Pace ADS200 soldering station

[EEVblog]

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?

You could argue that is a safety feature.
If you are using "auto set back" then you are just away for a while and it makes sense to turn on on liftoff.
But it's gone into "auto off" then that means you've gone away for a long time (left work or whatever) and forgot to turn it off. In that case a cleaner or someone could come along an knock the iron onto the floor and start a fire or something.

[Shock]

Dave I noticed in your Garmin video you were still using the silicon pad to change the tips, did you lose the Pace tip tool tweezers? You should use them it will change your life.

[bookaboo]

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?

Appears to just go to setback temp, though it's fast anyway.

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.

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?

You could argue that is a safety feature.
If you are using "auto set back" then you are just away for a while and it makes sense to turn on on liftoff.
But it's gone into "auto off" then that means you've gone away for a long time (left work or whatever) and forgot to turn it off. In that case a cleaner or someone could come along an knock the iron onto the floor and start a fire or something.

Valid point on the safety, fine as a default but I'd like the option to override that in the settings (all our irons are fixed points)
It's a relatively minor complaint on an otherwise excellent unit.

[EEVblog]

Dave I noticed in your Garmin video you were still using the silicon pad to change the tips, did you lose the Pace tip tool tweezers?

Err, no, they are, err, in my lab...

[EEVblog]

So what happened to the SMD tweezers? Were they released?
Thinking about getting another base unit just for those, but not sure if you can just get the base station on it's own?

[Shock]

Pace may announce it at the IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego this week. I've not seen the new stations sold separately yet, but it's been done in the past.

There is a slot on the left hand side of the stand to store the tip tool. Easier to use than the silicon pad, especially changing hot tips on the tweezers.

[Mp3]

I figured if i broke 4 hakko 888 handles, and the new wellers have construction concerns, i will be the owner of a shiny new ads2000 

How will i know when i get it if it has the auto set-back feature? Am i correct that earlier units dont have this function? I just got the unit on ebay because there was a distributor with them for 240 there, versus 290 on amazon and most other places.

It seems to be a legit distributor, not a random seller.

[labjr]

Wow! The prices jumped up quite a bit this year!

[Mp3]

Wow! The prices jumped up quite a bit this year!

No need to rub it in 

[E-D-P]

If the $239 listing you're referring to is this one...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/184160280194

...then it's not the Instant SetBack unit.  The part number for Instant SetBack ends with -0579, not -0578.

The cheapest ISB unit on eBay is $295, sold by TEquipment, here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/333365788800.

-Eric

[labjr]

The price increases are rather substantial. I wonder if this was planned?

[Shock]

All stations come with configurable timers to go into auto setback (a low temp mode) and auto off (a no temp mode). Wiping the tip or pressing a button will cancel auto setback and pressing a button will cancel auto off.

If you buy the instant setback version of the station, the stand comes with an additional cable and switch. When this is connected to the station you can control another configurable timer called instant setback. After you pick the handpiece it cancels setback and when you return the handpiece to the stand it actives instant setback.

[Shock]

The price increases are rather substantial. I wonder if this was planned?

I doubt the list price has changed significantly, maybe 10% from the introductory price. Tequipment were doing it at a reduced introductory price with the Eevblog discount on top, that shaved off a good $30-40.

[Mp3]

Thanks for the info, I had quite a few ebay specific discounts i could stack up so i got quite a good deal, even if it's the older, non-instant setback capable model. I suppose it's no huge loss, given what I paid.

I gotta go research the tips for these things, never had Pace before, i will have to un-learn my hakko ways! It looks like the days of buying a dozen clone tips and deciding later what tips i even want are over though 

[labjr]

It's not older. Just the non-setback model. You could always devise a setback switch if you're handy. The base unit still has the input for the setback switch.

[labjr]

I doubt the list price has changed significantly, maybe 10% from the introductory price. Tequipment were doing it at a reduced introductory price with the Eevblog discount on top, that shaved off a good $30-40.

The bottom line is it's now about $40 more than it was regardless of the EEV Blog discount. Tips went up a couple bucks too. I had thought this model was going to stay competitive with Hakko etc. 

[EEVblog]

The price increases are rather substantial. I wonder if this was planned?

Original price sheet I have is US$265 for the auto-set back version.

