I have an Aoyue 2738A and have had great luck with it.  Not sure if I would=
 go with another "heating element built-in to the soldering tip" model agai=
n, as replacement tips are expensive and a bit hard to find.  http://www.sp=
arkfun.com/products/609 <- cheaper sources are available but Sparkfun repla=
ced a hot-air heating element that I deemed as failing too soon without que=
stion.

I have heard that Aoyue's QC is hit or miss, but so far I have been happy.



On Jan 14, 2011, at 09:34 AM, Nathan House wrote:

> I recently made my first electronics board with SMT components and
> found that I really liked working with them. The TQFP package was kind
> of a pain to solder, though, and I know it would be really difficult
> to solder LFCSP/LGA/QFN (no leads) packages. I would like to be able
> to solder these packages because a lot of sensors like accelerometers
> and gyroscopes use them and instead of paying $20-$50 for an
> evaluation board, I could make one myself for a few bucks. So I'm
> considering purchasing a hot air rework station.
>=20
> As I'm a student, I can't afford to purchase a name-brand station.
> I've been looking at the Aoyue 968:
>=20
> http://hackaday.com/2009/02/20/tools-aoyue-968-3-in-1-soldering-and-rewor=
k-station/
> http://www.amazon.com/Aoyue-968-Digital-Rework-Station/dp/B000HDG0AO
>=20
> Has anyone had any experience with Aoyue products, or this station in
> particular?
>=20
> I would like to hear any advice you might have, thanks!
> --=20
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> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist

--=20
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