Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[mnementh]

Yeh, I know, you mentioned before about the scope and function geny method but problem is I like to have dedicated test gear that I grab it and go so to speak. none of my scopes can used on the bench as yet, its not big enough for that to happen, I would have clear out all the other crap in the room which is also used like junk cupboard if you like. My scopes have to sit on a computer trolley / desk that sit beside me on my left with a small walkway between them and my bench, yes the room is that small.

Hence my interest in having it as a complete little unit that I can take down from a shelf, and use it in the same fashion as I would a DMM.

The cheapie China-direct units will get you in the neighborhood, but if you want accurate you still need to get into at least the DER EE DE-5000 or one of the many Atlas models.

I have several Atlas units and several of the China-direct units; still waiting for a deal on a DE-5000 to slink my way.


mnem
*tzzzz*

Have you ever tried one of these https://zoomzem.com/watch?v=rMFpWbLVTHo they really are great but no good in circuit testing because of the size of the kelvin clips for starters.

Haven't even seen it before. Looks quite well designed, but it costs within a few Canadian Kopeks the same as the DE-5000, I'd probably still go with the latter, simply because it's a known quantity, and known to be pretty accurate.

I mean... if I had a similar calibrated unit from one of the big brands to compare against, I suppose I might be interested in it; but then I wouldn't really be interested.


mnem
*Currently high on Vicodin and blood loss after surviving a particularly grisly tooth extraction*

I have one and I have found it to be almost 100% accurate against known values, it does resistance measurements and very low resistance milliohms etc, inductors and capacitors, it automatically detects what it is testing and range selects to suite, and there is a newer version out http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Auto-LCR-Digital-Electric-Bridge-Resistance-Capacitance-Inductance-ESR-Meter-New-/181367473225?hash=item2a3a580449:g:UogAAMXQeKNTOh0c and there numorous references to it within many threads here as well and I beleive that this another T12 if you like, that you have done so much to champion, this product I think is largely dismissed because it is not a reconised brand name and comes from China, ringing any bells?

I have read it somewhere or heard it that some has tested this against HP or similar high end bench meters costing many times its price and its accuracy is remarkable against them, especially when the price is taken into consideration so I wouldn't dismiss it without further investigation, in the same manner as I didn't dismiss the notion of the T12 and here I am, now singing the praises of the T12 and might well end up buying a second unit yet.

I'm sorry... I didn't mean to dismiss it out of hand; quite the opposite actually. My interest in it, or the DER EE DE-5000 is to get something I know is reasonably accurate at a price I can afford so I could just use it, which the DE-5000 has by dint of the purpose-built chipset AND the fact it has been tested and proclaimed quite accurate by folks with the means and knowledge to put it through the wringer, much as I did myself with the OLED T12 Controller. 

Unfortunately, I don't have the means (and quite honestly, I've probably forgotten at least half of what I'd need to know) to do the same with a piece of test equipment like a high-frequency LCR meter (and be reasonably certain I didn't miss SOMETHING crucial) so I'd never really feel I could trust it. This is 99% likely another STM32/Arduino based piece of gear where the accuracy is largely dependent upon the code, wherein my kung-fu is weak and I'm not just proficient enough to debug. I see it being much more closely related to the $19 12864 LCR/Transistor testers (which are incredibly useful for a LOT of things, but absolute accuracy is not one of them) than say an AN8008 in its respective field of use. I will admit that its claim of being suitable for "In-Circuit" testing does make me more than a little dubious.  *Disregard; probable drug-induced conflation error.

Of course I could be missing out on one of the great values in test gear because of this "catch-22" but like I said; I just don't have the means to determine whether I can trust it or not for myself, so at least for this particular device I'm in the boat of having to pay in cash rather than sweat equity for that peace of mind. 

Ordered a 9501 handle for my T12 as well now for £4. Lined up ready for receipt 

Where did you get it from, have you got a link to it please?

