Greetings,

I purchased an Aoyue 937+ Soldering Station from Amazon a month or two ago and have used it just about daily, though as a hobbyist.
Pros: nice price, $48.00 USD; nice feel; heats up quickly and seems to hold heat; great selection of tips from SRA Solder.com at <$3.00 and heaters around six bucks.

Cons: Handle parts a little “tinny”; manual is in broken English; heater element has to be soldered (about four joints); after replacing ceramic thermal heater, was not sure if unit was calibrated because subsequent tips seemed to oxidize and deteriorate more quickly than normal.

Overall, I like the iron. Have cranked down the heat and seems to be working better. Would buy again, especially after seeing the prices on other soldering stations. Good luck.

I’m interested in figuring out the difference between the cheaper stations and higher end brand name ones… I wonder if part of it is cheaper tips that die out faster. It’ll be interesting to see how it works out for you long-term. $48 is a pretty good price…

Since my last post, (sorry, grammarians), I have cranked down the temp on my Aoyue 937+ from 300C., which was recommended by dealer, to circa 235C. and have had better luck with tip life. So, was it a calibration problem after the first heater replacement, or just too much heat???? Am also fretting over which tip profile to use…1.2-2.0 mm chisel, or small conical. Have had decent results with both when doing “kit” type soldering.

When speaking to the dealer, (yes, a live, breathing human—a rarity) he said that the unit was calibratible, but I’ll be darned if I can find a pot or anything else adjustable. And that includes looking inside the unit. Sigh…

I guess you’d have to try out some more tips to be sure, but that tip is sounding like a waste of money… it should last a decent amount of time even at 430C (the high end of what you would use for lead-free soldering) as long as you try to keep it covered with solder.

From most that I’ve talked to, tip shape has a lot to do with personal preference. Your overall goal is to get as much surface area contact as possible so you can heat the joint quickly. Some (like myself) prefer a small chisel for this, but using the side of a conical works well, too.

I’ve been using 2 these stations for a while and I’ve got to say they’re pretty good. I bought an aditional bent tip for QFP soldering. It works like a charm.