Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Specmaster]

No no no metcal is the solution



As used by professionals...



I will never use another iron. I've used Pace, Weller, Antex shit for years and even the bottom end Metcal burns them a new asshole.

Hmm, massive cost difference between the orange so called POS and the Metcal though, I wonder if the POS could do that with the bolt? Possibly could if it has the right size of tip with some thermal mass to it, who knows?

[bd139]

The point with the metcal is you can switch between soldering bolts and doing 0603’s without changing the tip or settings.

[BU508A]

Weller WD 1M with a WP 120 soldering iron here. This is my soldering iron which I'm using most. It is standing right here on the right side, waiting for it's next job. The only annoying thing with it I have fixed some time ago: the display. With some LEDs illuminationg it it is much better readable.

And as a second station a JBC HD-2B with two irons, a T245 for the usual and finer stuff and a T470 if you need really a lot thermal energy! This beast will do the Tektronix ceramic thingies from med6753 easily without a blink. Fantastic soldering station. Lots of different soldering tips available in different sizes, shapes, whatever.

I don't really understand, why JBC is here not that present like Metcal, Hakko, Pace or Weller. Perhaps I have overseen something.

[Specmaster]

The one thing I have concluded from all the discussions over the years here on soldering irons and stations is that no matter what the cost of them is when new, they can all have rogue units among them that go phut at any time, their build quality also has issues between brands as we have seen here, T12, Hakko, Weller (I believe that Dave claims that he has had a nasty experience with one that had no earth or fuse for that matter), it seems that there will always be the Friday lunchtime / afternoon one that slips through any quality control system.

Perhaps if it was a business purchase then something like a Metcal could be far more easily justified but in a lot of cases this would not be case, thats not to say that it might well be the most desirable one, but I really do think that a lot of people, me for one, could not in all honestly justify dropping a few hundred notes on something that is going to be sitting idle for most of its life and a T12 or similar these days really does not take that long to reach working temperature when compared to an old Henry Solon iron.

[BU508A]

The point with the metcal is you can switch between soldering bolts and doing 0603’s without changing the tip or settings.

Soldering 0603 with the tip shown in the video above? I have here some doubts.
And vice versa. Soldering a nut on a bolt with a tip for a 0603 - I don't know, but I'm very sceptical in this respect.

[bd139]

Mine had the default chisel tip. I use it for both end of the spectrum. It makes short work on PCB enclosures and 0603’s. It really does work.

[Saskia]

Hakko and Weller WD1M here. Quick 861DW for hot air.

[Cerebus]

Hmm, massive cost difference between the orange so called POS and the Metcal though, I wonder if the POS could do that with the bolt? Possibly could if it has the right size of tip with some thermal mass to it, who knows?

What gives me confidence with the Metcals is that I know the immutable laws of physics mean that the tip cannot get too hot. It will not exceed the set temperature for that tip, even if the electronics go crazy. So as long as I've chosen a tip from an appropriate temperature range I can't burn a board, even on a tiny joint. Then, the ramp up of heat delivery is so fast that the same tip will handle a joint with big heat requirements. I'm not going to be in the situation that conventional irons can put you in, of having to use a tip with lots of thermal mass and high temperatures to get a difficult job done. Solder to a ground plane with a Metcal and it will not burn the board, no matter how long you leave it there - do it with an iron that needs a big tip with the temperature turned up to solder to a ground plane and hang around too long and the board is toast.

I find that I tend to keep the same mid-sized tip on the Metcal all the time (an SSC-637A, 30º chisel tip, 0.070", 357ºC) and with that I'll solder everything through hole from the smallest parts up to 4mm binding posts. I only swap to a physically smaller tip for SMD stuff. I've got a bigger tip, but I haven't had to break it out yet.

I'm constantly amazed that my Metcal is only 40W. It will do the work of a conventional iron with a much higher rating. The fact that the heat delivery is strictly confined to the actual tip, not to a larger heater that then has to get the heat across to the actual tip, makes it capable of delivering as much working heat as a larger iron, but without the time lapse associated with all that other stuff to heat up. It pisses all over the 65W temperature controlled Antex that I was using immediately before I got the Metcal. I still have the Antex, it hasn't even been turned on since I got the Metcal.

Mine was £70 off eBay, so you don't have to go cash crazy to get one.

[Saskia]

@tonyalbus do you have by any chance the manual for the LAG audio generator at hand and could email it to me ?

Sorry, immersed in tax stuff, but I need the audio gen next week ...

[URI]

Thanks mnem for your extensive description of your KSGER T12 soldering station!

I ordered a KSGER STM32 V2.1s T12 OLED controller. So no worries 'bout that..   

As I wrote: I came across reports saying that this controller is sensitive to overvoltage.
When I have my controller I will check what it is and what it's capable of.

The tip of the T12 cartridges being actually fully isolated would make ESD compatible design of T12 soldering station easy! 
Too late for me, I took the steep way...      
The DC buck converter you used would have been enough me, too.

Anyway, my DC/DC converter is capable of delivering 4,5A continuously and 7,5A for a short time.
I expect short heat up times and good/fast heating when soldering.

[URI]

There's nothing better than power except more power..   

[URI]

@URI pardon my ignorance, but why not just buy a finished Hakko ?

Because of the fun planning, building and using a custom made one.
It's still cheaper than an original Hakko..

