Having used both of my T12 solder sets, I can confidently say that my favourite is the Quicko, it has the best set of options in the menu system and they are all quite intuitive to use with the exception of number 8 which reads "Battery Guard" presumably it did something naughty and needed to be incarcerated?
It gives you the ability to select a voltage between 10v and 24v. Seeing as these all come without a manual it is useful if you're powering the iron from batteries maybe to switch the set off if the voltage falls below a pre-set value?
Here is a list of the various menu options on each of the controllers:
Quicko Blue OLD controller (branded Hakko)
1 Calibration 1 Temperature Adjust
2 Auto Sleep 2 Wake Set
3 Auto Poweroff 3 Standby
4 Boost Duration 4 Sleep
5 Boost Degree 5 Boost Temp
6 Wakeup Method 6 Boost Time
7 Buzzer Switch 7 Buzzer
8 Battery Guard 8 Init
9 Firmware
A Factory Reset
There is a more complete set of options on the Quicko and the control is more logical in as much as when you get to either 1 or A you stop scrolling to change menu option you scroll the reverse direction, whereas on the Hakko, it's a endless loop. Standby on the Hakko is the same as sleep on the Quicko where both irons go 150C and the moment you pick the irons up they switch back to the last set temp ready for soldering literally in mere seconds.
It therefore follows that the Auto Poweroff on the Quicko equates to Sleep on the Hakko and here there is subtle difference, once in this mode, picking up the iron on the Quicko switches it back on again and withing seconds you be soldering. The Hakko though really does mean OFF and just picking up the iron does nothing, to wake it up again you need to give the encoder a quick press and its switches back on again and is ready for use in seconds. This may or may not be a useful feature for you but there is no way of changing it on the Hakko. On the Quicko, you can disable the handle motion detector so it will only respond to the encoder being pressed, but that also deactivate the motion sensor in the sleep mode.
Menu option 1 on them both is where you can adjust the actual temperature at the tip if you have a suitable thermocouple or a Hakko 191 to use. Number 8 on the Hakko whatever setting you store (0- or 1) it never changes from the default which is 0?
To get into the menu mode you need to press and hold the encoder for 2 seconds. In normal mode a quick press of the encoder invokes different responses, Quicko you get the instant boosted temperature but Hakko puts in standby mode. A slightly longer press on the Quicko puts it into Poweroff mode. Double press on the Hakko invokes Boost mode.
The Quicko makes more use of the buzzer, for instance all the time when in boost mode it emits short bursts followed by a longer tone at the end of the boost period which I find reassuring so you don’t need to look at the display to affirm that you’re in boost mode.
On switching on, the Quicko emits a longer beep and the screen springs to life and displays “T12 Soldering Iron Station” briefly and switches to the normal display with the top line in yellow, top left shows the set temp and top right shows the amount of power being used in terms of percentage points. Centre line has a larger font and shows current tip temp in blue and the bottom line is also blue and bottom left shows psu output in volts while bottom right shows current internal temp of the case, any change in status is shown the top left corner in reverse contrast.
The Hakko display on switch ON there is delay and then a quick beep on the buzzer and the display springs to life and follows largely the same format as the Quicko except for the following changes, top right is the internal temperature bottom right shows 3.30V and I have no idea what is, it does not change. When heating up from cold or a standby mode, the unit gives a little beep as it reaches the set temp.
When soldering there is nothing to choose between them, they are both very confident at soldering, although I have noticed on the odd occasion with the 9051 handle a faint crackling can be heard like the tip is not making good contact with the handle connections, something I have not experienced when using the 907 handle which has really big contacts in the handle but the contacts on the 9501 are not visible so they may not be as beefy.
I do like the feel of the 9501, it provides greater control of the tip but if the crackling continues I may consider using the 907 and see if it cures it.
Which one would I recommend to anyone, without a moment’s hesitation it would be the Quicko, it just seems to be the more balanced setup and the controller does in my opinion play a big part in user satisfaction, plus the Quicko controller uses plug and sockets for its connections to the iron socket so is easier to both wire up and also replace if needed at any point.
The blue Hakk0 controller is a pretty simple 8-bit design; it was the first of the lot ported over from the original open-source project.
