An electrolytic capacitor placed very close, no actually _touching_, the most significant heat sources? It will dry out in a relatively short time and then bye, bye soldering station! Unless the owner knows how to replace capacitors (which should be the case). If it were a mass market product then I would say this must be a clear case of planned obsolescence, like the one I've discovered in one Philips DVD player (see https://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/threads/10-days-of-anguish-the-story-of-my-first-major-not-so-trivial-repair-of-consumer-electronics.127336/ for details). But in this case I'd say it must be the effect of piss-poor board design. If I bought this station the first thing I'd do would be unsoldering and moving the capacitor to another location.
I thought this was a "Production", "Military grade", "NASA approved" soldering station...
but in fact, it is increasingly looking like a DIY Soldering Station Kit.
In any case, if I were you, I would do some "pre-emptive" repair in the station itself, and install a bigger heatsink to the regulator as some other people have already done... perhaps even a small fan if you live in a hot climate?
I thought this was a "Production", "Military grade", "NASA approved" soldering station...
but in fact, it is increasingly looking like a DIY Soldering Station Kit.they virtually paid for themselves before they even got through the door.
oh, I see. I suspected that much.
I thought this was a "Production", "Military grade", "NASA approved" soldering station...
but in fact, it is increasingly looking like a DIY Soldering Station Kit.they virtually paid for themselves before they even got through the door.
oh, I see. I suspected that much.
In any case, if I were you, I would do some "pre-emptive" repair in the station itself, and install a bigger heatsink to the regulator as some other people have already done... perhaps even a small fan if you live in a hot climate?
..it's also made in the USA, which is in fact the real reason you've been telling everyone to buy this station all over the place over the last few months...
If you want to buy American (regardless of the quality) and think everyone else should do the same, just say so. Let's not pretend there is any other reason.
I know this much, I used my station all day yesterday at 370c and nothing but the tip ever got hot, while my arthritis has never been better after holding this little beast for over 2 hours total.
I'm sorry , I didn't mean to disrespect your soldering iron. You forgot to mention that it's also made in the USA, which is in fact the real reason you've been telling everyone to buy this station all over the place over the last few months...
(even before you had the chance to try it out for yourself)... I mean, the internet is a big place, but I seem to find your posts telling people to buy Pace everywhere... here, on youtube. Was it you chastising Louis Rossmann on his youtube channel for not promoting American products?... Yeah, it was.
If you want to buy American (regardless of the quality) and think everyone else should do the same, just say so. Let's not pretend there is any other reason.
Sorry to interrupt the chat.
I am buying the ADS200, but cannot decide if it is worth buying ISB Tool Stand or not? How does the software SetBack timer work? If the temperature of the tip does not change by some amount in some time, the MCU assumes the tool is idle and lowers the temperature?
However, looking at ADS200 user manual, (software) SetBack time can only be set in intervals of tens of minutes, so the lowest possible setting is 10 minutes, which kind of makes it unusable? It would be nice if Pace changed this in firmware so you could also set it to 1 minute, for example.
I am buying the ADS200, but cannot decide if it is worth buying ISB Tool Stand or not? How does the software SetBack timer work? If the temperature of the tip does not change by some amount in some time, the MCU assumes the tool is idle and lowers the temperature?
Sorry to interrupt the chat.
I am buying the ADS200, but cannot decide if it is worth buying ISB Tool Stand or not? How does the software SetBack timer work? If the temperature of the tip does not change by some amount in some time, the MCU assumes the tool is idle and lowers the temperature?
The 10 minute increments are intended to simplify operation of the unit. At one point in time, we had a SetBack timer that was programmable in increments of 1 minute intervals, but that scheme was abandoned when customers complained that setting the unit to 1 minute resulted in false alarms when using certain tips. When I set up my ADS200, I use a SetBack setting of 90 minutes and 90 minutes for AutoOff. This assures me the unit will go turn itself off within 3 hours, just in case I leave it on by mistake.
Why do time increments have to be linear? If I was programming something like that, I might have a sequence that might look like: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 minutes (just an example).
