...I was just searching around the web to see if there was a firmware change-log and to see if they had a new firmware revision. There has been no issues that I have seen so far with the 1.3 I installed in that video, but I was curious what changes if any they made between that and the 1.4 firmware. I guess I will just need to contact pace again to get the info.
That's rare.. not many have 1-3!! There seems to be all the final refinements working in 1-4 (you will like it especially if you have the ISB stand, because when the display says OFF, a removal turns the iron on but the display continues saying OFF..).
The 1-4 announcement was October 1st: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/newest-pace-ads200-production-station-(a-jbc-killer-at-$239)/msg1863201/#msg1863201
1-3 to 1-4 change log was Oct 11th: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/newest-pace-ads200-production-station-(a-jbc-killer-at-$239)/msg1886375/#msg1886375
Hi EEVbloggers!
This is Aaron from PACE Worldwide, here to answer your questions about the new ADS200 AccuDrive Soldering Station (finally)! Sorry it’s taken this long, but I don’t get online as much as I should. I’ll try to answer some of the questions I’ve seen in this thread. Please feel free to comment.
...
Mini-Tweezers: I showed one of the prototypes to ransonjd (EEVblog member who mentioned that he soldered the pennies together at the APEX Show), and this handpiece will become available in mid-Summer. It will be compatible with the ADS200 only, not previous PACE soldering stations (ST 50, WJS 100, etc). We have a ton of tooling on this handpiece, and some of the longer lead-time items will take up to 3 months to receive after final design.
...
I’d be glad to answer any other questions you have. Please feel free to comment below!
Best,
Aaron from PACE
I looks like they are still not available. Any update?
How are the tweezers coming along? The blue rubber on the ones I use are now shot. The rubber has started to fall apart and it's very sticky. I looked on PACE's site along with Jensen Tools to get a new set and it seems that no parts are available for the tweezers beyond the tips. At $200, I would expect to be able to maintain them. Hope when/if you produce tweezers for the new station, you keep that same size and feel plus offer replacement parts.
You're right about the lack of replacement parts for the MT-100. But we do have replacement grips for your handpiece. It's called the MT-100 Lead-Free Soft Grips PN 1119-0177-P2 ($41.47 pair) and they only come in "lead-free green" color as we can no supply the original blue colored grip.
We are still working on an ADS200-compatible thermal tweezer that will be introduced at late January's IPC Apex Show in San Diego.
I'll pass your comments on to the PACE team.
Thanks,
Aaron
I looks like they are still not available. Any update?
You having memory issues?How are the tweezers coming along? The blue rubber on the ones I use are now shot. The rubber has started to fall apart and it's very sticky. I looked on PACE's site along with Jensen Tools to get a new set and it seems that no parts are available for the tweezers beyond the tips. At $200, I would expect to be able to maintain them. Hope when/if you produce tweezers for the new station, you keep that same size and feel plus offer replacement parts.
You're right about the lack of replacement parts for the MT-100. But we do have replacement grips for your handpiece. It's called the MT-100 Lead-Free Soft Grips PN 1119-0177-P2 ($41.47 pair) and they only come in "lead-free green" color as we can no supply the original blue colored grip.
We are still working on an ADS200-compatible thermal tweezer that will be introduced at late January's IPC Apex Show in San Diego.
I'll pass your comments on to the PACE team.
Thanks,
Aaron
I think you can go back and edit the URL right?
I was just looking for a date when I could actually buy them.
I was just looking for a date when I could actually buy them.
IPC Apex is at the end of January so will probably be announced then.
Yes,yes, please go ahead and do it and share with us how it goes, and do not forget about plating the tips your fun project will be worthless without.
Man you need to be less of a dick. In fact, Unisolder shows that it can be done by hobbyists.
Leverage the difficult-for-hobbyists hardware (tip fabrication, hand piece) part built by others, and exploit cheap manufacturing of PCBs + shift burden to software which is quick to iterate.
There's a reason most American manufacturers died off, they couldn't decouple their slow-moving processes from processes that needed to move faster. I hope Pace can keep up and isn't kept alive by "buy American" diehards like me.
Sorry to disappoint you but , from engineering standpoint, Unisolder is horrible engineering. It is horribly overspecified on BOM, left in beta stage of development, and is exactly what you call it: something being done by hobbyist, who will do it for fun doing it, and not because it will provide excellent service and be economical. And you can tweak it and experiment with it and have fun.
There is nothing wrong with that, don't get me wrong, but if you buy soldering station as a tool, ADS200 is highly professional tool for a fantastic price.
I solder for 40 years, and I can tell you that I never said " oh my, I wouldn't care if my soldering iron has enough power to melt this connector, if only I had wanky 8" touch screen that will show animations and fancy graphs..." I couldn't care less. If soldering iron had good regulation, had good tips and had enough power for the job, you would pretty much never look at the screen.
Frankly, to me it is refreshing that Pace keeps making top quality "old school" equipment, instead of new trend that behaves like pro tools should be like digital toys for gaming... More design that substance..
I'm waiting for a new thermal tweezers for ADS200 to be released, and will then buy ADS200 + tweezers. I think nothing else on market has so good price/performance.
Use a bent conical for SMD LEDs (1131-0003), and get a hoof/MiniWave tip (1131-0032), and a knife tip (1131-0037) for other SMD tasks.
For thru-hole, chisel tips work best. I see there is a 30° angled chisel tip (1131-0051) which looks better ergonomically.
The ultra-performance tips have a larger thermal reservoir, so they will take a bit longer to heat up. If you don't like waiting, the standard series tips would be faster in sporadic use. They are also more slender which is a factor in reworking heavily built-up PCBAs.
Here is my station and list of tips before ordering tomorrow. Does anyone see any tips that should be changed to a different type or deleted before ordering?
8007-0579 ADS200 with Instant Setback Tool Stand
1131-0003-P1 1/64" bent conical
1131-0032-P1 3mm hoof/MiniWave
1131-0019-P1 1/16" 30° angled chisel
1131-0051-P1 1/8" 30° angled chisel
1131-0037-P1 1/4" knife
1131-0055 -P1 1/4" chisel
You sure you want to use all Ultra Series tips?