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32835065313.html

You know, I looked at that handle loads of times but couldn't make my mind up if I should go for that or not as it does not have the ball switch in the handle to switch the iron out of sleep mode. I was looking for one that already the ball switch and the 4 pin plug so it be a straight swop. I did see one somewhere but now can't find it again. Think I might just carry on with the one that came with it for now and see how it feels.

That's a great price on the parts to build the handle yourself, and it appears to have the good molded-nylon contact module as opposed to the ABS one some of the cheaper handles seem to come with. I'll recommend you get this one on the way, as you'll have a perfectly serviceable ball switch in that modded 937 handle you can salvage if when the contacts jam up and or you get sick of the gawd-awful balance of the thing. 


Cheers, and Happy New Year!


mnem

[tautech]

Cheers, and Happy New Year!


mnem

Go easy on the Vicodin and 

[Carl_Smith]

Ordered a 9501 handle for my T12 as well now for £4. Lined up ready for receipt 

Where did you get it from, have you got a link to it please?

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32835065313.html

Hmmm...  It seems to come with a part labeled "wiring shrapnel."   

[Specmaster]

I'm sorry... I didn't mean to dismiss it out of hand; quite the opposite actually. My interest in it, or the DER EE DE-5000 is to get something I know is reasonably accurate at a price I can afford so I could just use it, which the DE-5000 has by dint of the purpose-built chipset AND the fact it has been tested and proclaimed quite accurate by folks with the means and knowledge to put it through the wringer, much as I did myself with the OLED T12 Controller. 

Unfortunately, I don't have the means (and quite honestly, I've probably forgotten at least half of what I'd need to know) to do the same with a piece of test equipment like a high-frequency LCR meter (and be reasonably certain I didn't miss SOMETHING crucial) so I'd never really feel I could trust it. This is 99% likely another STM32/Arduino based piece of gear where the accuracy is largely dependent upon the code, wherein my kung-fu is weak and I'm not just proficient enough to debug. I see it being much more closely related to the $19 12864 LCR/Transistor testers (which are incredibly useful for a LOT of things, but absolute accuracy is not one of them) than say an AN8008 in its respective field of use. I will admit that it's claim of being suitable for "In-Circuit" testing does make me more than a little dubious. 

Of course I could be missing out on one of the great values in test gear because of this "catch-22" but like I said; I just don't have the means to determine whether I can trust it or not for myself, so at least for this particular device I'm in the boat of having to pay in cash rather than sweat equity for that peace of mind. 

Ordered a 9501 handle for my T12 as well now for £4. Lined up ready for receipt 

Where did you get it from, have you got a link to it please?

https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32835065313.html

You know, I looked at that handle loads of times but couldn't make my mind up if I should go for that or not as it does not have the ball switch in the handle to switch the iron out of sleep mode. I was looking for one that already the ball switch and the 4 pin plug so it be a straight swop. I did see one somewhere but now can't find it again. Think I might just carry on with the one that came with it for now and see how it feels.

That's a great price on the parts to build the handle yourself, and it appears to have the good molded-nylon contact module as opposed to the ABS one some of the cheaper handles seem to come with. I'll recommend you get this one on the way, as you'll have a perfectly serviceable ball switch in that modded 937 handle you can salvage if when the contacts jam up and or you get sick of the gawd-awful balance of the thing. 


Cheers, and Happy New Year!


mnem

Oh dear, I never meant to give you that impression, I thought that you'd do some homework on it if it held the promise of doing what you wanted and more, and saved you some money, in the way I did with the T12 and I'm glad I took the effort to research it more rather discard it as I have done for other much more expensive options simply because of A) I could not justify the price and B) I could not afford them anyway.

I'm not sure where you got the idea of it being suitable for "in circuit" testing, hope it wasn't from something that I inferred. I would never ever use it in circuit because I have never been told that it is either suitable and also those kelvin clips make it almost impossible on most circuits except maybe those on breadboards.

I do sometimes, well many times, wonder if we really do need the level of accuracy that many people seem hell bent on obtaining, especially as hobbyists , if they are involved in something like space research or weapons where accuracy is needed to make sure that a guided weapon hits its target and not the nearby hospital, yes but for hobbyists I don't see it.

