CFW for KSGER/Quicko STM32 Soldering Stations

[DavidAlfa]

Any station is very much the same, and the same mod applies for C245 tips.

[S_older]

Thanks. I ordered this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32971888371.html set 12. It's still in transit. I'll open it up when it gets here and see where to go from there.

[sebbi1983do]

Hello. Today I got my ksger station. Can anybody tell me the pin out for the 5 pins? I want to resolder my Handskit iron to use it. Br

[ststefanov13]

Pinout is on a diagram.

[Jono434]

I received a PM from a user a month or two ago.. but I haven't been on the forum for a while.  Today I wanted to find the time to post an update.  Since Christmas I have had serious health issues and haven't been able to complete this project.  I hope to return to it at some point in the future.  But now for now, I don't have the time or energy to try.  There are other things in the way, and if I return to it, I want to be able to give it full concentration while working with the electrical side.  I wanted to thank DavidAlfa and others for the open nature of this firmware, and sharing ideas or help with each other.   It's a really fun thing to have a small soldering iron like this and I hope to finish it at some point this year.  I have all the parts sitting in a box waiting to be completed.

So far, the only thing completed is some customized settings and UI changes in the firmware.  With a script that can take a new version of the firmware and apply my custom stuff over the top of it (it's mainly just custom visual stuff so that it looks the way I prefer on my version of the screen).  There's two splash screens for example.. it shows STM32 logo then JBC/Hakko logo for a second or two.  And resizing some of the icons or fonts in a certain way.  There's an icon for each tip type, but they are so small it's hard to get a lot of detail.  It was all just a bit of fun to play around.  Creating the script was complicated, if one thing is wrong.. the firmware won't boot up.. it requires a lot of backups and troubleshooting, but once it's created properly, it works.  I used AutoHotkey, but I'm sure the same idea would work with AutoIt or C++ or something else.  AutoHotkey is the only one I have a lot of experience with.

I was already very happy with no changes from DavidAlfa's firmware, the other side was just a bit of fun.  After the first time I flashed the firmware, I must have flashed it a 1000 times before Christmas.  This worked reliably.  Even though the mechanical connections became strained.  I recommend soldering a 2.0 PH connector to the PCB, and also to the STM32 Programmer connectors.  My connections were improvised because I didn't have any connectors when I received the PCB.  They have become loose over time, and you need to be careful not to bump the PCB or wires while they connected.  Or if you turn the rotary knob.  I used the PC's power via USB to power the screen and chip.  But it all worked.  As long as you are careful not to touch the the wires too much.

I have yet to plug in any iron handles or tips, and that side of the code is stock so far.  Except for some profiles created for the specific tip sizes that I have in the box of parts.  This is fun stuff, and I hope to return to it at some point in the future.  And to make it work with the different iron handles.  There's just serious life stuff in the way at the moment.

[sebbi1983do]

Hello. I have this chip on my new ksger 3.1. this is not a smt32 chip correct? I can connect it with st link software, but I can’t remove the write protection. Br

[DavidAlfa]

Search "mm32" in this thread   . (Not compatible with cfw).

[xlzslayer]

Hello, I'm quite new to this place and field, so apologies in advance for my inexperience.

I was wondering if it would be possible to modify this board to work with c245 tips. is it possible to do so by modifying how the wires are connected to the gx12 connector? I plan on hooking up a couple of relays so that I can switch between c245 and t12/c210 (c210 apparently works along with the t12 without requiring modifications).

For clarification, I have not purchased this board yet, this is a picture from another customer that bought it from the same listing.

feel free to recommend me a board that would be easy to modify.

Thanks

The image doesn't work properly with "end-of-post expandable thumbnail", extremely unlucky first post.... spent way too long trying to make it work, another image worked fine
had to convert it to png instead of saving it as png (from webp)

[sst311212]

I use the blue one, very easy to mod.
After modding board, you need connect "+" and "TC" in male GX12 connector (For T12).

[DavidAlfa]

had to convert it to png instead of saving it as png (from webp)

Use jpg dude! Png is good for vectors and simple colours, but gets gigantic with photos.

Edit: FYI, I bought several tips from the Quicko store.
To my surprise they worked great for the start, hadn't the usual jumping/madness.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006101561984.html

[xlzslayer]

Use jpg dude! Png is good for vectors and simple colours, but gets gigantic with photos.

My bad, will do from now on!

Edit: FYI, I bought several tips from the Quicko store.
To my surprise they worked great for the start, hadn't the usual jumping/madness.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006101561984.html

Possibly manufacturing process ironed out/improved, or it could be a different factory altogether, good to know though!

[xlzslayer]

I use the blue one, very easy to mod.
After modding board, you need connect "+" and "TC" in male GX12 connector (For T12).

