Pace ADS200 soldering station

[Cliff Matthews]

The manual without being explicit implies that it will go to the factory set start up temp.

From what I can tell it just pulls up the first preset temp the first time you use it. The last time I checked the manual that was 343C/650F. So by hitting the preset (program) button once you can get it back to that temp anytime, that is until you change the presets.

If I hold the down button until the display shows OFF, mine will return to OFF on the next power-up. (ver 1.4)

[Shock]

If I hold the down button until the display shows OFF, mine will return to OFF on the next power-up. (ver 1.4)

So you mean it also remembers the off state? I've not tried that deliberately while taking notice of it, but that would seem like predictable behavior to me. Remembering which setting you last had is mimicking an analog control.

As for interfaces you would want to make an exception to that if it was considerably more user friendly to not use that behavior (amps turning back on at full volume is one example that comes to mind) but since you have taken a deliberate action to set the controls to off and it's easily changed, that seems reasonable to me. Remembering purposeful changes is generally less annoying than forgetting them.

[cuebus]

Hi everyone,

I just purchased an ADS200 after using an XYtronic temp controlled iron for almost 10 years.
The first thing I noticed is that with the 3/32" chisel tip that I'm using, any temperature higher than 500F is just far too hot to do any ordinary component soldering. It came factory set to 700 or 750 I think, and when I first powered it on and applied solder, the flux burned so fast that it smelled burnt in less than a second, and some of the flux was actually vaporizing (and sputtering) on contact and creating a pillow of steam that kept the solder from even letting the solder touch the tip!
I'm able to solder at 500F, but even then, it seems like this is extremely hot as the flux on the tip still starts to burn within about 2-3 seconds, whereas on my old iron, it would take at least 10-15 seconds before it started burning.

Is this a case of something miscalibrated, or do I just need to get used to the extreme performance of a direct temp type soldering station like this? My old XYtronic was notoriously bad at keeping the temperature level when there was even a small ground plane.
My IR thermometer conveniently ran out of batteries this week so I haven't been able to measure actual tip temperature, but plan to do that next week after the holidays.

If anyone could let me know if they have a similar experience, that would be great. Thanks!

[Shock]

The first thing I noticed is that with the 3/32" chisel tip that I'm using, any temperature higher than 500F is just far too hot to do any ordinary component soldering. It came factory set to 700 or 750 I think, and when I first powered it on and applied solder, the flux burned so fast that it smelled burnt in less than a second, and some of the flux was actually vaporizing (and sputtering) on contact and creating a pillow of steam that kept the solder from even letting the solder touch the tip!

I think first you want to ensure you are using the correct series cartridges. Pace 1130 and 1131 series are the only cartridges supported on the ADS200 it has a blue plastic cap at the end where the socket is. You can also read the part number off the cartridge barrel which should have a 1130 or 1131 prefix.

Does this happen to all your tips? Ensure you aren't using the black and gold ended cartridges. Try measuring the DC resistance of the tips heater using a multimeter on ohms, measure across the two contacts.

I'm able to solder at 500F, but even then, it seems like this is extremely hot as the flux on the tip still starts to burn within about 2-3 seconds, whereas on my old iron, it would take at least 10-15 seconds before it started burning.

The factory presets for the ADS200 are 650/700/750F but that can be too hot for some applications with small tips. The Pace ADS200 can reach 650F set temp on a small tip in about 3-4 seconds so it's normal to be way faster than other stations. Especially if you compare it to those that take 20-30 seconds.

In normal soldering most of the time you would not apply solder to the iron tip until soldering a joint, prior to that it should be clean and shiny. If you are using flux cored solder flux will burn off as soon as the solder melts, this is normal behavior.

Super aggressive solder bubbling and flux spitting hard is either bad solder or the temp is too hot. If you have not changed the solder you should be able to predict how it has behaved in the past. Solder not wetting to the iron is also a sign of too high a temp or a dirty tip. If the solder is new test it at the same temp on another iron to rule out all possibilities.

Is this a case of something miscalibrated, or do I just need to get used to the extreme performance of a direct temp type soldering station like this? My old XYtronic was notoriously bad at keeping the temperature level when there was even a small ground plane.

What firmware does your station display on startup?

There is actually a very comprehensive calibration facility in the station. Normally you would not need to use it at all. There also should be no reason you are calibrating tips. But if you have inadvertently changed the default settings or set a temperature match here is what you need to check to get it back to defaults.