As to the handle, yes it is a great price and I already have that same handle here that I ordered along with the station but it came with a 5 pin plug fitted. I have just taken it apart it has the same ball switch already fitted and uses all 5 cores, but I think the white wire connects to another sensor in the base of the holder. So the way I see it is that I need to get another 4 pin plug and trace the circuit through and modify it to fit the 4 pin plug and jobs a good one. It certainly feels better balanced and allows better control over the tip as you are holding it closer to the tip then with the supplied stock handle.

Happy new year to you as well.

[mnementh]

Oh dear, I never meant to give you that impression, I thought that you'd do some homework on it if it held the promise of doing what you wanted and more, and saved you some money, in the way I did with the T12 and I'm glad I took the effort to research it more rather discard it as I have done for other much more expensive options simply because of A) I could not justify the price and B) I could not afford them anyway.

I'm not sure where you got the idea of it being suitable for "in circuit" testing, hope it wasn't from something that I inferred. I would never ever use it in circuit because I have never been told that it is either suitable and also those kelvin clips make it almost impossible on most circuits except maybe those on breadboards.

I do sometimes, well many times, wonder if we really do need the level of accuracy that many people seem hell bent on obtaining, especially as hobbyists , if they are involved in something like space research or weapons where accuracy is needed to make sure that a guided weapon hits its target and not the nearby hospital, yes but for hobbyists I don't see it.

As to the handle, yes it is a great price and I already have that same handle here that I ordered along with the station but it came with a 5 pin plug fitted. I have just taken it apart it has the same ball switch already fitted and uses all 5 cores, but I think the white wire connects to another sensor in the base of the holder. So the way I see it is that I need to get another 4 pin plug and trace the circuit through and modify it to fit the 4 pin plug and jobs a good one. It certainly feels better balanced and allows better control over the tip as you are holding it closer to the tip then with the supplied stock handle.

Happy new year to you as well.

Looking back and reviewing the advertising, I can't find any suggestion that it is intended for "In-Circuit" use; it must have been me confusing/conflating some of the discussion of the device which I read after you posted it. For the life of me I can't find exactly where I got that idea, so I've gone back and edited my original post to reflect this "probable drug-induced conflation error".

Oh, I'd love to be able to just buy the thing to try it out and do my best review; a good "Tech Teardown" is one of my favorite things in the world. I've spent a few *coughthousandcough* dollars over the years on various bits of RC gear to that very end.  I intend to keep the XJW01 similarly in mind once I do actually fill my DE-5000 void. 

It sounds like you ordered the Ayima FX-9501 handle that's prewired for the "Blue" OLED T12 Controller. On that, the white wire is connected to what looks like a 1N4148 switching diode but is actually a thermistor; it is meant as a redundant safety to shut down the controller in case of thermal runaway or if the connectors get crusty and threaten to melt down. If you're feeling froggy, I can try and trace out which pin on the processor that connects to; I'm 98% positive all of these use the same open-source firmware as the original open-source "blue" Hakk0 OLED T12 controller.

Just remember when you're talking to folks who are familiar with the genuine Hakko product, that "T12" actually refers to the series of integrated soldering cartridges created by Hakko for their FX-951 and related family of soldering stations; it is the "OLED T12 Controller" that I proselytize.

Okay... I've almost faceplanted on the keyboard twice while writing this; I think I'm going to go lay down before I fall down. 


mnem
Man, those are some GOOD drugs... 

[bd139]

This is my only criticism with the “T12” stuff so far. Weller: buy weller, plug in, solder. T12: figure out a load of shit, stop it burning down your house, plug in, solder. Makes sense for the home user. In a commercial setting there’s probably some Chinese soldering dude expert with an army of assembly workers who provides this stuff en masse ready to roll.

5:30AM here. Forgot to put the bin out so am up in a panic. This is a big deal as I actually decided to get rid of a whole pile of cardboard boxes that my TEA goodness came in. There’s a slab of them 4 foot square and a foot deep. Can’t even remember what came in them all!

