YIHUA 982D-II

I've been doing electronics as a hobby and professionally over 20 years. I've used a lot of soldering stations. I'm in love with this one! It heats up super fast for starters. It has a fine tip and large tip iron for most soldering occasions. The features are amazing! Auto sleep to save power and wear on the tips. The tip cleaner dish has rosin in the bottom for great cleaning every time. The sponge and tip wells are great proof silicone. The display and menu are clear and easy to use. It's a little is that the preset temperature buttons are labeled CH1-3, but it doesn't matter because they work. The whole base is heavy enough to not move around when the irons are inserted or removed. It even has a built in thermocouple to calibrate itself (and they include spares)! One silly thing is the solder holder on top. It's useless because it only holds tiny spools. Most shops and hobby users will have 1lb spools. Simply remove this little bracket and no worries.

Had it for under a year, a bearing in the onboard cooling fan is going bad. Can't get a response via email, I added Yihui on WeChat and they accept the communication request then immediately unfriend you. Screw this company, stay away and find something else.

lOTS OF OPTION RE: TEMPERATURE ETC. BUT REQUIRES COMPLEX CALIBRATION. nOT FOR CASUAL SOLDERING.

He says he previously had no idea that a professional soldering station like this existed, and he can’t believe how quickly it heats up. Apparently his previous setup was fairly primitive. This is now front and center on his desk/workbench in the barn, which is a coveted position for any tool. It’s always there waiting for him to need it, and it responds immediately to his commands, so it’s a lot better companion to him than I am! He says it’s comfortable to use, even for extended periods of time, and now that he’s learned its quirks and commands, he doesn’t even have suggestions for improvement. In summary— he’s very happy with it, and he’s not an easy man to make happy.

Already been used. The price I paid was not for used. I can not get the bigger 616d pen to heat up at all. Like I stated this product has been used and returned by another customer. Appears I am going to have to do the same.

This is a fantastic soldering station - maybe even a little too fantastic for a hack like me - but I like good tools, so here we are. The station is a pleasure to use all around. The irons heat fast, are comfortable to hold, and cool down automatically when placed back into their holders. Each iron has three preset channels that allow you to quickly and easily switch back and forth between your preferred temperatures. Adjustment of the temperature can be done at the base or on the iron itself (+ and - buttons). The irons use C210 and C245 style tips. C210 is a range of smaller tips suitable for super fine micro soldering, while C245 is for more general purpose soldering. The display is crisp, clear and bright. The LCD shows you both your current and target temperatures, along with your sleep (idle) temperature (200°C) and whether or not the device is in full standby (coffee cup icon). It can be configured to show the status of both irons equally or with one iron or the other always dominating the display. How long the device can sit idle before it goes into standby is configurable on a per-iron basis (default: 5 minutes). Tips can technically be changed without waiting for cooldown, but you should ideally wait for cooldown just to be safe. A changeout device for each iron is included in the base for this purpose. The device is basically a notched metal plate that holds the tip while you push or pull the wand to install or remove the tip. Cord management arms keep the cords out of the way of your iron and other potential entanglements. I did discover a few minor annoyances, but none of these would have discouraged me from ordering this station. First, the tip change plates can be a bit clumsy, especially if a tip from a previous tip change is already in the well. Due to the tool-less friction-fit nature of the tips, it can be difficult to determine by feel whether a tip is fully inserted. (fortunately, the display will tell you if a tip is not fully inserted) Depending on how you source your tips, replacement C210/C245 cartridges can be expensive compared to other options. Inexpensive options abound, but I would question whether it's a good idea to put a $2 tip in a $300 solder station. Remember, these "tips" are more than just tips - they include a heat element - so how could you possibly get a quality device for such a low price? I found myself accidentally bumping the temperature control buttons on the iron itself. You can lock the settings (from the menu) to prevent that from happening, but that also prevents you from changing channels (temperature presets) via the buttons on the base unit. My personal preference would be to have a second lock mode that only prevents temperature changes via the buttons on the iron itself. One thing missing here is a tip storage solution. Was the intention to keep them in the tip change well? I doubt that is the case, as having tips in the well tends to interfere with insertion/removal operations. Overall, this is an amazing solder station. If you are working on smaller devices, this is an excellent tool to have on your bench. I have no regrets about acquiring this piece of equipment.

I was sent a YIHUA 982D II 2 in 1 soldering station to review. I'm a retired electronics technician. I've built an electronics bench in my attic where I design, build and often repair small circuits. I love this dual soldering station. The 982D allows you to precisely set the temperature via calibration sensor for two separate soldering guns. It is even sophisticated enough that you can have preset temperatures for each soldering wand. This is crucial for precise soldering, especially for those tiny surface mounted components. It's a little pricey at little under $300, but the precision you get and the ability to preset temps for each wand makes it worth that price. They paid attention to details. Example, there is a unique way they let you change tips without having to wait till they cool down enough to handle, or you have to use a pair of needle nose pliers to handle the tip. In this unit, there is a "well" behind each of the two stations that has metal serrations where you can lock and then remove and then store different tips without touching them. Well thought out.