I've been doing it without owning any de-soldering equipment for so long that it don't feel natural to use any unless it is on something that can't be done without it like a DIP chip.

You can get about the same effect as a sucker on chassis and PCB work by keeping the joint hot as you remove the lead with needle nose pliers...It is just a bit more blind and requires a bit of finesse.

I did get a really good sucker a while back that changed my technique for a time before the latch/trigger broke and it became almost as janky as the squeeze bulb type RatShack sold....I'm too cheap and lazy to track down another as good so back to the old method....

Solder removal, what an exiting subject !

Ear irrigator style I found useless. One tech I knew swore by
them cause solder wick cost $$. He was a cheap prick. Out
of biz before anyone else..........

Plunger style works great on large stuff like FBT pins with
griplets. Suck it clean then use dikes ( not that kind) to
pull on the pins & free them.
DO NOT use around SMD's you can suck up half a dozen
resistors & caps & ruin your day.

Solder wick is best for delicate work. A little practice & you can
swap out a jungle IC in 5 mn. Its all in how you you angle the
iron & wick. Get it right & you got it made in the shade.

Professional vacuum stations. I found one at the dump once.
Real pissah machine with a heat controlled iron & desoldering
iron on the other side that had a vacuum suck up.
Looked it up & found it went for over 1K$ USD ! The
boss sprung for tips, filters & a manual. Damn thing was like
owning a Euro sports car. Very touchy to keep running......
IMHO if it were in constant use on a rework line it may have
worked well but NOT for the TV shop.

Pull it & hope there are holes.
Old school way. Biggest problem is usually no holes so you try
to coax off the solder. Usually ends up with etch hanging off
the tip of your iron.

So for me it was QUALITY wick & a plunger solder puller.
For hand wired Zeniths a Weller station with the hottest
round tip was a joy on the terminal strips.

73 Zeno:smoke:

It seems that those with the most cash... and questionable ways of getting it... are the cheapest. Just about anything even they want, at estate sales for example, has to be under 10 bucks or it sits and is subsequently trashed.

The Hakko 936 was suggested to me but there are so many chinese knockoffs that I can't risk it.

The desoldering tools, I generally used, were the Endeco or the Radio shack type with the heating element and the squeeze bulb. They also were great for removing excess solder from point-to-point wired sets. You had to keep them clean or they lost their effectiveness. Seldom, if ever damaged a PC board.

Ive always just used solder wick. It can be pricey but a roll lasts a while.

That's what I was going to use for now. It seems to be the next best thing to a Hakko 808.

The Hakko 808 has been discontinued.... Reviews are very mixed on the newer FR-300. :(

http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-FR300-05...s=Hakko+fr-300

not affiliated with Amazon or Hakko,
jr

Glad to see you back !

I've known about the 808's untimely demise for some time. :( Doesn't matter too much I guess, almost every other piece of test/repair equipment I have is a discontinued model. At least a Hakko 808 wouldn't cost as much to ship as my Sencore PR57 and CR70... ouch.

Omg. Tell me about it. Shipping anything these days is horrible. Also, hey Sandy! Thanks! :D