Page 6 in the manual talks about the "Temperature Match Offset" mode of the station at startup. On that same page you will see the factory defaults. In the stations config ensure the "Temperature match mode" is set to "0C0" and the "Temperature Match Value" is set to "0". When you are happy scrolling through all the settings save them by going to "End" and then pressing the up arrow button. In your case I would double check they saved as well.

Then to ensure the station now forgets about any temperature match value. Have the station turned on normally with everything connected and disconnect the handpiece at the socket.

Again as far as I'm aware you shouldn't need to do this EVER unless you have messed up these settings. So only aim to restore it back to defaults and do the disconnection to forget the temperature match.

https://www.paceworldwide.com/sites/default/files/ADS200-Operation-Manual.pdf

[exe]

If anyone could let me know if they have a similar experience, that would be great. Thanks!

I'd buy a thermocouple or something to measure tip temperature.

It happened to me once that I replaced heater and thermocouple on my cheap hakko clone and it worked amazing... until I measured the actual temperature. It was 450C. Turned out I used wrong replacement parts.

[Shock]

If anyone could let me know if they have a similar experience, that would be great. Thanks!

I'd buy a thermocouple or something to measure tip temperature.

It happened to me once that I replaced heater and thermocouple on my cheap hakko clone and it worked amazing... until I measured the actual temperature. It was 450C. Turned out I used wrong replacement parts.

Heh, yeah that is actually quite common on those clones, there are a few different types, 450C though that is every day soldering to Metcal users hahah.  Inserting the wrong series tip has a similar symptom to what Cuebus is experiencing. Which is the same sort of problem as you had but on a cartridge based system.

The Pace 1130 and 1131 series cartridges have their own k type thermocouple, so if you more than one cartridge it should be easy to see if it's the issue. But as for measuring the temp in general yes a thermocouple can help and it's going to be more accurate than an IR thermometer.

The cartridge tips thermocouple itself should be quite accurate and there are a few methods that come to mind to check without using an external thermocouple. One of them is to reduce the station temp to the melt temp of the solder you are using, and then slowly reduce it to solid state. If the station is running significantly high or low the transition temps won't line up with the type of solder being used.

[mcconkeyb]

The manual without being explicit implies that it will go to the factory set start up temp.

From what I can tell it just pulls up the first preset temp the first time you use it. The last time I checked the manual that was 343C/650F. So by hitting the preset (program) button once you can get it back to that temp anytime, that is until you change the presets.

Yes, you are right!
In the manual they do list the default factory start up temp as 700F/ 371C (second last entry in the second column of the table at the bottom of page 6 of the manual dated 10/11/2018) . But once you change the operating temp, doesn't matter how you do it, by the up/down set buttons or using one of the presets, then turn the unit off, at the next start up it will return to the last used temp before shut down. If you have not changed the user presets, then you can get to the factory settings by pressing the program button twice just after power up. Or you can press the program button twice just before shut down, and then at next power up you will once again be at 700F/371C.

[Shock]

Yes, you are right!

Well almost, I was close looks like preset 2 was the factory temp. I should have looked at the manual. Anyway I just set the first preset to the temp I'm using the most, then one press and it's back to where I want it.

[PhilB]

I have a couple observations to share:

1. Occasionally on power on the station goes into the Setup  mode. Perhaps  turning the power on may produce glitches on the power bus that kick the micro into the Setup mode. Would be good if Pace looked into it.

2. The iron goes to standby on me while i am actively soldering. Seems the configured standby timeout activates regardless of if the iron is in the caddy inactive or is being used. That is annoying. I'd think detection of variations in the tip temperature could be used to sense activity and reset the timeout.

I have had mine for a few weeks now and have experienced neither of these issues.

I absolutely love this station so far.

[Shock]

I have had mine for a few weeks now and have experienced neither of these issues.
I absolutely love this station so far.

Me neither I've used standard setback a lot and I probably turned mine on and off a hundred times testing before even using them. But one thing is I have a fairly clean power environment, I purposefully avoid running too many SMPS and bin Chinese bricks. If it is power or noise related and that is pure speculation it could literally be anything, even a sticky button will exhibit the same symptom.

The second observation is probably setting, tip and usage dependent. But detecting the variation of the tip temp is exactly how it extends (resets) the standard setback timer. When mine goes into standard setback it's because I have paused for too long and it was cooling down when I noticed it, for this reason it's probably not a good idea to have a short setting. It's easy to test if this feature is functioning properly. I'm on firmware 1-4 by the way.

Till Aaron gets back enjoy this sexy TD200 image.

