This Hobby Is Actually Useful!

[Ian McLaughlin]

> On Aug 1, 2015, at 3:24 PM, Robert Jarratt <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestion, but Hakko appears not to be available in the UK. On ebay I can find US sellers and Chinese sellers. I suspect the Chinese ones are imitations, so I would prefer to avoid those.

Sorry - missed the UK part :)

Did some googling, and it looks like Hakko makes a 230v version. I found a UK retailer that lists it:

http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888D.html <http://www.dancap.co.uk/soldering/fx888D.html>

Although there’s quite the premium - GBP99 vs USD99.

You are correct about Chinese counterfeits - this is a very popular iron and there are lots of counterfeit units out there. As a device designed to get hot enough to melt metal, I wouldn’t want a counterfeit unit on my desk :)

However, the make and model doesn’t really matter - look for a reasonably priced temperature controlled device, and you’ll never want to go back. They are a pleasure to use.

Ian