks to you for this video
@MetalPhreakAU : I agree. Finding the right power cord will not be a problem at all. The only issue is the "hot air gun". If it breaks soldering a new one to the board should not be a big problem but... good luck to find it ! :-(
I saw another station using the same gun but its one had a connector. If shit happens, it will be the occasion to add a female connector to the 858D+ before buying this new part.
I use mine daily, been a year now. Great quality. Although with a bga rework station this used a lot less.
Hi Dave,
After watching your preview of the Atten 858D Hot Air Rework Review I have orderd one my self off ebay here in the UK looks fantastic.
Just what I was looking for. Just purchased one using eBay. I look at the Atten site and there models.. they all use a completely different style which makes me think this might not be a genuine Atten product. The 850D model has a very different case. Not that this bothers me, because I've seen it working and the price is that low its still worth buying one. Thanks Dave!
Miles quieter that the air-pump in the box one I have. The HUGE metal box vibrates like a bastard and makes a massive noise plus takes up a _lot_ of bench space too. The fatter air-tube cable to the handle is also _really_ annoying. Very nice to hear it running in your video! Next on my shopping list!
I'm scared to watch this... go easy on it Dave;-) 9:40 Looks like they relieved a low pressure area forming to increase the airflow. Put a propeller that creates 5lbs of thrust in a 1 lb round duct and put it on flat ground sealing the bottom sides and you create a suction cup due to the low air pressure area created inside the duct and the surrounding higher 14.7 lb sq in (at sea level) air pressure pushing it down. You might think it would lift off but it won't until you... create a gap that breaks the seal.
My guess is that they did that to cause a "leakage" air flow on the hand piece to cool the hand piece.
You should test it on the top of range graphic cards trying to desolder and resolder the bunch of mosfets to check its efficiency.The entire pcb is acting like a large copper heat sinker and it needs a really powerful hot air torch to work them.
The other vent holes are probably for left-handed ppl :D The holes ground-out might be to prevent the fan-motor burning-out if the end is blocked?
Just bought a copy off ebay for 36 bucks shipped...works good so far. The unit, directions and specs look identical.
They still sell the 858's under dozens of different names.. check amazon.. they're $50US. They even come with decent quality solder sucker, tweezers, and cutters. In fact the current generation we have branded Toolour & Noevsbig are better than what Dave has here. They have double-sided FR4 boards and use ATmega8a's. They're well designed inside an use lot of insulated sleeving and good connectors. Also, the fan is not botched it fits properly. They work good for most stuff. I end up using mine more than my expensive Pace unit just because it's easy to use.
Very strange about those fan holes!
I typed the number on the fan into google, and the few images that came up showed radial blower fans with mounting lugs in the same places the holes in your fan are, so it looks like they were ground off to make it fit the case.
@Artemisgoldfish Yeah, I can imagine the heater life would be improved if you let it cool down slowly.
the two holes are because the fan would have had screw down wings and they've just taken those off to make the fan fit. .
In such components like bga and dual or more layers flux is always needed for heat transfer and solder boiling just like the oil for the frying.With 415 celsius temp it took more time than usual just because the lack of flux.In small smd resistors,capacitors,3 pins components it is not absolutely needed.
I got the Indian Version of this for like 50$ USD.
That 10K trim pot will fail in a few months. Replace it with a quality 10 turn pot and have finer control on the airflow.