Quote from: tookiI've never seen a soldering iron where tips are not replaceable. What's cool about cartridge-heater systems like this is how easy it is to hot-swap.Neither have I, but so far I've only been replacing tips when they get too old, and not as a routine thing.
I think berke means heating up metal tweezers so they can desolder.Yes that's what I meant.Quote from: tookiI can’t imagine anyone would think that’s a viable thing to even bother testing!Well why not? At face value it sounds plausible to me. This idea was suggested in this very forum.
- What's included in the box? I believe the main station, the iron and the stand . I think I read somewhere that 3 tips are also included. Is this correct and if so, do you know which ones?
- Do things like the removal tip tool, the removal silicon pad, the sponge, etc.. are included or I should buy them separately?
- I do only THT soldering. I might also do some SMD soldering once in a blue moon but 99.9% is THT. Do I need to purchase some ultra-tips or whatever they're called or these are focused mostly on SMD soldering?
- What's included in the box? I believe the main station, the iron and the stand . I think I read somewhere that 3 tips are also included. Is this correct and if so, do you know which ones?They have different configurations. There is a version with 3 tips and a version without. There is also a version with an active stand (reduces temperature when iron is in the stands) and a passive stand.- Do things like the removal tip tool, the removal silicon pad, the sponge, etc.. are included or I should buy them separately?All included in all configurations as far as I know.
You can look at www.tequipment.net, they have all the configurations and descriptions of what is in the box.- I do only THT soldering. I might also do some SMD soldering once in a blue moon but 99.9% is THT. Do I need to purchase some ultra-tips or whatever they're called or these are focused mostly on SMD soldering?It really depends. I would not say that some tips are particularly more suited for SMD vs THT, apart from the miniwave one. You may have preferences on straight vs bent and on a diameter. Id look though the catalog and order tip you think may be useful or similar to what you use now.
As best I can tell the Ultra tips make mostly a difference on larger tips where the thermal throughput takes advantage of having more mass in the tip. It's to negate the heat sinking effect.
It's not essential though and turning the temp up a little would have a similar effect of counteracting it.
With the station you get the silicon pad, the tip tool, brass wool and sponge. The tips aren't typically included unless mentioned.
I suggest getting the station that includes the instant setback stand, you can always remove the cable later if you don't like. The instant part of heating up when you pick it up and going to the setback temp when you put it in the stand is hassle free.
The stations all have an additional setback feature which doesn't need the stand as well as auto off (sleep mode) that requires interaction with the station to wake it up.
BTW, do you or anybody else know when the (latest?) firmware 1.4 was introduced? I'd rather avoiding getting the station and realising that I somehow would have to update the firmware. AFAIK, you need to replace the whole chip, which is... meh
BTW, do you or anybody else know when the (latest?) firmware 1.4 was introduced? I'd rather avoiding getting the station and realising that I somehow would have to update the firmware. AFAIK, you need to replace the whole chip, which is... meh
It's been a few years, but mine came with 1.3 and I updated it to v1.4. It's a 44-pin PLCC in a socket so it's a bit delicate to change. Probably all of the old versions are out of the supply chain by now.
Edit:They may have even changed MCU's by now.
I bought my PACE ADS2000 from Farnell on 9th March 2022. There is a 1-5 firmware as shown on the LED display.
Pace ADS200 was introduced to market in 2018 so it is a mature product now.
Mine are holding up quite well, I suggest you reach out to Pace via email.
An idea I had if gets bad you could consider removing it and using appropriately sized non adhesive heatshrink which if shrunk down slowly and trimmed could make quite an effective low profile grip. The handpiece cable is removable, avoid misplacing the inner oring. Something like plastidip could work as well.
There is also a TD200 handpiece for sale in buy/sell/wanted at the moment.
Mine are holding up quite well, I suggest you reach out to Pace via email.
An idea I had if gets bad you could consider removing it and using appropriately sized non adhesive heatshrink which if shrunk down slowly and trimmed could make quite an effective low profile grip. The handpiece cable is removable, avoid misplacing the inner oring. Something like plastidip could work as well.
There is also a TD200 handpiece for sale in buy/sell/wanted at the moment.
I think Pace handpieces are more expensive than most competitors.
I think you’d be wrong. They’re right in the middle of the pack. The iron, the TD-200, is $142. That’s half (!) of what Weller’s 120W (WXP 120) iron costs, and double what JBC’s (T245) costs.
I had decided to buy the ads200 and I saw a huge price increase a couple of days before placing the order. I will most likely look elsewhere now...