EEVblog #167 - Atten 858D Hot Air Rework Review
Why Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange recommends it
Electronics Stack Exchange users link it when recommending an inexpensive hot air rework station for SMD soldering and rework.
Recommended by 2 people across 2 different months, 2011 to 2013.
What it is
Dave Jones of EEVblog reviews the Atten AT858D+, one of the cheapest hot air rework stations on the market, testing how it performs for the price. The description also carries a warning that one unit was found to be dangerously mis-wired.
What people said
Recommends AndreKR · 2011-06 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Want to get a heat gun for SMT - what should I get? ”
I had an Aoyue 8208 and it sucked (well, not literally). After watching [this video] I got an Atten 858D+ and I like it.
Recommends helloworld922 · 2013-02 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Need recommendation for a first hot air station”
A few basic things I would like a hot-air rework station to have: A min temperature range of ~100C. This allows you to use the gun for heat shrink. A max temperature of at least ~350C, though higher is better (within reason, of course). I think most low-end hot-air rework stations are spec'd at ~450-550C max, but don't quote me on this. have the ability to change out nozzles, in particular smaller nozzles for focusing the air stream and larger nozzles if you need to soak a region (say a large BGA package or a packages with large exposed pad heat sinks). Some temperature regulation. It doesn't have to be too precise since it's dependant on air flow and distance of gun from the target, but I w
Cites dren.dk · 2011-10 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Homemade printing and soldering for small components.. the best way”
I'd go buy a hot air rework station, like the one reviewed here: [this video] The rework station is an absolute must-have if you plan on doing anything with SMD and you can do a lot of assembly using one. An IR oven is nice to have if you plan on producing several PCBs, but you can't do rework with one. Unless you are in a hurry, then forget all about making PCBs yourself, order some from China in stead, it's much higher quality than what you can do yourself and it's really cheap these days. See this page for a description of what you can expect and a link to the webshop: [LINK]