Pace ADS200 soldering station

[grantb5]

Curiously I have one tip that's been "odd", but then I dropped it on a hard floor (oops). What is your test method (outside of the iron)? Are you testing resistance or continuity?  My unit is about 8 months old.

[PACE-Worldwide]

Hey folks,

I bought a Pace ADS200 in February of this year. I use it for hobbiest level repair work. Last week, my tip I use most went open. I have used a hakko 935 for almost 20 years and have never had a heating cartridge go open. I've replaced tips due to oxidation, but never have I had a cartridge fail.

I wrote to pace worldwide to inquire what the expected life on their cartridges is and whether there might be a fault with my unit, 2.5 months of use did not seem acceptable. They have not bothered to reply. I went ahead and ordered more tips, but yesterday I had it blow one of the other tips open. This one had barely any use, maybe 2-3 hours over the last two months.

I'm wondering what kind of life the rest of you are getting out of the cartridges? I really think there may be an issue with my unit. Fwiw, I never use a sponge, I know it's harder on plating, but I use the brass wool. The point is, these types are not seeing repeated thermal shock.

Thanks,
Jason

Hi Jason,

Aaron from PACE here. I'm the guy that usually receives the comment form from our website but I can't recall seeing anything from you yesterday. Did you send it to the support@paceworldwide.com, as I do not receive messages from e-address? Just judging from your comments, I'd say it's a bad tip, which we can replace. Please message me a part number and your address and  I'll have a new one shipped out.

To answer your questions on expected life expectancy, tip life will depend on several factors:

Tip Temperature: the higher the temp, the more the oxidation of the protective iron plating of the tip, and thus lessening the life. This especially important if you are using lead-free solder, which is 3-5x more corrosive to the plating than Tin-Lead solder.

Duty Cycle: Some customers use an iron for multiple shifts 24/7 (which I'd consider extremely heavy duty use, tips possibly lasting for 1-5 days), some use a tip every day (moderate use) while others use it occasionally or just several times a week. If you are using the iron everyday to solder in a single component, the tip should last anywhere from 6 months to over a year.

Common Sense Soldering Practices: You should always add solder to the end of the tip after use or when you place the iron in it's tip holder (protects the iron plating); If you are heavy handed, applying too much pressure to the tip causes stress fractures in the plating, causing premature failure (so always use a light touch); using an overly water-drenched sponge can cause thermal shock to the tip plating; 

There are many more things you can do to extend tip life but let's get you a new tip as the one you had seems to be defective.

Hope this helps,

Aaron

[Jacampb2]

Aaron, thank you for the reply.  I sent the email last week when the first tip failed.  I had a second tip fail yesterday.  The tip yesterday had barely been used.  The first one to fail was the one I used primarily.  To be clear, the plating has not failed on either tip. Both burned open, and the controller read CHP.  The resistance of both tips is infinite, where a good cartridge reads about 4R.  I use this as a hobbyist, not in production.  Probably 3-4 days a week with less than 4hrs with the unit at temp.  I typically run at 600-650° F.

I am very concerned that my controller has an issue.  The one tip that had seen the most use, I sort of understand, but I still think that life is abnormally short.  The second tip had been used very little.  I bought more tips, but I'm concerned that it is just going to blow them open again, and as a hobbyist, I cannot afford to keep throwing money away.  I will PM you my email address if you would like to contact me there.

Thank you,
Jason

[PACE-Worldwide]

Aaron, thank you for the reply.  I sent the email last week when the first tip failed.  I had a second tip fail yesterday.  The tip yesterday had barely been used.  The first one to fail was the one I used primarily.  To be clear, the plating has not failed on either tip. Both burned open, and the controller read CHP.  The resistance of both tips is infinite, where a good cartridge reads about 4R.  I use this as a hobbyist, not in production.  Probably 3-4 days a week with less than 4hrs with the unit at temp.  I typically run at 600-650° F.

I am very concerned that my controller has an issue.  The one tip that had seen the most use, I sort of understand, but I still think that life is abnormally short.  The second tip had been used very little.  I bought more tips, but I'm concerned that it is just going to blow them open again, and as a hobbyist, I cannot afford to keep throwing money away.  I will PM you my email address if you would like to contact me there.

Thank you,
Jason

Totally understand! I'll get back with you soon.

Aaron

[ruizvial]

tweezers for PACE ADS200??

