Soldering iron recomendations?

[Cliff Matthews]

FWIW, Ralim firmware (Ben Brown) replied to me this morning regarding critical current through the MosFET:

Ben Brown
Hi, Lower voltages do not cause any issues with the MOSFETs as far as I have tested down to 8V (note firmware cuts out at 10V). I have run an iron off 8V for an hour when testing this for safety without any noticeable increase in temperature on the MOSFETs. Remember the tip has a resistance in the range of 9-10 ohms, so at 10V it can draw a max of 1A (but practically it draws less). The gate on the FET's is driven with the incoming dc voltage (so for my tests it was still sitting at around -6-7V at the gate) which resulted in no more heat generation than when running on the full 24V power supply. 3S is actually a usable option for small joints or in a pinch. Quite a few users use the iron at 3S cells when in the field when running it quickly off a small pack to fix a small wire that came loose. The heat-up time is still bearable for one joint on 3S. As of my current testing, I have not found any warning necessary when running the unit with the current cutoff of 10V. This will be lowered to 3V/cell in future which is why I undertook the test on two of my units before I was willing to consider the lower input cutoff. Naturally my 2 units could be lucky, but also knowing that there is a large user base using 3S without issue I doubt the majority of units differ from mine.

With an element resistance of 9 ohms, this puts to rest any doubts about over stressing the MosFET, but is a higher voltage MLCC (>25v) even available to squeeze into that tight space on the PCB?
*edit: sorry, forget about C9 @25v... I didn't see D3 was a zener at first glance (I draw the tips on the line with squared ends..)   

[jeffsf]

I'm not sure why, with a Hakko FX-888 available for under $100, people are messing around with the TS100 and a power brick for nearly as much money. Buy the Hakko and you'll be done with it for years. Yes, I upgraded my c. 1990 Weller ESD station to a Hakko, but it was in from an era when a DIP package on was about the finest work one needed to do. Over 25 years on that investment! I still use it with some of my pre-PCB gear, especially with tube sockets and terminal strips, but a Hakko is a joy to work with. Light, well balanced, wide variety of tips available

[Cliff Matthews]

TS-100 is half the cost, heats up in seconds, and who can't rig-up any one of many power sources? Not saying there's no place for the 888, but for some nubes, $50 beans can buy lots of other stuff. Now if $239 MSRP sounds good for a 120w of pure Pace workmanship, just wait for about 8 weeks.

[stj]

more importantly, the TS100 and any other iron with combined tip/sensor/heater for that matter are far superior to an 888 which is just an updated 936 anyway!!!

[paulca]

So my TS100 arrived.

Tip: Read the instructions there is a hint about the tip set screw.  I had mine taken apart wondering why the tip would not insert!  Doh!  All working now.

I love the speed it heats up with.  Love the fact it will display it temp as it cools down.  Haven't played with many of the settings except the temp so far.

However I think I need a tip with more mass to it.  The pointy tip is a bit tricky to get heat into things fast with.  I gather the tips aren't cheap.  I'm debating a rounded point conical or a wedge/chisel tip.

[Cliff Matthews]

So my TS100 arrived.

Tip: Read the instructions there is a hint about the tip set screw.  I had mine taken apart wondering why the tip would not insert!  Doh!  All working now.

I love the speed it heats up with.  Love the fact it will display it temp as it cools down.  Haven't played with many of the settings except the temp so far.

However I think I need a tip with more mass to it.  The pointy tip is a bit tricky to get heat into things fast with.  I gather the tips aren't cheap.  I'm debating a rounded point conical or a wedge/chisel tip.

2 Questions: I've haven't bought one yet (since I'm tossed between this and waiting 3 months for solid reviews on the new Pace ADS200)

1) Does the TS-100 seller state a firmware upgrade voids the warranty? (eg: https://github.com/Ralim/ts100#ts100 )

2) If you upgrade.. Will you be posting any improvements and irritation it makes?

[soubitos]

So my TS100 arrived.

Tip: Read the instructions there is a hint about the tip set screw.  I had mine taken apart wondering why the tip would not insert!  Doh!  All working now.

I love the speed it heats up with.  Love the fact it will display it temp as it cools down.  Haven't played with many of the settings except the temp so far.

However I think I need a tip with more mass to it.  The pointy tip is a bit tricky to get heat into things fast with.  I gather the tips aren't cheap.  I'm debating a rounded point conical or a wedge/chisel tip.

I got mine a few months ago... I now keep my ERSA Multitip in its box... got a 3S lithium pack for work outside and a TS-BC2 tip which is the best for what i need it for...

