YIHUA982 Precision Soldering Iron Station Kit with Digital LCD Display, 210 Soldering Tip Cartridge Compatible, Solder Wire Dispenser and, 4 Memory Channels, Auto Shutdown, Rapid Heating

I bought the green station with the 210 sized bits, and also a spare 245 sized handle (see below).With this review, I'll try to answer a few of the questions I had before ordering this.Like another reviewer, I was conflicted about whether to get the black or the green version. I wanted to be able to use the 245 handle as well as the smaller 210, but it's not really clear from the listing what the differences are between the green and black base units; both have the same model number.As I preferred the green aesthetically, and it was slightly cheaper, and another reviewer said his one worked with the larger handle as well, I took a punt, and am pleased to report that mine, too, works with both the 245 and 210 handles.Looking at information elsewhere, it turns out that there are both black and green stations out there that really are only 40W and won't drive the bigger 245 bits, but someone who's taken a few apart to have a look reports that the newer ones all have 120W power supplies internally. It may be pot luck, if you buy a green one here, whether you get the 40W or 120W internals - the green ones are _labelled_ 40W regardless.If you have a 40W one and plug the bigger handle in, it doesn't heat more slowly, or overload the unit, or anything like that, it just doesn't heat up, so if you have one of these and it works with the bigger handle and bits then I think it's 120W capable, regardless of the label, colour etc.I have not tried it with a tweezer handle - I think even the 120W units probably won't drive the 2x C245 tweezer, though if there's such a thing as a C210 (2x 40W) tweezer it should be able to drive that, in theory.There are apparently different behaviours between models/versions - some of them cool to 200 degrees C when the wand is parked in the holder, some will cool to room temperature. I assume the idea of cooling to 200C would be to shorten warm-up time for the bigger tips, which otherwise take a second or so longer - I'm guessing the current crop of black ones behave like this. It's not clear whether this behaviour is configurable. Mine (green) cools down to ambient when parked, it doesn't have the 200 degrees idle.I bought the spare 245 size handle and some tips, including a 2.3mm chisel tip from another maker that I wasn't sure it would have the power for. It seems to work fine.Another thing that wasn't clear from the listing was whether all of the four preset temperatures were fixed or adjustable. On mine, at least, they are all adjustable - you set the temperature with the knob, and the unit remembers the temperature you set for the current selected preset, and it remembers which preset you last used when switched off. The temperature seems to be reasonably accurate as supplied, but can be calibrated if you're concerned (the adjustment knob also has a pushbutton function that gets you to configuration settings).Despite already owning a temperature controlled Antex solder station, with some very small tips, I wasn't quite prepared for exactly how tiny the 210 tips are. There's not much mass there. The iron keeps up, generally, but you're not going to be soldering onto big ground planes or similar. The pointy 245 tips are very nearly as small at the business end as the smaller C210 tips, so if you want to be absolutely sure to be able to do general soldering of through-hole stuff that's a bit bulkier, as well as tiny SMT stuff, then I would just go with the black, C245 version from the outset; you can always add the smaller handle if you find you need it. I've included a picture of the C210 and C245 handles, alongside 12W and 50W Antex irons with fine conical bits. The C210 is significantly smaller.The Yihua tips seem to be of good quality, and the fact that they spend most of their time at low temperature means that they don't go crusty and oxidised like irons that sit there up to full temperature all the while they're switched on.Mostly, so far, I've used it with the C245 handle. I did quite a bit using the 2.3mm chisel bit, which takes maybe a couple of seconds from cold, rather than a second or less for the smaller C210 tips. The units that idle at 200C will presumably be ready quicker, but to be honest, it's not been an issue, at all - by the time the iron is positioned close enough to the work, it's hot, I've not found myself waiting for it.The C210 "knife" bit turned out to be handier than I thought it was going to be - it's good for getting both ends of an 0805 resistor or capacitor at once, to desolder it. The conical tips are good for getting into tiny IC legs etc, but not so good for through-hole work. In addition to the bits supplied with the unit, I have found it very handy to obtain the C245 3mm chisel bit already mentioned, and a small 1mm knife bit for the C245 handle, as well as an "I" type sharp conical tip for the C245. The 4mm knife is the only one of the C210 bits that's big enough for larger components, but even the tiny bit will (surprisingly) handle soldering through-hole transistors, LEDs etc. (The bigger C245 bits are much more comfortable in that role though). The Yihua branded tips seem to be of good quality, with excellent plating and consistently good solder wetting. Other brand tips also work in the handles, though.So, description aside, what do I think of it in use? For me, this Yihua station is a real pleasure to use. At work I have some Weller stations, at home an Antex station and an old and battered JBC that I picked up from a clearout sale; the JBC is the only one that compares in terms of precise handling and instant heat-up etc. The only thing I think could be better would be if the wire were softer, like the extra-flex silicone fitted to Wellers and the more expensive Antex handles. To be honest, though, the wire is thin enough that it doesn't drag annoyingly on the handle in use, and the little springy arm that you can clamp it into keeos it generally out of the way.I haven't fitted the solder reel holder on the side - at some point I'll use its mounting screw hole to fit a 3d printed bin for the spare handle and tips, which would be more useful for me than the solder reel.Conclusion: Based on my experience with it so far, I can definitely recommend this Yihua station.