[Shock]

tweezers for PACE ADS200??

Not released yet, as far as I'm aware. But promised

[PACE-Worldwide]

tweezers for PACE ADS200??

Shock is correct. We have a new Thermal Tweezer specifically designed for the ADS200 that is almost ready but product launch is set for late Summer 2019. The Tweezer handpiece is very close but there are some long lead-time items (i.e. castings for a new ISB Instant Setback Tool Stand; several new fine point tip cartridges for 0201-type micro-components) that will take at least 3 more months to complete. Beta tests with customers are slated for early August. Product launch in September.

Aaron

[bpye]

Is https://www.accessotronik.com/ the best Canadian distributor? Sadly I find myself just north of the border in BC.

Also, for the instant setback, worth the 75CAD? Not convinced since I will not be using the iron heavily (few times a week, at most), but then again, I would hope the station would last a good few years so maybe it's worth the up front cost.

[PACE-Worldwide]

Is https://www.accessotronik.com/ the best Canadian distributor? Sadly I find myself just north of the border in BC.

Also, for the instant setback, worth the 75CAD? Not convinced since I will not be using the iron heavily (few times a week, at most), but then again, I would hope the station would last a good few years so maybe it's worth the up front cost.

I'm a huge fan of Accessotronik as they stock product well and are very supportive to customers. They are also very technically knowlegeable about PACE products and have their own soldering/rework training programs available to Canadians, all using PACE equipment. Arbell is also a good distributor. The other distributors servicing Canada reside in the US, so I would check out Accessotronik and Arbell first.

Concerning the Instant SetBack Tool Stand, I think it's well worth the investment since it automatically drops the idling tip temperature to below solder melt when placed into the stand, reducing oxidation and iron plating dissolution, significantly extending tip life. This is especially important if you are using lead-free solder  which is far more corrosive to the iron plating, especially at elevated temperatures. It's also recommended if you use the iron frequently. The extended tip life will more than pay for itself over a year or 2. But if you are an occasional solderer, you may opt to program the unit to "set-back" the temperature after a period of inactivity. You can also program an "Auto-Off" function to turn the unit off after it has transitioned into "SetBack." Both of these features can be programmed into any PACE power supply (does not require the Instant Setback Stand). Hope this helps.

Aaron

[EEVblog]

Beta tests with customers are slated for early August. Product launch in September.

Hand up.

[PACE-Worldwide]

Beta tests with customers are slated for early August. Product launch in September.

Hand up.

Hi Dave,

We'll get back to you when it's ready!

Aaron

[EEVblog]

How does one get the new firmware?
Is a HEX file available for self programming?

[Bud]

I'm a huge fan of Accessotronik as they stock product well and are very supportive to customers.

I did not get that feeling. They are a weird one. Bought a few times from them and they always slow on shipping. No shipping notices. Lastly I just gave up on waiting, just ordered and moved with my life, knowing they will ship it later than sooner.

[PACE-Worldwide]

How does one get the new firmware?
Is a HEX file available for self programming?

Unfortunately not. You have to open the front panel and remove/replace a 44 pin PLCC. Yep, old school! I'll send you the latest Rev 1-4 Chip, which takes care of most of the screen weirdness while reaching the initial set temperature (you reported about this in your original review video). I'll send you the chip tomorrow.

Aaron

[PACE-Worldwide]

I'm a huge fan of Accessotronik as they stock product well and are very supportive to customers.

I did not get that feeling. They are a weird one. Bought a few times from them and they always slow on shipping. No shipping notices. Lastly I just gave up on waiting, just ordered and moved with my life, knowing they will ship it later than sooner.

First I heard of this. For PACE, they're a great distributor, but I'm sure they're not perfect. Thanks for the feedback.

Aaron

[EEVblog]

How does one get the new firmware?
Is a HEX file available for self programming?

Unfortunately not. You have to open the front panel and remove/replace a 44 pin PLCC. Yep, old school! I'll send you the latest Rev 1-4 Chip, which takes care of most of the screen weirdness while reaching the initial set temperature (you reported about this in your original review video). I'll send you the chip tomorrow.

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

[PACE-Worldwide]

How does one get the new firmware?
Is a HEX file available for self programming?

