Soldering station thoughts and guidelines

[llonen]

Big tips, you are beautiful. sadly I don't get to use them much with the types of soldering I do.

[captainKKK]

Well, you might think it's too good to be true, but I see it's been shipped and is in transit....see pic

[diif]

That indicated it's not been shipped. The tracking number isn't recognised.

They have filled their store out in the last couple of days and having a quick look at numbers sold, have pulled in 3-4 grand already.

[vinceroger69]

Originally Posted by captainKKK

Well, you might think it's too good to be true, but I see it's been shipped and is in transit....see pic

I have had this same email today with a different tracking number though like i say im not bothered if it does not arrive as will get the cash back either way.

[stj]

pretty sure Epacket is just small stuff like jiffybags.
for big boxes they would probably use china-post or EMS.

[captainKKK]

Yes, I know it's a scammer but I cannot get hurt, so what the hey? I'm not saying another word about this until it's done. I will report the results.

[redwire]

Originally Posted by Dannyx

BTW - I started soldering with a fat bevel tip at work just to see how it works and I love it: great thermal mass, perfect for wicking....awesome Ok, that camel toe of a tip is not going to work on microscopic SMDs, but it can touch up larger SMDs just as well.

Which tip is that?

[Dannyx]

Originally Posted by redwire

Which tip is that?

I think it's a C4, which is perfectly adequate for THT and even SMDs which are on the large side. I didn't get it especially for this - it came in a pack of several tips I ordered a while back just for the JL02 one and my JL02 had finally succumbed to the abuse I had given it, so I decided to try something fatter so it would last longer It's also not a T12 - it's a Hakko, sleeve-type tip, but essentially the same thing.

[stj]

there are no bevel tips in that image.
http://www.hakko.com/english/tip_sel...eries_t12.html

[Dannyx]

I call that C4 in the picture of the T12 assortment a "bevel" tip and the ones you linked to "screwdriver" tips....which Hakko calls "bevel" tips, so I don't know which is which

[stj]

C tips are just cross-cut, they have no recesses to hold solder.

the beveled tip is BCM3, i think i have one in my collection.

[captainKKK]

HALF PRICE SALE......US SHIPPER....LOL
https://www.ebay.com/itm/183837069653
ETA JUNE 14, 2019
yes, I know

[redwire]

Too expensive! $5 for a rework station and multimeter test leads. I can get a burger for that much money...

Last time I bit the hook for a $5 multimeter worth $25, I got a fake china tracking number.
Had to phone eBay and they gave a refund under their money back guarantee only after the arrival deadline. The seller had vanished.
Seems to be sellers scamming eBay, they have maybe 100 feedback. Or maybe bots are doing this.

[Dannyx]

Just noticed my KSGER T12 station likes to zap me if I touch anything conductive on the board while also touching the tip to it - there's some leakage on the tip apparently. I imagine this could cause problems in some components, since it completes the circuit from the tip, through the board, through whatever components it feels like, through my body and back down to earth. The main reason for this is the lack of an earth in my building, so the earth prong on the IEC 13 connector on the back, although present, is floating. I was thinking of adding my own grounding banana jack and connect that to my workbench or something to dissipate that away from the board... The 858D I've got actually has this ground post on the back, so that's where I got the idea.

[sam_sam_sam]

Originally Posted by captainKKK

https://www.ebay.com/itm/183837069653

I have also seen this type of shit you know that you are not going to get something for nearly free in the first place so buyer beware

One give away is that they have not been on EBay for very long no negative or neutral feedback to me this is a giveaway that it is probably a phony seller

I also see with this seller is that there has been some items sold but the ( supposedly ) buyers only have a few feedback themselves sometimes to me this is a red flag as well

If this is real it could be that these units for sale are nock offs or rejected items for some reason or another

[stj]

Originally Posted by Dannyx

Just noticed my KSGER T12 station likes to zap me if I touch anything conductive on the board while also touching the tip to it - there's some leakage on the tip apparently. I imagine this could cause problems in some components, since it completes the circuit from the tip, through the board, through whatever components it feels like, through my body and back down to earth. The main reason for this is the lack of an earth in my building, so the earth prong on the IEC 13 connector on the back, although present, is floating. I was thinking of adding my own grounding banana jack and connect that to my workbench or something to dissipate that away from the board... The 858D I've got actually has this ground post on the back, so that's where I got the idea.

NO.
either remove the ceramic caps in the psu to isolate the secondary,
or run a ground from your desk to the basement water/gas pipes.

right now, the earth wire has the combined voltage/current from every switching psu connected to it + the capacitive coupling of the cable run itself.
and it has nowhere to go other than back into the users!!!

[captainKKK]

Well duh, eBay getting wiser, faster...they said "We're writing to let you know that we've removed an item you recently won due to concerns with the seller's account:
183837069653 - Professional 3in1 Soldering Iron Hot Air Gun SMD Power Supply Solder Kit Station. Since you've already paid for the item, you don't need to do anything else. If your item hasn't arrived yet, it should arrive soon. If it doesn't, then you'll want to open a case in our Resolution Center."

[Dannyx]

Originally Posted by stj

either remove the ceramic caps in the psu to isolate the secondary

You mean the cap going between HOT GND and COLD GND ?
There's also two blue Y caps going between L/N and the earth prong on the IEC connector itself - should THESE be of concern as well ? I always thought caps pass AC and block DC (at a very crude level), so I've always wondered how such a setup doesn't result in a short L to N, despite this configuration being used just about everywhere.

Originally Posted by stj

or run a ground from your desk to the basement water/gas pipes

No pipes around sadly, but the metal workbench is contacting the cement floor, so I

[redwire]

A soldering iron tip or workbench that has stray voltage, it will damage parts.
Callbacks after about 2 weeks... I found shorted gates on mosfets and cmos IC's after 2 weeks consistently. It seems an IC gets damaged a little then dies. Other techs had the same problem. I grounded stuff and was the only tech not getting call backs.

Find an earth ground in the building.
It could be the steel frame I-beams or metal siding, sinks/water supply or drain lines, heating system piping/ducts, metal conduit for wiring etc. Worst case is looking at neutral but the electrical panel should have the earth ground connection to neutral.
You have to find one thing you know is ground. Then take a multimeter and very long wires and compare ACV and ohms to see what you have.

I find pulling Y-caps can make it worse because the SMPS transformer has stray capacitance, so no Y-cap and you get more common-mode noise on the 24V side. If other stuff is plugged in (to dirty ground) it does not help.
There's a few different T12 24V power supplies. Some have Y-cap from PE to DC(-), others from HV DC to DC (-).

[redwire]

Originally Posted by captainKKK

Well duh, eBay getting wiser, faster...they said "We're writing to let you know that we've removed an item you recently won due to concerns with the seller's account..."

Paypal charges for giving refunds, so you still lose a few percent.