| Electronics > Beginners |
| X-Tronic XTS-8080 -- Is it safe? |
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| JJST:
Hello everyone, This is my first post, and it may seem really stupid, but under the advice of Dave Jones, I registered specifically to ask this question. Basically I need someone to put my mind at ease here, I have a rather unique situation... I am not a technician, I know basically nothing about electronics. However I came across the EEVBlog videos on youtube and figured this was the best place to ask, so I e-mailed Mr. Jones, and he told me to register and ask here. My brother is getting into electronics, and is basically teaching himself all of this stuff, using online classes (which he is paying for) and just by "tinkering". He decided that he needed to get a cheap soldering station and a hot air gun to continue learning while maintaining a budget, and after looking around he ended-up buying this X-Tronic 8080 unit on Amazon. While I'm glad for his enthusiasm, I am concerned for his safety (and by extension for the rest of us :D). I'm sure it's not the best unit in the world, although from what I can see the reviews on Amazon are mostly positive. The problem is basically no one has any information on this unit outside of that. No reputable videos on youtube, and nothing here on EEV either. My question is, is this a safe unit for my brother to learn with, or is it going to blow-up in his face. I can't really help him, because as I said, I am not electronically inclined, I'm a writer. So despite what Dave likes to say even if I "take it apart" I wouldn't even know what I'm looking at, or what to look for. And it's not technically my property anyway. So, basically, what I'm asking is, not so much if it's a "good" unit; I'm sure it probably is fairly bad functionally -- but is it a safe unit. Has anyone with knowledge taken it apart, or done a review? (by the way, he thinks I'm crazy for being concerned, maybe I am -- writers typically aren't "normal" anyway 8)) Regards, --James |
| helius:
Is it safe? Seriously, the combination of soldering tools together with a power supply is a bit concerning because they may not be properly isolated from one another. The hot air heater is also a line voltage (120VAC) unit located in the handpiece, which might be easily touched by the metal nozzles. I think the best practice for one of these tools is to use a sensitive GFCI (5 mA) and test it to make sure the tip or nozzle is properly grounded. |
| wraper:
Whether it's safe or not, it's a heap of cheap crap for a lot of many. Basically it's $ 70 worth of Hot air and soldering iron at best + rubbish PSU and magnifier. Also combined units suck. It sucks not having PSU separately. It's even much more ergonomic to have a hot air and soldering iron separately. I'd suggest to return it if you still can. |
| wraper:
You'd be far better with something like $95 Quick 957DW+ hot air, $80-90 soldering station (there are cheaper options if buying from China). Top it to around $280 total and even get a good PSU. You could even get a half decent PSU from aliexpress to not exceed the cost of 8080-XTS. That magnifier is a useless piece of junk, so you should not bother about getting it anyway. |
| JJST:
Thanks for the replies. To be clear. I didn't buy it, my brother did. I am going to show him this thread -- and after a short but possibly heated argument, hopefully he will return the thing if it's truly dangerous. Regards, -- James |
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