[Specmaster]

Okay... I've almost faceplanted on the keyboard twice while writing this; I think I'm going to go lay down before I fall down. 


mnem
Man, those are some GOOD drugs... 

Ouch, that can really smart 

I've been looking at some videos and also the website for the DE-5000 and it turns out to be virtually the same thing as the XJW01, an Auto LCR meter for out of circuit component testing, namely Inductors, Capacitors and Resistors and offers almost identical ranges and performance but in a handheld device. Some of the testers have questioned its accuracy when compared to other handheld testers on the market as well.

What I'm thinking about is an inexpensive device that will enable testing in circuit testing of capacitors ESR reading and any that it identifies as suspect could be pulled and checked externally rather then pulling all  and testing and then having to replace the capacitors back in circuit again. Too time consuming process. 

[Specmaster]

It sounds like you ordered the Ayima FX-9501 handle that's prewired for the "Blue" OLED T12 Controller. On that, the white wire is connected to what looks like a 1N4148 switching diode but is actually a thermistor; it is meant as a redundant safety to shut down the controller in case of thermal runaway or if the connectors get crusty and threaten to melt down. If you're feeling froggy, I can try and trace out which pin on the processor that connects to; I'm 98% positive all of these use the same open-source firmware as the original open-source "blue" Hakk0 OLED T12 controller.


mnem
Man, those are some GOOD drugs... 

When you say "Blue" OLED T12 Controller, that controller different in appearance to mine then?



The difference in the 4 wire and the 5 wire handles must reflect the way that the controllers expect to see the signals.
The 4 wire as on the Quicko has the following connections.

Pin 4 green is the earth on the handle
Pin 3 Red is the live on the handle
Pin 2 Blue goes to the input side of the ball switch. The output side of the ball switch goes to the negative on the handle.
Pin 1 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects the negative terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

On the 5 pin system.
Pin 1 Red is the live +ve on the handle
Pin 2 White is the Thermistor pn the handle
Pin 3 Green is the earth on the handle
Pin 4 Blue is the feed to the ball switch, output on the ball switch goes earth on the handle.
Pin 5 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects the Earth terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

So to make the 9501 handle compatible with the 952 station as made by Quicko requires the following modifications
On the socket end
1/ Replace the 5 pin aviation socket with a 4 pin.
2/ connect Green to pin 4
3/ connect Red to pin 3
4/ connect Blue to pin 2
5/ connect Black to pin 1
6/ cut out the White
At the handle end
7/ remove the ball switch output from Earth and reconnect to -ve (Black
8/ cut out the White

The system should then run OK.

I have ordered a 4 pin socket and should have it at the back end of the week and will make the modifications then I'll have the option of either stock handle or the 9501 which looks like should offer superior control of the iron tip because I'll be holding the handle some 30mm nearer to the tip itself.

EDIT picture added

[Echo88]

Id like to share my grief over a lost device, which i purchased as a christmas gift for myself:
I purchased a Fluke 5440B/AF Calibrator on ebay at the end of November via Global Shipping Program, on the 8. of December i got the last tracking message: Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination.
After that no new tracking messages appeared and yesterday i opened an "Item not received case", today i got my money fully refunded including postage and VAT/tariff. Seems Pitney Bowes/ebay doesnt care where the package is and make no attempt to locate it.

 

[Specmaster]

Id like to share my grief over a lost device, which i purchased as a christmas gift for myself:
I purchased a Fluke 5440B/AF Calibrator on ebay at the end of November via Global Shipping Program, on the 8. of December i got the last tracking message: Shipped from the Global Shipping Center to International Destination.
After that no new tracking messages appeared and yesterday i opened an "Item not received case", today i got my money fully refunded including postage and VAT/tariff. Seems Pitney Bowes/ebay doesnt care where the package is and make no attempt to locate it.

 

Don't hold your breathe but there's every chance that your calibrator will still turn up OK, FOC. I was watching my shipment from China and it took a while to show that it left country or origin before it showed up as arrived in destination country. And being big, there is a possibility it was left a few flights etc in favour to get a more smaller ones on maybe as part of the performance figures, who knows. But above all don't give up all hope of ever seeing it because you may just be surprised one day soon. Sometimes I have parcels delivered long before the tracking gets updated.