I also got a 858D hot air station which also works fine and does the job ... i got them both for perhaps under 90$ total incl TS-BC2

Forgot to mention, i use it in-house with a SONY laptop "brick" 19.5V/3.3A.... i also use it with a TOSHIBA 15V/3A brick sometimes, if i need the SONY to power up other stuff for example... no problems!
I dont see the need to look for any higher voltage power source for my needs plus, the bricks i have came for free!

[paulca]

1) Does the TS-100 seller state a firmware upgrade voids the warranty? (eg: https://github.com/Ralim/ts100#ts100 )

It has a warranty?

[Cliff Matthews]

1) Does the TS-100 seller state a firmware upgrade voids the warranty? (eg: https://github.com/Ralim/ts100#ts100 )

It has a warranty?

If you bought it on Banggood..
I see the forum's loaded with people buying stuff, then posting complaints and getting replies from "customer service"
I would hope it's not all words.. 

[paulca]

If it's from China the warranty is not worth the email it's typed into.

I expect none.  If it turns out it breaks in the first few weeks/months I'll try emailing the seller, but I wouldn't necessarily expect a replacement, especially as return postage to China aint going to be that cheap!  Probably easier to negotiate a deal on a second purchase.

[Gyro]

So my TS100 arrived.

Tip: Read the instructions there is a hint about the tip set screw.  I had mine taken apart wondering why the tip would not insert!  Doh!  All working now.

I love the speed it heats up with.  Love the fact it will display it temp as it cools down.  Haven't played with many of the settings except the temp so far.

However I think I need a tip with more mass to it.  The pointy tip is a bit tricky to get heat into things fast with.  I gather the tips aren't cheap.  I'm debating a rounded point conical or a wedge/chisel tip.

Haha, that is the downside of a firmly clamped tip, you do have to remember the clamping screw (don't loose the spare ones in the box)!

Tip prices aren't actually that bad, they're in the £8-9 range from ebay uk stock sellers, ok not as cheap as the 'buy a handful' fake T12 ones but at least you know what you're getting, I don't think anyone clones them. I'm not sure which tip yours came with but the TS-BC2 is a good general purpose chisel tip. That and the little pointed TS-I are all I've needed. I've wondered about one of the knife tips but I'm not sure whether they're tinned or just for plastic cutting.

With regard to firmware, MiniDSO provide firmware update downloads , so if you have a real warranty issue you can always put an original back on. I don't know if you've got one of the original (grey/black) TS100s or one of the newer brightly colored ones. The hardware in the newer on was thought to be identical but I've seen one report of there being a difference causing an issue with the Ralim firmware. I know that Ben is looking into it. It's the only report I've seen so far but worth keeping an eye on the issues list on github.

[Atom]

SO there it is my onest opinion.... i've never tried high end soldering iron so...yeah ..but the one that plugs into the mains that our school has ..they suck,that's all, they cant compensate for the temperature drop when you're soldering so the tip is goning to get cold(BTW they are Weller soldering iron)

I started with a luckey 936 paid 40 euros on amazon ; a ripoff since they are the same soldering station they only put their name on there...it was kind of good, but when it died i decided to buy directly from china  so i went with a STM32 Oled based soldering station and i have to say that i love it

1 it's cheap (paid mine 32 euros on discount)
2 the oled hasviewing angles
3 the tips are T12 tips they have a lot of thermal mass (you can solder everything with it)
4 the tips are chap 3 dollars each
5 it can compensate for drops in temps
6 the starting up and the heating is really fast 5sec maybe
7 it has sleep ,standby mode (mercury switch inside the handle)

google it around it's everywere

[Blake]

I did similar to Atom above and bought a DIY T12 Oled kit for $20 on Aliexpress, which is currently in the mail.  From various posts on this forum, it seemed like a good choice.  I got one of the Quicko kits which does not have as many features as the STM32 ones but is cheaper.

[paulca]

I think the warranty talk scudded me.

Power it up tonight to build a kit and I got noise on the screen.  Powered it, depowered it, etc. etc.  No joy.  It sort of came on at one point I tried to solder anyway, but it powered off again.

I bought it from an Irish seller, so it can go back.

Oddly though, 10 minutes later I powered it on and it worked fine for the next hour while I put my kit together.  Depowered it, let it cool and noise on the screen again.

Something is up.

I really like it though.  I was soldering some pots onto the kit (cheap 1Mhz waveform generator kit) that had HUGE solder pads and fixing legs.  Spun it up to 400*C and it had no trouble at all.

[Gyro]

That's pretty unlucky! Just a thought, check that the mains adapter output isn't 'browning out' under cold start conditions. I know you bought a good one but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

The only other one I can think of from when you opened it up. The micro is on a socketed daughterboard. It's held in place by a rubber pad, but it's just possible that you might have dislodged it.

Oh, one more - power it up via the micro-usb connector from a PC - obviously it won't be capable of heating but if you still get noise on the display, it narrows it down to a CPU related issue.