I see. Does the mod consist of the soldered resistor on "G" and "N", and the trace cut beneath it?

As for "+" and "TC", I'm a little confused, are those referring to the black JBC cable, and the solder blob on "+" ( why is there a blob there anyway?).

[DavidAlfa]

Finally, I bought a KSGER v3 for my dad, replaced the stinky MM32 with a STM32, flashed the CFW, all good.
PID was a bit off, slowly oscillating back and forth.

After some tuning I got it pretty decent with the following settings:

FILTER MENU
 - Filter: 75%
 - Threshold: 60
 - Min: 40%

PID:
 - Kp: 45
 - Ki: 15
 - Kd: 6

Though the response with the Quicko tips are close to perfect compared to my old ones!

[sst311212]

I see. Does the mod consist of the soldered resistor on "G" and "N", and the trace cut beneath it?

As for "+" and "TC", I'm a little confused, are those referring to the black JBC cable, and the solder blob on "+" ( why is there a blob there anyway?).

I soldered a 10K resistor as "NTC" for a static temperature reference, but it's not a general modding.
You should connect real "NTC" in tip handle or in GX12 connector.

Original board has a 0 ohm resistor on "J1" (below "R1"), it connect "+" and "JBC" together on board.
T12 tip connect heater and thermal-couple in serial but C245 is not, so you need connect it back to use T12 tips.
And why has a solder blob on "+", because I think it might help current flow while using C245?

Finally, I bought a KSGER v3 for my dad, replaced the stinky MM32 with a STM32, flashed the CFW, all good.
PID was a bit off, slowly oscillating back and forth.
...........

I add a new building profile for chinese firmware build in my main branch, can you take a look if having free time.

[xlzslayer]

Ah okay, thanks for the clarification ^^

[elektryk]

Finally, I bought a KSGER v3 for my dad, replaced the stinky MM32 with a STM32, flashed the CFW, all good.
PID was a bit off, slowly oscillating back and forth.

After some tuning I got it pretty decent with the following settings:

FILTER MENU
 - Filter: 75%
 - Threshold: 60
 - Min: 40%

PID:
 - Kp: 45
 - Ki: 15
 - Kd: 6

Though the response with the Quicko tips are close to perfect compared to my old ones!

Can you recommend settings for genuine T245 (for example 931)?
In my case default ones leads to some oscillations.

[DavidAlfa]

I can't. Set Ki to 0, adjust Kp until it doesn't oscillate, then try increasing Ki until overshooting.

[jesusthegoat]

So after doing countless hours of research I ended up picking a Quecoo T12-958 and a KSGER V3.1S, so I could mod one with the other. Upon opening them I realized they're exactly the same components except the KSGER has the ground plug on the rear.

I was able to swap the MM32 to a genuine STM32 on the KSGER. I also got the firmware successfully installed, but this is where the issues began. After installing the firmware I plugged in the PSU and powered it on no problem and scrolled down to the "Save" option on the first boot screen, and when I pressed the encoder wheel down it froze and nothing happened. So I powered it off and on and nothing happened. I unplugged from the PSU and hooked it back up to the STLink and connected it to my computer and got it to boot again, but the encoder doesn't do anything anymore and its stuck in like a boot loop where it powers on and off.

I plan on reinstalling the firmware when I get home, but other than that I have to idea what else too try.

Anyone else have a similar issue? Or can point me in the right direction to troubleshoot the issue.

[DavidAlfa]

Fake stm32. See clones and clone detection.

[jesusthegoat]

They're real I got them straight from STMicroelectronics.

[DavidAlfa]

Please try this:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/stm32-oled-digital-soldering-station-for-t12-handle/msg5253981/#msg5253981

[jesusthegoat]

Well I just got home and tried to connect it with STLink and it wont even power on or connect. 

[DavidAlfa]

Make sure the pins and solder joints are ok.

I think you should read the readme, check this:
https://github.com/deividAlfa/stm32_soldering_iron_controller/blob/master/Readme_files/Programming.md#stm32-not-recognized-error

Your board is identical to the last one I bought, replaced the mm32 with no issues at all!
nRST pin goes to C4 in your board.

[jesusthegoat]

Already tried shorting C4 with some tweezers also didn't work. I was hesitant to rework the pins because I was able to get it programmed so easily, but I'm going to remove the IC and replace it.

I'll Report back shortly.

[jesusthegoat]

Swapped in another STM32 and got it programmed and working successfully! Not sure what the issue was with the first one.

Next up is getting it ready for the T245 handle I have on the way. Still doing research on exactly what traces need to be cut/modified. I already separated pin 3 and 4, and reconnect it inside the T12 handle.