Purchased green model arrived quickly all good . Easy to use very good results and reliable so far !Came with c210 (40w) handle . Would like to bye c245 (120w) handle , but despite some research still not sure if it will work , it would be nice to know before shelling out ! The black model does both and at time of purchase both models were same price and would have been better choice if green only does c210 !Just to update ,purchased the c245 (120w) handle and it works ! So 5* now .Shame the info not out there .

The media could not be loaded. Super fast heating soldering iron station, This bit of kit is mega impressive it can heat up from zero to 400c in seconds no more waiting for the soldering iron to get to temperature. The soldering station comes in a brown retail box In there is the soldering station with soldering iron, three soldering iron tips and the user manual but no soldering wire luckily I had some already. This is the best and fastest heating soldering iron Iv ever used it heats up to the set temperature in seconds and stays at that temperature. The station has four presets temperatures that can be set at the touch of a button, On the station there's a LED control panel that shows the iron temperature, channel and even what tip is being used. The iron can be set to whatever temperature you like by turning the temperature control knob up or down perfect for precise soldering jobs. The iron is lightweight and comfortable to hold while soldering as it has a foam grip. Expensive top quality bit of kit but don't come with any solder wire.

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Neither unit worked. Both showed error 5-E that after lengthy research I discovered meant that the bit wasn’t pushed far enough into the body. Error not mentioned in instructions. A previous review mentioned that the green version worked after he pushed the bit more firmly into the handle. I tried to push the bit in as firmly as I could using the metal fitting attached to the base. I put as much force as I could on the handle and other than resorting to using a hammer on the end of the tip the error would not clear and the iron would not heat up. Returned the units to Amazon. Suggest manufacturer redesigns the fitting of the bit.

If you're looking for a cheap high performing unit then this is it. Its better than my Hakko which was over double the price. Fantastic.

The media could not be loaded. At the time do this review you can buy this digital soldering station for around £100 as there is a £10 discount available.This unit only takes a few minutes with a ❌ head screwdriver and two screws to set up after you take it out of the cardboard box.It’s handy that it’s easy to set up because no storage box came with it so unless you are doing a lot of soldering it will go back in the cardboard delivery box easily enoughI really like that -it has a clear digital display4 preprogrammed temperatures which you can set,It’s on a fairly stable baseIt has a support armI didn’t like the constant beeping which was very loud but I worked out how to turn that off, point 7 in the instructions pg4The instructions are fairly straight forward on how to use this unit.The only problem I encountered was that the soldering end would not heat up at the start and the display read S-E, this just meant the soldering end, of the choice of three, was not fully pushed in, be more forceful with it. I have showed that on the video, a simple problem to solve.Nice machineI would recommend it