Hi there! I’d like to clarify several points in this thread, some of which I’ve already mentioned on the other EEVBlog “JBC Killer” thread started by Cliff Matthews. We are taking every comment posted on the EEVBlog very seriously. Our engineers have reviewed the various comments and are looking at ways we can enhance your user experience:
PACE’s Take on Dave’s Review: Some at PACE were irritated by some of Dave’s comments and procedures during the first video, but most agree that the second revision was objective, fair and balanced, despite the fact that it is not complementary in many places. We agree with him on many points, both positive and negative. It’s been a tremendous feedback experience which will ultimately benefit the end-user!
ADS200 vs JBC: Comparing the ADS200 to the JBC is like comparing a Prius to a Lexus …. But, as Dave has explained multiple times, we understand there was a massive thread on the forum asking if this is a "JBC killer" or not. For the record, PACE’s goal was not to create a “JBC-Killer” which is a premium soldering station at a premium price for both station and tips. It was to design a powerful production soldering station with a wide variety of inexpensive tips that could withstand the rigors of multi-shift production, yet be inexpensive enough to sell to technicians and engineers who simply cannot afford a premium Metcal or JBC. I think we have succeeded spectacularly, if customer feedback is any indication.
ADS200 Display: We agree that there is no reason for the wacky screen anomalies and overshoot flashes when the tip initially heats up. Also, I’ve always felt the flashing of the display/LED during SetBack was really intrusive, but no customer ever directly complained about it on our previous stations! But now we’re in the age of social media, this type of feedback flows freely, and we get it! I believe these things can be resolved via firmware update, but give us some time to get it together.
Look of the Aluminium (we spell it "Aluminum"): We have been using these custom (not off the shelf) aluminum chassis extrusions since the 90’s. Yeah, old school. Some people think it’s great, some sexy (Dave does!!!) and others think it is ugly and antiquated (I tend to lean towards the last one). But creating a modern and sexy new case would have added at least 3-4 months for tooling, required us to redesign the pcb and a host of other issues. In the end, time-to-market concerns and the fact that the ulta-sturdy case is practically invulnerable to burns, 3 foot drops onto a cement floor and other customer abuse, led us to stay with the proven and rugged old-school extrusions.
High $542 price in Australia: Distributor mark-ups are very complicated, especially in Australia and other foreign countries. Mektronics sells the standard ADS200 for $542 Australian dollars which is equivalent to about US$397. Mektronics must ship from US to Australia, an extremely expensive endeavor probably costing thousands. Using the cheapest UPS shipping setting on our website will cost you US$250 for one ADS unit! Plus, add on duty, taxes, Customs etc and voila’! After all is said and done, it wouldn't surprise me if Mektronics made only 20-25% margin on that $542 price. I really don't see it as price gouging. Note that JBC products may not be as expensive to ship since JBC manufactures & ships out of Spain. It’s also possible that Mektronics is getting a special deal or much better discount pricing from JBC. By the way, in Brazil the mark-up is almost 3 times the list price in the US because of taxes and duties!
“Crappy” User Interface?: I don’t agree. Yes, the display is old-school and basic, but we’re going for utter simplicity here. Just push the Red “UP” button to raise the temp, or Blue “Down” button to decrease the temp. Or use the pre-sets. Try to change the temperature with an FX-951 like that and you’ll get a cryptic set of codes that require you to consult the manual (Rossmann describes it as an "80's alarm clock interface"). The ADS200 unit has much more capability built in if you wish to delve into the set-up mode. But our goal was for a customer to open the box, plug in all in, and be up and running, without a manual, within 2 minutes. Done!
Aaron, do you know anything about what the Swiss distributor is doing? Their website doesn’t even list the ADS200 yet. (I’m not reeeeeaally in the market for a new station, but man that thing is sexy!)
This is their page for soldering stations (rework stations have a separate page) https://shop.sibalco.ch/Kategorie/Loetsysteme-34545154
Sibalco is a long-time distributor for PACE. I'll ask Neil Manson, European Regional Sales Manager to give Sibalco a call to push them to update their site! Surprises me that Farnell isn't listed, as they're a key PACE distributor in Europe.
Aaron
Good Morning.
Thank you for your recent enquiry via the PACE Worldwide Website.
Currently, there is no Tweezer handpiece available for the ADS 200 but I can tell you that one will be introduced later this year. In the meantime, the MT-100 and TT-65 handpieces are available and can be used in conjunction with the ST 50 Power Source.
I hope that this information helps, should you require any additional details please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Doug Winship
PACE Europe Limited