Locally it's AU$500 on special now ex-gst
https://www.mektronics.com.au/pace-ads200-station-with-instant-setback-tool-stand.html
For comparison the Hakko FX-888 is $169
https://www.mektronics.com.au/hakko-fx-888d-digital-soldering-station-genuine-incl-free-roll-of-solder-mc334.html
Not a comparable iron I know, but just shows the huge price discrepancy between the architectures.
The comparable Hakko FX951 though is $419
https://www.mektronics.com.au/hakko-fx-951-lead-free-digital-solder-station.html

[EEVblog]

Pace may announce it at the IPC APEX EXPO in San Diego this week. I've not seen the new stations sold separately yet, but it's been done in the past.

It would be crazy to sell the tweezers separately and not the station. Very common to have a dedicated tweezer station and iron, you don't want to be swapping them.

[Mp3]

Forgive me for showing up in the thread not knowing anything about this iron.

I typically am doing lots of very fine work so i prefer to use the finest tip possible  when i'm not doing stuff like banging out a bunch of thru hole.

Two quick questions.

• 1/128" Conical (0.20mm) or 1/128" Conical Special (0.20mm), I can't tell what's different on these two?
• From what I can tell, the Miniwave is a great tip for SMT work, but is it worth using for general thru hole / repair work too?

[EEVblog]

• 1/128" Conical (0.20mm) or 1/128" Conical Special (0.20mm), I can't tell what's different on these two?

Likely just more thermal capacity.

[2N3055]

• From what I can tell, the Miniwave is a great tip for SMT work, but is it worth using for general thru hole / repair work too?

Not really. Little concave reservoir in the tip is not deep enough for a TH wire to go into.
Also, how useful Miniwave is to you, depends on person and technique. I love it, my son doesn't. He prefers normal mid size tip. Does equally good job with it too...

Good thing about ADS200 is that tips are very affordable and very easy to change. So even if you don't use tip all the time, you can afford to get specialist tip, for those odd jobs when you need it..

[Shock]

The Miniwave is more for drag soldering or reworking rows of legs on SMD packages like QFP. It gives a controlled release of solder due to the surface tension being concentrated in one spot. To drag solder larger legs and rows of though hole use the knife blade instead. The knife is the most versatile but if it's not going to break the bank I'd be getting both of these.

[tooki]

Forgive me for showing up in the thread not knowing anything about this iron.

I typically am doing lots of very fine work so i prefer to use the finest tip possible  when i'm not doing stuff like banging out a bunch of thru hole.

Two quick questions.

• 1/128" Conical (0.20mm) or 1/128" Conical Special (0.20mm), I can't tell what's different on these two?
• From what I can tell, the Miniwave is a great tip for SMT work, but is it worth using for general thru hole / repair work too?

Knowing full well that it's not what they're intended for, I actually love that kind of tip for all sorts of non-SMD use, too. For example, they work great for tinning wires, as they hold onto the excess solder. Similarly, they work well for THT soldering, especially when the pads are on the small side, or when the hole is a bit too big, for the same reason. They don't need to envelop the entire joint, you come from the side as you would with a chisel tip.

Given how incredibly cheap Pace's Miniwave are compared to other companies (e.g. my Ersa, where a conical tip is about €10, but the "Miniwell" is €30), I'd suggest getting one. They're awesome for SMD work, but their versatility for other things make them a key member of my tip collection.

Caveat: I've never worked with a PLCC blade, so I can't compare how they behave for THT applications.

[Mp3]

Thanks for the inputs, fellas.

Well, i did order a Miniwave and a chisel tip and two of the fine conical tips.

I saw those videos on the Miniwave, which makes them look awesome for bigger surface mount work, but i had a suspicion they'd be good for tinning and some thru hole situations as well.

Anyway, i'll give you all a break and wait for my shiny new Pace and make my way thru the earlier pages in the thread until it gets here. 

[Shock]

The comparable Hakko FX951 though is $419

The Hakko FX951 comes with two different stands, that one you mentioned is the cheaper version with no sleep function. It's also only 70W and doesn't take the performance tips like the Pace and JBC do. It's better than the knockoff you tested but essentially has the same quirks.

The Pace is more comparable in spec to the JBC but without overshooting ~20C or requiring calibration. On some JBC models the station knows perfectly well it's running over set temp, but their software hides displaying it.