Hakko's FM-2030 Heavy-Duty Soldering Iron & FM-203 Dual-Port Soldering Station: How to Find Out If You Need to Upgrade Your Station

The Hakko FM-2030 Heavy-Duty Soldering Iron

The Q Source Resource recently told you about American Hakko Products' (Hakko) new FM-2030 Heavy-Duty Soldering Iron for use with the Hakko FM-203 Dual-Port Soldering Station and FM-206 High-Performance 3-Port Rework System. If you plan on using the FM-2030 with the FM-203, you may need to upgrade your station.

If you have a Hakko FM-203 Soldering Station with a serial number that is before 0220311002129 you'll need to purchase the FM203-UPGR upgrade. A Connector Error (C-E error) will appear on the display if you try to use the FM-2030 with an FM-203 that has not been upgraded.

The quickest way to find out if the FM-203 needs upgrading is to check the firmware version of the PCB installed in your station. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Plug the FM-203 Soldering Station into a power outlet
2. Insert the Lockout Key Card
3. Remove all handpieces--there should be no handpieces connected to the "D" or "S" ports
4. Hold down the *, S/Down, and # keys at the same time and turn on the power
5. The FM-203 will display the power on test 8.8.8. and then display the firmware version number
6. If the firmware version number shown is 3.01, then the station has been upgraded and is fully compatible with the FM-2030 Heavy-Duty Soldering Iron

The Hakko FM-203 Dual-Port Soldering Station

Any other firmware versions require the FM203-UPGR upgrade to use the FM-2030 Heavy-Duty Soldering Iron. The FM-203 must be shipped to the Hakko Service Center in Valencia, CA for an upgrade. Contact Hakko Customer Support at 661-294-0090 for a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number before returning the unit for upgrade.

Check out the Hakko Store Department at QSource.com for a wide selection of Hakko products. You can also give our helpful experts a call (800-966-6020) or send us an email with your questions or product needs. Q Source is your Hakko Resource!