EEVblog #167 - Atten 858D Hot Air Rework Review

WARNING: One unit has been found to have been dangerously mis-wired:

Dave reviews one of the cheapest hot air rework stations on the market, the Atten Instruments AT858D+ how does it stack up?
Also known as the Saike 858D+
Looks like it's designed for the Asian market only?

[EEVblog]

@leosedf Sure, if you are doing advanced professional reworking you'd get a proper pre-heater, advanced tips for the exact part you are removing, better airflow etc. But for general everyday use this unit is perfectly capable.
That board in the video is fully lead free, worked just fine.

[anilsvnit]

I know its Too late . But at 9:25 the butchered part are screw holds of the fan. they were removed to make it fit.

[gtperez]

Though this is not a item I am looking into purchasing, just listening to Dave give details about it makes me feel more educated and aware of what to look for on another device.  Thanks Dave, you make a difference in this world.

[randomkitty]

"How tough are you"
"How tough am ?! I removed an IC chip"
"So"
"Using a soldering iron"
"My apologies, you may enter"

[lifecycled]

I have already commented on the ATTEN 8586. I had a faulty Dell D630 Laptop. Recently the device would freeze and give nasty vertical discoloured lines through out on Boot. Got quickly worse and worse, first failing after an hour of use. I read that the nVidia Graphics card is either faulty, or the Heat Sink is compromised or perhaps it needs a Reflow. Tried the clean and repaste on the Heat Sink. Not fixed. Applied the ATTEN 8586 Reflow after briefly testing it removing some SMD devices on a scrap board to get a feel for the capacity of the device. I used some old Hard Disk-Drive Discs to place a barrier around the nVidia chip and gave it a buzz at near full heat for about 70 seconds. Allowed to cool and I am fixed. This was a dramatic change from near useless Dell to fully working. Thanks EEV for excellent tips on the Reflow process. You have upgraded my old Weller soldering skills developed on Playmaster amplifier kits from the 70's!

[CyberlightFG]

Thanks for your review. Still available in 2018.
I would never have bought anything for that price even for hobby use. You saved me a lot of money.
If someone is buying this, too: There is something to do before plugging it in in this price range.
Make sure, everything is grounded and all connections are tight. And always replace the mains fuse.
Just do your own quality control.

[TheCodr]

Anyone else being recommended this 9 years late 🤣

[MintyLoveDMT]

What a truly lovely channel and a brilliantly light hearted and yet devastatingly informative video. Watching this hyped me with enough confidence buy one and have a go at fixing both my own and my good lady Wife's tablets (dodgy card reader and faulty USB socket). Result - two working, good-as-new tablets and exactly like you say - Bob's your Uncle!
I know this video was published ages ago, but it's still very relevant. Many thanks!

[fredcooper]

Bought one!!! Just a tiny 'heads-up', with mine, the handle earth lead, ( around 8:15 in the video } was just stuffed up the sleeve, & the bare wire was wedged in between the metal sleeve, and the elements mica insulation!! just pull it, & the earth lead comes out!!! Yours looks the same, Dave.. On a cold ohm check, the metal sleeve reads grounded, but, its only held in by friction. . I secured mine onto the sleeve with a small nut bolt. Hope that's useful, Guys!!

[EEVblog]

@enginerdy The ESD mat I'm using is a special one that can survive high temperature and direct soldering iron contact.

[koyaanisqatsiuk]

It's worth checking the connection from the earth wire of the mains cable goes anywhere since NONE of the ones that I have seen that are appearing in the UK have had any connection to the front, rear, and enclose metalwork. They all failed PAT testing and had to be modified with separate bonded earthing added.

[EEVblog]

@netcore2k Yeah, not sure what the deal is with the model not being on their site, they only have the older Hakko look-alike units. I now note it only seems to be sold in 240V version? Latest PDF catalog on their site appears to be 2009?

[EEVblog]

@netcore2k I just added a link the the main Chinese Atten site which has it when you search, so genuine product, but possibly designed for the Asian market only? The English link takes you to the attenelectronics site which does not list it.

[EEVblog]

@Bracerjack The chips are designed to survive a certain temperature for a certain time. So they usually survive.
Really not much different to reflow soldering temps.

[jeriellsworth]

I'm not sure I like how the unit can turn on when you pull the hand off the holder. What if you forget to turn the main unit off and the wand falls off the holder while unattended?

[stanburton]

It is quite funny to compare this review with the Yihua $16 Hakko clone soldering station review. Dave, i love ya brother, but you do need to step back a bit and remember that not everybody has the money to spend on high quality tools and test equipment. Some of us have this bad addiction to eating. Im actually quite pleased how much more forgiving you were in this review, compared to the soldering station one.

[slavric]

I own one of theese. It works really great and it can be compared to higher priced brands. I actually love the handle with built in fan. It is simple, lightweight and very useful. The noise is low, It doesn't bother me when I'm using it. Definitely worth buying.

[EEVblog]

@fourier2020 Yeah, I something clearly needed trimming off on either side. Maybe mounting supports or something? Cheaper to do that than order a custom version without the extra bits?

[EEVblog]

@jeriellsworth Good point. Same thing with a soldering iron too, but I guess they are usually better supported in the holder.
These things I only tend to leave on when actually using them, which isn't very often. YMMV.

[LePianisteMasque]

I just received mine. I am really happy with it. I was able to remove small smd and big ones with many legs (more than 80 for the bigest i tried). Impresive.
Some months ago I tried the same with a iron, a pump... Without success. I tried with desoldering "wire" and it was ok but quite difficult. With this air gun, it was very easy ! REALLY EASY !
So thank you again for this review Dave. ;-)