Good to hear that you got to experience its heating performance anyway.

[stj]

why would you go upto 400' and shorten the life of the tip?
you only need to reach the liquid-point of the solder.
330-350 for lead-free.

[Monkeh]

why would you go upto 300' and shorten the life of the tip?
you only need to reach the liquid-point of the solder.
330-350 for lead-free.

No, you need the joint to exceed the melting point. And you need it to do so quickly. This requires a far higher tip temperature than the melting point.

[soubitos]

why would you go upto 300' and shorten the life of the tip?
you only need to reach the liquid-point of the solder.
330-350 for lead-free.

I use it at 280 for small smd or solder paste... 360 for 60/40 solder wire on TH parts.. i need to take it to 380-390 to solder on grounded pins or terminal pins etc.... then i might want to solder directly on a battery, 450 and it simply does the job in a second... i tested it on batteries though with solder paste instead of solder wire and i am not going back.. lower temp (400-420max) and much faster soldering

[helius]

Soldering effectiveness is a combination of tip temperature, thermal mass, recovery time, and proper contact. Just cranking up the temperature is one way of melting larger joints but not a very good one; better to use a higher thermal mass tip or a unit with faster recovery.

[paulca]

why would you go upto 400' and shorten the life of the tip?
you only need to reach the liquid-point of the solder.
330-350 for lead-free.

Because the large metal mass of the potentiometer sucks the heat out of the tip rapidly and at 300C where I had it set for most of the rest of the components the tip got stuck on the solder just after it started melting.

These were large locating tabs that hold the pots in place and so I wanted a good solid joint as the pots will no doubt suffer the odd knock and tug.

I bent the tabs down onto one side of the 6mm pad holes in the ground plane they came through.  With the iron on 400 I was able to flow a good lot of solder around, over and under the tab in about 5 seconds.  Job done.  Lowered the temp back down to 300.

[paulca]

That's pretty unlucky! Just a thought, check that the mains adapter output isn't 'browning out' under cold start conditions. I know you bought a good one but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.

The only other one I can think of from when you opened it up. The micro is on a socketed daughterboard. It's held in place by a rubber pad, but it's just possible that you might have dislodged it.

Oh, one more - power it up via the micro-usb connector from a PC - obviously it won't be capable of heating but if you still get noise on the display, it narrows it down to a CPU related issue.

Good to hear that you got to experience its heating performance anyway.

I have repeated the noise on the screen a few times, I have also repeated getting it to power on a few times.

It's been a while though since it had done the noise thing.  I think the solution might have been a short sharp knock on it's rear end!  LOL.

I am also testing it with the bench supply set to 19V with a 4A limit.  It only draws about 2.8A max.  This would rules out the laptop brick.

When it first did it, I had plugged the DC jack in and then powered the laptop brick.  I thought the brick might have spiked it. Then when it recovered I wondered if the soldering iron had put the brick into protect.

Well, I have 30 days to return it as it was sold with a 30 day distance selling returns policy.  I'll see how it continues to work.

A loose MCU daughter board is one option I can investigate.

Worst case, even if the seller says I broke it and refuses a return, it's £35.  I've pissed more down the toilet of the pub in one evening!

[Gyro]

That sounds like a reasonable approach (and philosophy), keep an eye on the dates though.

Regarding the big joint temperature, I understand that you are still using the little pointed tip TS-I? which probably isn't ideal. The Ralim firmware has a useful feature where you can boost temperature to a second preset higher temperature just for as long as you hold the front button down, so you can do it for just a few seconds. Normally thermal recovery does the job but there's definitely something to be said for a quick temperature boost to make a big joint more quickly. I have mine set at 320'C and 380'C respectively.

[BBBbbb]

... it's £35.  I've pissed more down the toilet of the pub in one evening!

My reasoning when deciding whether I should buy some electronics stuff or would I be throwing away my money.

[paulca]

... it's £35.  I've pissed more down the toilet of the pub in one evening!

My reasoning when deciding whether I should buy some electronics stuff or would I be throwing away my money.

Exactly!  I spend £1.75 on an ADC breakout board from China.  I spent a whole evening and the whole next Saturday morning playing with it.  It was great fun.  The chances are highly likely it will now sit in a component box and never see the light of day again!

Did I waste £1.75?  Hell no.  It gave me about 10 hours of entertainment figuring the little bugger out and getting it working.  Taught me a lot of stuff.

£1.75 would have bought me 1 tin of beer or about 1/6th of a cinema ticket, 1/4th a movie rental or a bus fare into town.

Well worth it.

[paulca]

TS-I?

It's a something-something-2 but it does not look like a TS-BC2  I ordered one of those last night.