[mnementh]

Okay... I've almost faceplanted on the keyboard twice while writing this; I think I'm going to go lay down before I fall down. 


mnem
Man, those are some GOOD drugs... 

Ouch, that can really smart 

I've been looking at some videos and also the website for the DE-5000 and it turns out to be virtually the same thing as the XJW01, an Auto LCR meter for out of circuit component testing, namely Inductors, Capacitors and Resistors and offers almost identical ranges and performance but in a handheld device. Some of the testers have questioned its accuracy when compared to other handheld testers on the market as well.

What I'm thinking about is an inexpensive device that will enable testing in circuit testing of capacitors ESR reading and any that it identifies as suspect could be pulled and checked externally rather then pulling all  and testing and then having to replace the capacitors back in circuit again. Too time consuming process.

Well, no... there is a fundamental material difference between the two; that is what I was trying to explain earlier. It is the same difference between the DE-5000 and all these STK/Arduino-powered "you-name-it" meters and the AN8008 multimeter; namely, the fact that the DE-5000 and the AN8008 both use a purpose-built chip designed from the ground up to be a high-precision digital meter, rather than a bodged-together circuit made from discrete components and a plain-vanilla STM32/Arduino processor, which I'm 99% positive the XJW01 uses.

Don't get me wrong, some of the best units on the market are the latter; I have several of the various Atlas pocket testers, and they're all STM32 based. But they all have proven track record as far as accuracy and durability and oodles of reviews by people who know how to wring them out, whereas these China-direct units have no such pedigree. Of those, the one using a purpose-built digital meter chip known for accuracy is a clear frontrunner in my mind until I see a similar body of evidence in each device's favor.

I feel that is a very important distinction.

As for testing "in-circuit"... any of these CAN be used "in-circuit"; you just don't know whether the results are in any way valid or whether they will pass enough current to damage some semiconductor.

Due to how these instruments work, it's pretty hard to make one that can accurately measure the DUT without applying sufficient voltage/current to turn on a semiconductor junction; it's virtually impossible for it or the folks who designed it to foresee what combination of other active/passive components might be connected across the leads of a cap/inductor. The best you can hope for is a ballpark figure for quick go/no-go testing to help you find the worst offenders without taking every cap off the board.


mnem
 

[mnementh]

It sounds like you ordered the Ayima FX-9501 handle that's prewired for the "Blue" OLED T12 Controller. On that, the white wire is connected to what looks like a 1N4148 switching diode but is actually a thermistor; it is meant as a redundant safety to shut down the controller in case of thermal runaway or if the connectors get crusty and threaten to melt down. If you're feeling froggy, I can try and trace out which pin on the processor that connects to; I'm 98% positive all of these use the same open-source firmware as the original open-source "blue" Hakk0 OLED T12 controller.


mnem
Man, those are some GOOD drugs... 

When you say "Blue" OLED T12 Controller, that controller different in appearance to mine then?
 
(SNIP)

The difference in the 4 wire and the 5 wire handles must reflect the way that the controllers expect to see the signals.
The 4 wire as on the Quicko has the following connections.

Pin 4 green is the earth on the handle
Pin 3 Red is the live on the handle
Pin 2 Blue goes to the input side of the ball switch. The output side of the ball switch goes to the negative on the handle.
Pin 1 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects the negative terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

On the 5 pin system.
Pin 1 Red is the live +ve on the handle
Pin 2 White is the Thermistor pn the handle
Pin 3 Green is the earth on the handle
Pin 4 Blue is the feed to the ball switch, output on the ball switch goes earth on the handle.
Pin 5 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects the Earth terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

So to make the 9501 handle compatible with the 952 station as made by Quicko requires the following modifications
On the socket end
1/ Replace the 5 pin aviation socket with a 4 pin.
2/ connect Green to pin 4
3/ connect Red to pin 3
4/ connect Blue to pin 2
5/ connect Black to pin 1
6/ cut out the White
At the handle end
7/ remove the ball switch output from Earth and reconnect to -ve (Black
8/ cut out the White

The system should then run OK.

