YIHUA 853D 3A USB

When your hobbies have caused you to outgrow the $40 soldering iron, and you want to upgrade without breaking the bank, this is the station to get. Or, if you're about to jump in to soldering and reflow for the first time, this station will give you the luxury introduction as it comes with everything needed to get started.Prior to my own purchase, I was mocked by some friends who though the "3 in 1" branding was corny, and that at the price, it *had* to be junk. This couldn't be further from what I've experienced.The station itself is hefty and well crafted in all the ways that matter. In the "unexpected upgrade" category, the cables for the soldering iron and hot air wand are buttery smooth and do not kink up. Also, I'm using the hot air way, way more than expected. Since I have yet to tackle any significant surface-mount projects, I figured the hot air would be an under-used feature. Wrong! I use the hot air wand extensively for all the heat shrink I go through (no more digging for lighters). Conversely, I'm using the bench power supply less than I thought, and using the 5v port much more than I expected.This is one of the advantages of the 3-in-1 design - the way you *actually* use it can vary quite a bit from the way you *think* you're going to use it. And because it's 3-in-1, it's completely flexible. And since it has no AI on board, it doesn't care how you use it. :)The sleep mode for the soldering iron and the auto-shut off for the hot air are incredibly useful. Combined allow you to just focus on your work, with no need to fiddle with the device settings. Notably, the spin up time for the soldering iron is FAST - either from cold or from sleep mode. I'm wishing now that I upgraded a few years ago from the el-cheap-o $40 soldering iron. I'm surprised at how much more pleasant & hassle-free it is to do project work with this Yihua station.Because I happen to do a lot of work with LEDs, I opted to get the 3A version of the power supply (which still isn't very much). If you don't need 3A, you can save about $20 with the 2A variant of this station.As some others have noted, some of the accessories aren't at the same level of quality as the core station. But it's not a significant difference, and if you're upgrading from more basic equipment or this is your first-time soldering/rework/bench power, you probably won't care.Definitely would buy again, or upgrade to an even better station by this same manufacturer!

Received station yesterday. Did a bit of soldering of some DPST switches for a generator transfer switch I am making. 12 gauge solid copper wire soldered to the switches spade terminals. Used a larger tip and turned the heat up to 800 - heated up within seconds and worked vert well. Tested the DC power supply using my digital multimeter- very accurate supply voltage. Only thing the manufacturer could improve is the holder for all the soldering tips - they just drilled same size holes into metal base that holds soldering iron. So the thinner tips easily fall out of the holder…

Love it, multi use with everything right at one place

Acquired as an upgrade to a couple of aging soldering irons (and the need for a hot air rework gun), and overall Im pleased with the system. Its more 'prosumer' grade, but does the trick. THe air gun works well albeit its a tad bulky with the fan in the gun (as opposed to having that in the station), but I do like the design - makes replacement easier in the future. Overall it feels good working with the tools - they are lightweight and seem to keep temperature well. I dont have a way to measure the accuracy of the temperature readings, but having a level of control is nice for small microelectronics.My only complaint was keeping a steady output voltage with the power supply... the adjustment rheostat is quite sensitive to any touch adn to seemed to fluctuate slightly at lower voltages.

I bought this after a lot of research into many different options. I wanted it for basic repairs, fixing older electronics (like my original iPod, an NVR, and replacing capacitors in older Mac computers). It works like a charm. Heats up fast, with easy to use controls, and feels nice and sturdy. The manual is pretty good. The readouts are clear and easy to read. Figuring out which plugs are for voltage output and which are for testing is a little confusing, but the manual is clear about which is which. I love this little unit and got it on sale, here on Amazon for a really nice price. You can go wrong with this for most users. Pros will want a little better rework solution, but for most it's a gem. You won't be sorry you purchased this unit.

Excellent

The media could not be loaded. My video review is fairly thorough but overall, this is a good unit. It does a good job with temperature control and the sleep features are nice to have. This unit is fantastic for working on LED strips, DC circuits and automotive applications. The power supply module is the weakness of this unit, but if you take care when you work, you can minimize issues. When you toggle settings with the red buttons, it isn't always clear what you've selected. Overall, this is a good value for the money.

Was OK while it worked. You can tell this is a cheap tool from China. Feels light weight, some things are translated poorly in the instruction manual. The heat gun fan died after only a handful of uses. I can feel it trying to heat up but the fan never kicks on. Yes you can unplug this component but I cannot find a replacement anywhere. The soldering iron was also just OK. It did heat up fast but I don't think the temperature readout is very accurate. I have not tested the power supply feature of this unit. Overall I think you get what you pay for, this unit is fairly inexpensive because it is cheaply built and I don't think it will last.