Unfortunately not. You have to open the front panel and remove/replace a 44 pin PLCC. Yep, old school! I'll send you the latest Rev 1-4 Chip, which takes care of most of the screen weirdness while reaching the initial set temperature (you reported about this in your original review video). I'll send you the chip tomorrow.

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

I'm really not sure. I think the designer has used that design for a number of our products, and he uses the same boards/chips for multiple versions of our soldering and desoldering stations. Economies of scale? I'll have to ask him.

Aaron

[labjr]

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

I'd think the ability for hobbyists to be able to alter the programming would increase popularity of the ADS200. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. 

[PACE-Worldwide]

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

I'd think the ability for hobbyists to be able to alter the programming would increase popularity of the ADS200. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

I agree. There has been opposition from our Engineering staff for some technical reason, but I'm not sure why. I'll investigate.

Aaron

[arcticfox]

Back on February I bought the Pace ADS200 with ISB stand plus 5 Standard Blue Series Tips and I just did the firmware update from Rev 1-2 to Rev 1-4.

It works like a charm. No issues.

Delivery time: only 4 business days after I sent an email to Aaron (Pace USA). 4 days!

Changing the chip: About 10 mins after I read carefully the well-documented instructions.

So thumbs up to Pace and Aaron for the excellent after-sales service!

I've read all the thread and comments so I thought it might be helpful to share my experience.

I have zero problems with tip oxidation, failures, soldering station noise, etc. I use leaded solder (Kester 331, 63/37 & Kester 245, 63/37) and brass wool for tip cleaning. Everything goes smoothly.

I use mostly the 1130-0019-P1 1/16" 30° Chisel and it's like new. In the beginning, the station was kept on about 5 hours a day for 3 weeks at 350C° during soldering if that's something.

Advice: "You should always add solder to the end of the tip after use or when you place the iron in it's tip holder", Aaron, Pace USA.

The thread has a lot of info and tips about the soldering process such as Pace ADS200 settings, temperatures, how to extend tip life etc.

Note: The solder I use is a matter of personal preference. You should always check the datasheets!

[gasmeter]

Hi

I bought mine from Farnell / Newark in the uk.
I requested the firmware upgrade from 1.2 as the new firmware was already out when I bought a new iron.


Farnell were useless/ bad at communication / didn't follow through  and I never did manage to get the update.

Peter

[PACE-Worldwide]

Hi

I bought mine from Farnell / Newark in the uk.
I requested the firmware upgrade from 1.2 as the new firmware was already out when I bought a new iron.


Farnell were useless/ bad at communication / didn't follow through  and I never did manage to get the update.

Peter

Peter,

Send me your mailing address via EEVBlog Message and I'll have our UK office send you out the latest Rev 1-4 Firmware Chip & Chip Puller.

Thanks,

Aaron

[EEVblog]

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

I'd think the ability for hobbyists to be able to alter the programming would increase popularity of the ADS200. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

In theory, yes, in practice most people don't care. They just want their soldering iron to work.
The problem with open sourcing code like this often comes down to product support. Grant, it's only a soldering iron, so not much to go wrong, but still Pace could end fielding support requests for software that isn't theirs. Either bugs, operational issues, or bricked units when people try to upgrade.

[PACE-Worldwide]

Thanks.
I know you have to replace the chip, but if the hex file was available then people could burn their own.
Concern over clones?

I'd think the ability for hobbyists to be able to alter the programming would increase popularity of the ADS200. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

In theory, yes, in practice most people don't care. They just want their soldering iron to work.
The problem with open sourcing code like this often comes down to product support. Grant, it's only a soldering iron, so not much to go wrong, but still Pace could end fielding support requests for software that isn't theirs. Either bugs, operational issues, or bricked units when people try to upgrade.

That's exactly what PACE's Engineering Manager told me a few weeks back!

Aaron

[tooki]

Not to mention what happens when someone’s crappy DIY firmware causes it to lock up with the output triac on and overheats the iron, frying the tip or worse. (Even if you put a disclaimer in the warranty terms, how do you prove a complainant didn’t just replace the stock firmware after frying something, leaving pace on the hook for warranty fulfillment?)

So while I like the idea of open firmware, I can totally see why a manufacturer wouldn’t want to open that can of worms. (This isn’t like a router or something. It’s controlling serious hardware. One could certainly architect a soldering station with all kinds of hardware interlocks or whatever, but then you’re raising the cost a lot, and locking some decisions into hardware.)