[0culus]

New RPN group shot.  A few updates since the last one. The 48G and 12C, in particular. I have two 15Cs and two 16Cs but I opted not to put them in for compactness of the shot.

very pretty.  goes without saying that they would look even better laid out in front of the starboard track of a d9 cat.

...and then the RPN calculators disappear with the flourish of the magic wand, and in their place are the algebraics!! 


 

[bd139]

I think the D9 would merely stop and be enlightened.

[tautech]

I think the D9 would merely stop and be enlightened.

Good luck stopping a D9 in its tracks ! (pun intended). 

[Wolfgang]

@tonyalbus do you have by any chance the manual for the LAG audio generator at hand and could email it to me ?

Sorry, immersed in tax stuff, but I need the audio gen next week ...

This ?

https://www.lost-manuals.com/manufacturer/Leader/LAG-26

[mnementh]

Thanks mnem for your extensive description of your KSGER T12 soldering station!

I ordered a KSGER STM32 V2.1s T12 OLED controller. So no worries 'bout that..   

As I wrote: I came across reports saying that this controller is sensitive to overvoltage.
When I have my controller I will check what it is and what it's capable of.

The tip of the T12 cartridges being actually fully isolated would make ESD compatible design of T12 soldering station easy! 
Too late for me, I took the steep way...      
The DC buck converter you used would have been enough me, too.

Anyway, my DC/DC converter is capable of delivering 4,5A continuously and 7,5A for a short time.
I expect short heat up times and good/fast heating when soldering.

Ahhhh... it gave me a chance to revisit my T12 project and remember why I liked them in the first place. Glad if my experience can help others in the future. Just how honkin' big are those honkin' big caps you stuffed in there anyhow...? My gut reaction is you'd be better served to put one in front of and one after that DC-DC converter; minimize effects of surge current draw from the controller. Of course, if it's CV/CC, that could mess with its CC functionality; would have to try it to be sure.

mnem
*currently beating my head against Frustion360*

[mnementh]

I currently have reduced the electrical part of these Dell AA23300 PSUs to this quick & dirty hack; it turns the PSU on and sets the output voltage to a nice stable 13.85-13.90V at idle. These will do up to ~14.1V before they trip OVP; this gives a little leeway to ensure stability.

I've tried multiple different attacks to slow down the idle RPM, but anything that makes any appreciable difference in the noise level causes it to go into shutdown or start doing a POST loop.

Currently exploring mechanical means of noise reduction.

mnem
 

[Brumby]

The point with the metcal is you can switch between soldering bolts and doing 0603’s without changing the tip or settings.

* Adds Metcal to wish list and moves it to the top *  No reason ... really.   

[tonyalbus]

@tonyalbus do you have by any chance the manual for the LAG audio generator at hand and could email it to me ?

Sorry, immersed in tax stuff, but I need the audio gen next week ...

in your mailbox, good luck with your tax.

[mnementh]

I currently have reduced the electrical part of these Dell AA23300 PSUs to this quick & dirty hack; it turns the PSU on and sets the output voltage to a nice stable 13.85-13.90V at idle. These will do up to ~14.1V before they trip OVP; this gives a little leeway to ensure stability.

I've tried multiple different attacks to slow down the idle RPM, but anything that makes any appreciable difference in the noise level causes it to go into shutdown or start doing a POST loop.

Currently exploring mechanical means of noise reduction.

mnem
 

mnem
*toddles off to ded at o' dark-thirty*

[Zucca]

Thanks mnem for your extensive description of your KSGER T12 soldering station!

I ordered a KSGER STM32 V2.1s T12 OLED controller. So no worries 'bout that..   

As I wrote: I came across reports saying that this controller is sensitive to overvoltage.
When I have my controller I will check what it is and what it's capable of.

The tip of the T12 cartridges being actually fully isolated would make ESD compatible design of T12 soldering station easy! 
Too late for me, I took the steep way...      
The DC buck converter you used would have been enough me, too.

Anyway, my DC/DC converter is capable of delivering 4,5A continuously and 7,5A for a short time.
I expect short heat up times and good/fast heating when soldering.

I would have bought this one for 80€ pesos

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/loetstation-oki-metcal-ps-800/1525324912-168-1929

[Zucca]

Anyway I love portable installation on the turd windows:

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/portable

[Cubdriver]

Quick update on the HP 6255A dual PSU, I've located a choice of two different replacement toggle switches from the stuff I bought & cleared from work.

Now the expensive parts with mine will probably be getting some knobs to replace those locknuts. The voltage & current controls are both 10-turn, so apparently the knobs would have been the type with no pointer (as shown below), I may have to use whatever I can find/buy.


I can't help thinking BD had a single version of this HP power supply last year, it's the type with the large power resistors at the back.

David

For what it's worth, the pointer on the knob on the far left is painted on and can be wiped off with some cleaning.  I routinely need to touch them up or completely repaint them using a white paint pen and a toothpick after cleaning things up, so if you find a knob with pointer, know that it is easily removed.

-Pat

[Robert763]

My soldering tool of choice has been the Weller TCP for 40 years. Only thing I don't like is some of the later transformers buzzed and had enough magnetic field to affect CRTs. Solution to that was to put a toroid in it. The recent two part bits are crap though.
IMy second choice is Metcal, only downside is the cost.  Used the SP200 at work when they first came out. Did see quite a few coil faiures on those and the life of the bit plating was not great, are the cartridges for the later models more reliable?