The case is showing a bad case of bromine based fire retardant ageing and the original grey now looks to be the colour of a 1970's pub toilet ceiling. You can see what I mean here (vendor's photo, cleaned up a bit):
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=409805;image)
If I'm feeling enthusiastic I may go in for trying the peroxide/UV based colour restoration - haven't decided yet.
I dunno. It kind of has that tan 70's look to it like that. I might just keep it as-is. ![Confused :-//](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/confused0024.gif.pagespeed.ce.5xOqKkq0Co.gif)
I think that this is regular - never saw a case from that series/manufacturer that looked different.
Reverse duck rule applies.
Here's someone else's picture of one, and that's clearly grey. The heavy loading of fire retardant in some plastic enclosures for electronics of this kind of age made them go brown in very short order. Early Apple computers (e.g. Apple II) suffered horribly from this, and seeing a new one next to a year or two old one made this eminently obvious. You may have always seen Systron kit in that kind of colour, but that may mean that it was a year or two old.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/?action=dlattach;attach=410320;image)
I just figured yours came from a "smoking home"...
![Laughing :-DD](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif.pagespeed.ce._hfWAz_QHO.gif)
Nothing a little scrubbery and some Krylon abuse can't make right as rain.
![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xgrin.gif.pagespeed.ic.QVVz6XIT20.png)
Good news chaps, the FX951 Soldering Iron stand can be easily modified to make what is imo the best Iron stand for the FX9501 handle - I just installed the wire backwards, bent it down a bit and bent the frame upwards a bit and voila! ![ThumbsUp :-+](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif.pagespeed.ce._JElyJQqdB.gif)
![](https://i.imgur.com/UjF6Zhal.jpg)
Yeah, the whole point of these iron holders is that the hole fits the collar of the iron literally like a glove; that way the weight of the iron (or the force of your hand) is supported entirely by the handle, not the heater cartridge.
Also, when you pull it out, instead of pulling the entire length of the iron "out of the hole", you only have to pull it out a few mm and then you can just lift straight up. It is a much more natural motion, and one that greatly reduces fatigue in a production setting where repetition is the word of the day. This is one of the many things people love about their MetCal stations, and why Hakko copied the design.
Of course neither of these manufacturers planned on how these clone handles of a discontinued design and clone iron holders and even the whole stations have proliferated in the wild, where the product is a copy of a copy of a copy and any pretense at QC is at best a mental exercise rather than actual practice. And I'm sure neither of them mind that the copies don't fit or work right like the original does; not even a tiny little bit.
![Tongue :P](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xtongue.gif.pagespeed.ic.J5mTe0A2NA.png)
BTW:
Is a
Nut, Plain, Hex: 0.312"-32 x 0.438", BRS, CD PL
That's a 5/16", 32 threads per inch (UNC), steel nut, 7/16" thick, cadmium plated. So, yes, a commonplace, except for the last part which is somewhat of a no-no nowadays. The rest follow similarly.
Well, not exactly a no-no... just restricted to use in places where cad-plating's "special set of skills" are paramount; natural lubricity, resistance to gall-welding, corrosion-resistance, and especially galvanic compatibility as an intermediary between aluminum and ferrous hardware, in which case there is pretty much no substitute.
But yeah, we no longer use cad-plate interchangeably with zinc coatings like we used to.
mnem
*Checks his tracking*