I have ordered a 4 pin socket and should have it at the back end of the week and will make the modifications then I'll have the option of either stock handle or the 9501 which looks like should offer superior control of the iron tip because I'll be holding the handle some 30mm nearer to the tip itself.

(SNIP)

This whole family of products is based on an open-source bare-PCB hardware/firmware project released on github a few years ago; of which the Hakk0-branded "Blue OLED T12 controller PCB" is directly manufactured from the original gerbers released with the project and silk-screened with the clone name "Hakk0" as seen here.

These are by far the most popular as they have been around longest, but obviously once some OTHER enterprising individuals in China got hold of the idea and decided to make a ready-to-use PRODUCT, they had to make their version materially different so folks would be tied into their ecology. So they omitted the secondary thermistor, which meant you couldn't just buy the ready-made handle from one of the other guys (Like the Ayima handle I recommend) and plug it in.

You have how the iron works completely wrong however; there is no separate pin for heater/temp sensor. The T12 cartridge has 3 contacts. One is the bare SS shell; it is ONLY EARTH GROUND. The other two contacts are the heater and thermocouple in series. The principle is simple: AC or pulse DC from power supply; as that voltage swings across zero, the voltage of the thermocouple is read against a comparator. If low, the FET/TRIAC is switched on and kept on until the tip reaches temp and thermocouple voltage exceeds threshold. This unusual arrangement is part of why the Hakko FX-951 soldering station was so hard to clone for so long; at least until the open-source "Blue OLED T12 Controller" arrived on the scene.

The OLED T12 controller leverages that technology with a modern PID controller firmware and easily programmable menu for sleep temp, time and multiple temperature profiles. The ball switch for "wake" and the secondary safety thermistor each connect to a ADC pin on one end and the EARTH GROUND wire in the handle on the other end; it's really pretty simple.


mnem
 

[mnementh]

This is my only criticism with the “T12” stuff so far. Weller: buy weller, plug in, solder. T12: figure out a load of shit, stop it burning down your house, plug in, solder. Makes sense for the home user. In a commercial setting there’s probably some Chinese soldering dude expert with an army of assembly workers who provides this stuff en masse ready to roll.

5:30AM here. Forgot to put the bin out so am up in a panic. This is a big deal as I actually decided to get rid of a whole pile of cardboard boxes that my TEA goodness came in. There’s a slab of them 4 foot square and a foot deep. Can’t even remember what came in them all!

Ummm... yeah... but that's really an irrelevant argument, as you are condemning an experimental hobbyist product for NOT being "Consumer-Grade" or "Industrial-Grade".

These products are NOT sold in the same market, so it's pretty much comparing apples and ass-hats.

Just because some China-Direct vendors decided to take that hobbyist electronics and slap it in a cheap box for direct export doesn't somehow make it suddenly a "consumer-grade" product. YOU choose to cut out the middleman when buying these products to save that markup $$$; YOU are your own importer when buying from these vendors. That means it is up to YOU to ensure the product is in ANY WAY fit for purpose, and that it is safe to use ANYWHERE but in an experimental laboratory or hobbyist setting. YOU and nobody else.

mnem
The hole in my head says "WHEEEEEE!!!" 

[Specmaster]

The best you can hope for is a ballpark figure for quick go/no-go testing to help you find the worst offenders without taking every cap off the board.


mnem
 

That is precisely what kind of a device I'm looking for, a quick and dirty problem finder to identify the worst offenders while in circuit, then I could either pull the whole cap or pop a leg and do a proper check to validate it or replace it according to the results of the 2nd test. Help to get a DUT up and running quicker to enable decisions to be made if its economy viable to proceed or cut your losses and junk it.

[mnementh]

Yeah... for that any of the cheap "12864" or "Mega328" LCR/Transistor/Diode/FET testers will be as good as any instrument you can use. By default they are current-limited so mostly unlikely to do damage (you can NEVER be 100% sure, of course) and CAN save you a lot of time in basic troubleshooting.