[cuebus]

Finally had a chance to get back to this. I checked that I ordered the right tips (1131 series), and I used Dave's 121GW meter's thermocouple to measure the tip temp. At the very tip, with just a dab of solder to ensure thermal coupling, I measured 670 degrees F, while the station is set to 500F. So, I think there is definitely something wrong with either the control board or the handpiece, because each tip is way overtemp in this way.
I'm on firmware 1-4. Perhaps someone from Pace can chime in - could this be as easy as a control board or firmware swap, or should I send it back to tequipment.net where I got it?

[Shock]

Did you get a chance to try my recommendations in the above post to restore all the defaults in the station and remove the temperature match offset, if any? Since it doesn't appear to be a single tip problem, the config seems the most obvious.

[cuebus]

Will try those tonight, although, seems awfully strange to have any changes to the temp cal coming straight from the factory, no?

[Shock]

Will try those tonight, although, seems awfully strange to have any changes to the temp cal coming straight from the factory, no?

I personally wouldn't be concerned how it got there, if I saw the temperatures not matching the first thing I would do is make sure all the config settings are on the defaults and clear the temp match. Since the temp match comes clear by default you aren't losing anything by trying.

[cuebus]

Ok, it was the tip. I thought I had ruled that out before making measurements and didn't bother to revisit it.
All the other tips measure fine.

 

[Shock]

If you are curious you could try measuring the DC resistance of that tip. I checked some TD200 blue series tips, I get about 4.0-4.2 ohms at room temp. For reference the TD100/TD100a black series measure about 3.8 ohms.

[Cliff Matthews]

We'll never know, but it wouldn't surprise me to find all high-perf brands may have return rates >1% (even after factory pre-tests). Apparently it's an art to get solid TC cementing so close to the tip, so if Joe average makes a 1st order with 4 tips, 1-in-25 will need to chat with support@paceworldwide.com  Pace is top-tier fast with service, so one probably of these guys will be on the other end to help.

[neo_]

Didn't want to thread jack, can someone please share what plug is used on the Pace SMR handles? I can find other Pace connectors in Amphenol's catalog, besides this one.

[tooki]

Didn't want to thread jack, can someone please share what plug is used on the Pace SMR handles? I can find other Pace connectors in Amphenol's catalog, besides this one.

Well that is threadjacking. If you want to make someone aware of another thread, send them a PM.

In that thread, I gave you a plausible answer (and supplier) 4 days ago, and you never reacted.

[neo_]

In that thread, I gave you a plausible answer (and supplier) 4 days ago, and you never reacted.

Posting here to see if this exact connector is available.

I ordered a connector suggested by you, awaiting shipping arrival for test fit before I reply. Thanks, and Smile!

[bookaboo]

I have upgraded all my stations to  ADS200 a few weeks now and very happy with them.

I have one problem with the "auto set back" and "auto off" functions:
When the unit enters "auto set back" simply lifting the handpiece resumes normal operation, ramp up is fast and works perfectly.
When the unit enters "auto off" lifting the handpiece does nothing, one of the keypad buttons needs to be pressed. This can be frustrating, can it be set to exit the "auto off" mode on lifting the handpiece? Why else would I lift the handpiece if I didn't want the unit to ramp up?
I know its possible to disable the "auto off" but I quite like the feature, it's beneficial for saving tips and safety.

Is there a way to have the unit exit "auto off" mode when the handpiece is lifted?

[dkggpeters]

Auto setback will lower your tip temp after a designated time after you put the iron in the stand assuming you have an auto setback stand.  Auto off is set at a default of 60 minutes and the timers starts after the unit goes into setback and is not used for that amount of time.

[bookaboo]

Yes that's how it works with my stand. I just cant understand why it doesn't wake from "off" when I pick up the iron again. It seems there is no solution unless they change the firmware.

[labjr]

Maybe one situation they didn't think of when they wrote the firmware. I would disable the auto-off feature. Though I would think pressing a button isn't a real problem, since it takes several seconds to heat up from cold. I don't think I'd hold the iron waiting.

Does it heat up to setback temp when you press a button? Or do you have to lift the iron out of the cubby too?

[Shock]

Congrats on the new stations, assume you have the instant setback models from your description. Aaron explained before with the autooff safety feature being config set to 90mins you can get a good lunch break in if you need.

With the stand detection exiting the station out of autooff it would mean if the station was accidentally left on and a cleaner/child/gremlin knocked the handpiece out it would turn on again leaving the full auto setback and autooff timers to count down before turning off again. This perhaps defeats the unattended safety aspect of it.