Please drop some links for the soldering irons y’all use, mine is apparently lost in my parent’s attic, and thinking of, probably too large for console modding.
I figured to ask here as I believe the console modding community here would already have some good finds. I’m also wanting todo a battery mod to my GBC soon.
Pinecil is pretty great for what it is. Hakko’s always a safe bet.
I started with a Hakko, $120. It blows my mind how much better a $25 soldering iron (Pinecil V2) is. Both only have 2 buttons, but the Hakko does a terrible job with them. The Hakko also takes significantly longer to heat, which resulted in me running it really hot when I first started out.
If you’re going to be doing any amount of soldering, I’d highly suggest the Hakko FX888D. You want to use a good iron, otherwise you’ll get poor results and/or be more likely to hurt yourself. (Hitting one’s thumb with a hot soldering iron is not fun.)
I have the FM-203, and I believe it uses the same tips as the 888D for the standard pencil, right? If so, I can vouch that it’s a good system. I bought about 10 high end tips with it when I bought it 6 or 7 years ago, and I’ve only ever had to replace one. It pushes enough heat for everything I’ve tried, even HDMI port ground pin desoldering when combined with a low melt solder.
I also use the Metcal MX-500P, and other than a quick and easy RMA process a couple years into owning it, it’s even better than the Hakko for smaller soldering, because the induction heating ensures solid heating all the way to the tip. It’s not really necessary for most hobby soldering, but very worth it if you do a lot of microsoldering.
I use a TS100 USB-powered iron. It’s fine for the relatively light soldering jobs I generally do.
I changed my very expensive Weller to a Pinecil V1 some 1,5 years ago and it has made much better solderer than the past decades before it. But it almost requires the silicon cable to make that cable invisible. For a year I used Lenovo usb-c charger and it is way too stiff to let you forget that cable exists.
I also recommend to buy a proper hot blower with very small nozzle. They’re expensive nowadays (around 100 USD I guess), but everytime you need to use it, it saves your mental health as a whole.
This is the model I have, and I don’t even how it could be better. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005654088891.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.7f6a6010ZrOgBF&browser_id=2c05aeec773d47d9900cc41be8da6f78&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=caeecddccbedaf18a210b0eef8060ead61bf16583b&gclid=&pdp_npi=4%40dis!EUR!61.14!22.8!!!472.89!!%40211bec8616927714996103990d07a1!12000033917999856!sea!FI!0!A&algo_pvid=9ab58c4b-a8fe-405a-9b8a-7f9935b1ef70&_universallink=1&m_page_id=caeecddccbedaf18a210b0eef8060ead61bf16583b
Some 1,5 years ago I checked this item last time and it was around 80 USD so the price cut is massive.
I have a lot of hours into this one and I love it. The cord is very light and doesn’t weigh the iron down, digital is great, nice heavy power box that’s not going to slide around on you, good selection of tips, relatively accurate temperature w/ auto-calibration, holder and brass sponge with flux pad is a nice cherry on top too. You have to add $100 to the price to find its equal.
YIHUA 939D+ Digital Soldering Station, 75W Equivalent with Precision Heat Control (392°F to 896°F) and Built-in Transformer. ESD Safe, Lead Free with °C/°F display (Black) https://a.co/d/dFjveUk