The voltage in the lower right corner is the CPU operating voltage as reported by the CPU internally; I suppose this is useful info for debugging or for compensation if the firmware uses it as a reference voltage for the temp. The temp in the upper right corner is the temp of the external thermistor in the handle; valuable for determining if there is heat creep up the T12 element from long duration soldering, and to warn you if there is a bad connection causing heat buildup at the connector inside the handle. I see it as a very important watchdog, myself. If you watch the OLED right between these two numbers, you'll see an occasional blip whenever you move the handle; this indicates that the micro has sensed an "activity event" from the ball switch in the handle, resetting the standby/sleep timers.
I disagree with you on the plug in connectors; I see them as a point of failure rather than a convenience. I'd much rather solder everything on a tool like this that I plan to use every day.
Those bare 0.100" headers can still easily accommodate plugs if you MUST; but leaving them unpopulated makes it easy to solder on over-sized silicone wires, which is my preference with this kind of build. Once you preinstall plugs & pigtails, you're pretty much locked into whatever wires the vendor decides to include, which are almost always smaller than I would like.
I agree that the display is pretty dim, especially through the smoked acrylic lens. That said, I feel the lens is a still good thing; it allowed me to make this look quite acceptable with a minimum of work. As an aside; I'd be quite surprised if the metal enclosure faceplate you have couldn't pretty easily be made to work with the OLED display; worst case scenario, just desolder the OLED PCB from the mainboard and mount it to the aluminum bezel. It's only 4 wires, which is exactly how I did it on mine so I wouldn't have to chop up the case until I was sure I wanted to make the mod permanent.
I spent some time trying to modify mine to make it brighter; I was certain it must be as simple as modifying some bias voltage to the panel. But after following that rabbit hole to the point of going to bed at the butt-crack of dawn with my eyes watering (See below), I eventually decided to just try replacing it with a 1.3" OLED screen and see if they're any brighter. Got a couple coming on the slow boat from China; I'll let you know what I find when they get here.
I also have one of the
new KSGER V2.1 1.3" OLED T12 controllers on the way; it's supposed to ALSO have Vacuum Desolder and Hot Air optional menus as well, plus coin-cell backup for your personal settings. I'll let you know what I think of the quality of the parts that come with this kit as well. I know... I have a problem.
In all honesty, I really like the looks of the KSGER aluminum shells; they scream quality with CNC recessed bezel and knob, stainless hex fasteners and flush lens... if they only weren't also completely Mentel.
I mean... not that it isn't true... I just don't feel the need to advertise it.
Technical gobbledeegook:
The Hakko OLED T12 Controller uses an
STC15W408AS CPU; a 28-pin TSSOP based on the venerable 8051 architecture and evidently using the 8051 extended instruction set. Chip comparison page
is here; the feature page for the
15W40xx family is here. At the bottom are links to
the datasheet and
an ISP programming suite that appears very similar to the STMicro programming dashboard. Shocking.
The OLED display is a UG-2864HMBE; internet research indicates it has the SSD1306 controller embedded on the ribbon which is native 128x64. It is soldered to a breakout PCB which is configured as I²C and running at 5V; there is a 3.3V regulator installed on the PCB. It has no processor of any sort; it is only a breakout board with a 3.3V regulator for 5v operation & some caps to support the SSH1106 and SSD1306 controllers in 0.96" & 1.3" variants.
Trying to understand how this display controls brightness is hugely confusing; documentation seems to be contradictory and seems to refer to both above controllers interchangeably. While documentation seems to indicate that this particular display uses the SSD1306 controller, capacitors on the PCB appear to be configured as external components for a charge-pump with 7.5V output to pin 28 to generate bias Vcc to drive the display (7-15V typ in both cases); however, datasheets seem to indicate only the SSH1106 has this charge pump built in. Both controllers appear to have 256-step brightness control; I'm pretty weak in this type of programming so haven't progressed past this initial research in trying to find a way to increase the brightness. I was hoping to find some simple analog hack like increasing the bias voltage to the panel, but as that appears to be generated by the embedded controller, I decided to drop back & punt with a different 1.3" display configured for I²C bus that might show up in a month or so.
If that sucks out loud as well, I may actually dig into the firmware on the CPU and see if I can find something that sets a brightness level; I don't hold out a lot of hope there, though... my Kung-Fu is way weak.
Cheers and don't git any on ya,
mnem
There is always room for eye scream.