Once you spend some time with them, you get to know what some results mean in general in terms of a circuit; they're actually pretty good for that. The FET w/diode result but very low gain usually means a FET bridged by cap(s) and/or inductor(s), for example.


I keep meaning to mod one of mine with BNC jacks so I can use 'scope probes in 1:1 mode; these things can give you pretty freaky readings unless you keep the lead length below 150mm or so.


mnem
 

[Specmaster]

The difference in the 4 wire and the 5 wire handles must reflect the way that the controllers expect to see the signals.
The 4 wire as on the Quicko has the following connections.
On the original posting I assumed that the pin terminology was from the terminal side not the other side so my number system was in correct, here is the rectified version

Pin 1 green is the earth on the handle
Pin 2 Red is the live on the handle
Pin 3 Blue goes to the input side of the ball switch. The output side of the ball switch goes to the negative on the handle.
Pin 4 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects from the -ve terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

On the 5 pin system.

Pin 5 Black is the -ve on the handle
Pin 4 White is the Thermistor in the handle
Pin 3 Green is the earth on the handle
Pin 2 Blue is the feed to the ball switch, output on the ball switch goes earth on the handle.
Pin 1 Red is the live +ve on the handle

So the ball switch connects from the Earth terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

So to make the 9501 handle compatible with the 952 station as made by Quicko requires the following modifications
On the socket end
1/ Replace the 5 pin aviation socket with a 4 pin.
2/ connect Green to pin 1
3/ connect Red to pin 2
4/ connect Blue to pin 3 (blue is already connected to ball switch in handle)
5/ connect Black to pin 4
6/ cut out the White core
At the handle end
7/ remove the ball switch output from Earth and reconnect to heater -ve & Black
8/ cut out the White core and remove the thermistor

The system should then run OK.



pasted direct from Ali Express site, these are the connections to the AIYIMA Modified FX-9501 Handle For T12 Oled Digital Display Soldering Station Silicone Line Handle DIY

"FX-9501 Handle connection wiring:
 
1 feet (red line) ---- P + (heating core heating +)
 
5 feet (black line) ---- P- (heating core heating -)
 
4 feet (blue line) ---- S (ball switch)
 
3 feet (green line) ---- E (ground)
 
2 feet (white line) ---- N (thermistor)"

So you can see the blue wire is already terminated to the ball switch so best to reuse that wire and cut out the white core (connected to the thermistor) as we are not using the thermistor.

[Specmaster]

Ebay is coming back again, I've got a few things in my watch list, just hoping that no one else is watching the same things as me, I can spend some of my Birthday and Christmas money on some nice TEA items, Yeahhh 

[mnementh]

The difference in the 4 wire and the 5 wire handles must reflect the way that the controllers expect to see the signals.
The 4 wire as on the Quicko has the following connections.
On the original posting I assumed that the pin terminology was from the terminal side not the other side so my number system was in correct, here is the rectified version

Pin 1 green is the earth on the handle
Pin 2 Red is the live on the handle
Pin 3 Blue goes to the input side of the ball switch. The output side of the ball switch goes to the negative on the handle.
Pin 4 Black is the negative on the handle

So the ball switch connects from the -ve terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

On the 5 pin system.

Pin 5 Black is the -ve on the handle
Pin 4 White is the Thermistor in the handle
Pin 3 Green is the earth on the handle
Pin 2 Blue is the feed to the ball switch, output on the ball switch goes earth on the handle.
Pin 1 Red is the live +ve on the handle

So the ball switch connects from the Earth terminal back to the processor to wake up the iron and either bring it out of the "Power Off" or the "Sleeping" mode.

