Reflow or Reballing station tools ?

[Rodent]

i have been repairing xboxes and PS3 consoles and other types of game systems and some computer stuff also to make money just like I am sure many of you have also, so My question is what would work best for a Reflow station or Reballing station. They both can get pretty expensive. Reason I ask is I had to pay someone to reball one of my xboxs and luckly I got adecent price $50.00usd for the gpu and the cpu was for my own personal xbox 360. so wasnt too bad of a price. I didnt think. yet if I had to do it for a customer then i am not making much money at all by the time I have to run around back and forth to get it done, then i am out money. So I thought I would look in to buying my own. just they are pretty pricy and would like to know your thoughts and if it doesnt help me maybe it will help others along the way.

thanks AM for your help and thoughts.

[crazy-modder]

Man thats a great deal lol, i charge $80 for a reball. I just bought me a reball kit on ebay for like $50. I have had many trial and errors to get the process right. Its very difficult and time consuming.

[jrfhoutx]

From what I hear the IR reball units aren't worth the money, I'd say stick with an aoyue 968, a preheater, USB temp probes and a reball kit. The 968 has plenty of proven heating profiles floating around online and the setup does the same job at 1/10th the cost, which leaves you more room for profit without having to cover equipment costs. Practice on a thrashed 360 to get your technique down and you can get going without losing money on trashing working or repairable units.

I'm definitely a proponent of using the proper equipment to get the job done right, but there's a difference between the proper equipment needed and flashy unnecessary equipment. It's kinda like a mechanic, craftsman wrenches serve the same purpose, are similar quality, and have the same warranty as Snap-On, right? So why spend ten times as much for a tool whose only difference is a polished finish, a name, and a 10x price increase? Unless you just like to throw away money... Not to mention with snap-on, if you break something you have to wait a week for a rep to come by and replace it if he has one on his truck, where as you can take 30 mins on your lunch break and run by a sears and replace what you broke. Then you're only sacrificing 30 mins of work as opposed to a week without your tools...

And aoyue has an excellent warranty; I broke my soldering iron a while back, sent them an email, 3 days later the US distributor had a replacement in my mailbox...

[Rodent]

Well this is why I asked. For one , I dont have a money to waste, and I always look at it as the the cheapest and easiest way to make the things happen and work, I am picky person and take pride in my work. I hate to do things twice, or a third time Very well said . I didnt want to have to spend alot of money and want to be able to do the job right everytime.

I will research things and just thought this would be a good thread to help others , other then myself, and get some good info also thanks again

[jrfhoutx]

I'm with you, man, I want to do a job once and do it right the first time, too. From what I've read over at X-S (which seems to be where many of the 'pros' discuss their equipment and techniques) a few people have worked with the 'specialized' IR reball stations after using a hotair/preheater setup, and for the most part it seems they all return to using the hotair/preheater setup; not just because it's what they're used to, comfortable with, and know well, but also because it seems to be just as good and easy, but also at a far lower cost.

I know you can get a 968 hotair station for under $200, and an aoyue preheater can run anywhere from $150-300 and I've seen reball kits on eBay for ~$90. even at the high end for a preheater you're looking at $600 for a full setup and that's less than 1/2 the cost of an all-in-one IR station. And from what I understand (again from the X-S discussions) all the guys there say using a 968 with a presto griddle works just as well as a 968 and preheater setup. Since I know you have a griddle all you'd be looking at investing is the $300 for a 968 and a reball kit. $300 is 1/4 the price you'd spend on an IR station and you could quickly and easily make enough to reinvest in a professional grade preheater if you wanted one.

Personally, I'd say get an aoyue 968, keep your griddle for now, get a reball kit, and look into getting a USB temp probe, and a board support rig, and also look into a holder for your hot air gun (personally I use a modified prestö lamp from IKEA, it was only $20 and easily modified to hold my hot air gun). Save the money now and later on if you make enough and still think it might be a sound investment, then look into upgrading to an all-in-one reball station...



edit:

OK, SRA (Stan Rubenstein Associates) is the US distributor for Aoyue and though I don't really recommend purchasing directly from them (you can find everything they have for less on ebay and elsewhere) it's a good place to see what's available and what retail prices are for equipment.

LINKS:

Aoyue 968

Preheating stations

Universal board support

Xbox 360 specific board support

PS3 specific board support

[Rodent]

Crazy-modder says i am a cheap bastard....lmao which is fine with me and thats how you make the most money by doing with less... and using your head to figure out things thanks for the links I will read up on them and do some research... I HATE PAYING PEOPLE TO DO THINGS , unless i absolutly have to.

besides if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.

 

I probably will end up buying  the 968 hotair station but will look in to other things also. I can see spending $300 just couldnt see spending $1500 or more for a Reballing station

(personally I use a modified prestö lamp from IKEA, it was only $20 and easily modified to hold my hot air gun). Save the money now and later on if you make enough and still think it might be a sound investment, then look into upgrading to an all-in-one reball station...

This is what i am talking about...lol making something cheap in to something usefull...my magnifiy light i had just blew up so maybe i can use that for a handle....lol it shorted out damn I only paid $20 bucks for it so might fix it or make it in to somthing else