So to make the 9501 handle compatible with the 952 station as made by Quicko requires the following modifications
On the socket end
1/ Replace the 5 pin aviation socket with a 4 pin.
2/ connect Green to pin 1
3/ connect Red to pin 2
4/ connect Blue to pin 3 (blue is already connected to ball switch in handle)
5/ connect Black to pin 4
6/ cut out the White core
At the handle end
7/ remove the ball switch output from Earth and reconnect to heater -ve & Black
8/ cut out the White core and remove the thermistor

The system should then run OK.



pasted direct from Ali Express site, these are the connections to the AIYIMA Modified FX-9501 Handle For T12 Oled Digital Display Soldering Station Silicone Line Handle DIY

"FX-9501 Handle connection wiring:
 
1 feet (red line) ---- P + (heating core heating +)
 
5 feet (black line) ---- P- (heating core heating -)
 
4 feet (blue line) ---- S (ball switch)
 
3 feet (green line) ---- E (ground)
 
2 feet (white line) ---- N (thermistor)"

So you can see the blue wire is already terminated to the ball switch so best to reuse that wire and cut out the white core (connected to the thermistor) as we are not using the thermistor.

The Ayima wiring is exactly the same pinout as this diagram I just posted; only the colors are different. I suggested that I could try and figure out which ADC pin on the CPU the thermistor goes to, so you could connect that as well. I'm pretty certain the Quicko T12 Controller uses the same open-source firmware as the Blue T12 Controller, so you should be able to enable the secondary safety thermistor just by connecting it correctly.


Cheers (and please forgive me if I'm repeating myself unnecessarily; I'm still quite medicated  ) ,


mnem
*Time for another dose*

[Specmaster]

The Ayima wiring is exactly the same pinout as this diagram I just posted; only the colors are different. I suggested that I could try and figure out which ADC pin on the CPU the thermistor goes to, so you could connect that as well. I'm pretty certain the Quicko T12 Controller uses the same open-source firmware as the Blue T12 Controller, so you should be able to enable the secondary safety thermistor just by connecting it correctly.

Yes I know and I thank you for it, for the point is that the Quicko only has a 4 pin connector system not the 5 pin as I believe yours has and the handle switch is wired in a completely different fashion to the Ayima wiring and the last thing I want to do now, is risk wiring the Quicko with the Ayima wiring connections and blowing it up. If I follow how the Quicko is wired I cannot go wrong as it is working perfectly fine as it is.

When I purchase the second system, I might elect to follow your route and replicate your setup and then if I run into problems during the build, I know someone with the same setup who can guide me through the process.

By running 2 slightly different setups side by side I can then truly see which performs the best and then play it forwards from a position of strength.

Cheers (and please forgive me if I'm repeating myself unnecessarily; I'm still quite medicated  ) ,

mnem
*Time for another dose*

Must be some strong stuff you had over the Xmas break then,|I might just go and get myself a tipple before I put the cats to bed for night and turn in myself, been rather tired lately 

[bd139]

It's 1AM here and I'm still going. Got up at 5:30AM this morning and aiming to get up at 6 tomorrow. Been like this for 15 years now. 

More hours for TEA and playing with toys.

Also I might miss something on ebay while my eyes are shut 

[Specmaster]

Well make 2 of us then, although I can't say that I get up quite as early as you do, but then I'm often upto 2.30am - 3.00 am, I find I can think clearer when everyone's gone to bed, nobody to yap in yer ear incessantly about something and nothing all the time. 

[Specmaster]

Talking about Ebay, this is what I hate about it, they keep recommending things to me based what I buy and look at and this was in my selection today http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Agilent-E5070B-ENA-RF-Component-Tester-Network-Analyzer-300-kHz-to-3GHz-010-214/182805131360? When have they ever known me to spend that kind of money and I certainly never look at anything like that either, bloody cowboys.

[beanflying]

In need of a new scope, should be easy 

Exploding new ranges and features and spread from $500-5k.... 

Time to look at a good secondhand MSO and wait until the assorted mob to get sorted instead of out new modelling each other 

Maybe a basic 20Meg 2 channel analog instead of my cruddy Hantek

[Vgkid]

@Beanflying , when will we see inside that decade box you bought...

[beanflying]

Hope to get to it over the weekend. Busy time of the year including 'working' Christmas Day giving away free coffees 

Today is 6 or 7 hours roasting now it has cooled off a bit. Lucky the hard work enables the toy budget to increase