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The ERSA Icon station that I talked about is a powerful little beast
The ERSAs are great soldering stations, I wonder why they
are so relatively unknown in the U.S.
But what Icon is it, you talked about, is it the mid-range
i-con 1 with the 150W i-TOOL iron?
No it the one my friend has is the i-CON2 dual station but that is basically the same and yes it has the 24V 150W i-Tool and that is with the "magic".
I think the reason why ERSA is not well known in the US is the same reason why you don't see many Hameg there. Simply German products are not really a big seller there and because of that the distributors are not willing to put much effort in marketing them and they tend to be more pricier than the competition.
Another possible reason is the tip changing mechanism. Professionals got lazy because of the ease tip changes that the JBC and Metcal offers. So even tough it is great and stable, capable station it is not as compelling as the competition. Even my friend is using his Metcal and JBC much more than his ERSA because for general everyday use it is much more convenient (and fast). But to note when it gets to something critical or sensitive equipment then ERSA all the way. Or at least that was the situation until last month
But since I'm on the same side of the ocean I cant really say why just guessing
nanofrog: They certainly not using the same element. I have never seen a PTC heat up that fast, really it is like boom and it is there. -
The ERSA Icon station that I talked about is a powerful little beast and it has almost the same reaction speed as my Metcal or any JBC and able to pump out even more power than the others, that was a real head scratcher since it is using a resistive heating element. So my friend tore down one handpiece and what he found inside was amazing. Inside the handpiece it was full of SMD controlling circuitry! Which is in it self was incredible since that handpiece is smaller than the Metcal or JBC handpieces. So those crafty Germans figured out not only what kind of a material can be used for the resistive element so it can reach operating temperature in seconds (really without a tip screwed on the element reached yellow glow in a second) but also: Control the tip from the station? Screw that we build our own right into the handpiece.
The small PCB inside the iron handpiece also got a motion detector for the standby function. I've got the i-CON2 with an iTool (150W pen-sized iron) and the chipTool (tweezers). One of it's great features is the selectable control loop (high overshoot, mid-range overshoot, no overshoot). It's a great soldering station! Similar stations from Weller are about 20% more expensive, at least here in Germany. If you got a local ERSA distributor I really recommend to check out the i-CON stations. -
Can't get it from the usual sources most companies or individuals would purchase from.
Ah ok, that's the same like it is for the Metcal, here in germany
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Another possible reason is the tip changing mechanism.
That's why I like the Micro Tool iron for SMD work.
The tips can be changed with only a pull and push mechanism.
There's a special pliers to pull the tip out and push another in,
so you can change them within seconds.
You can use the Micro Tool iron also together with a i-con 1/2 station
and I think, the new Icon Vario should drive the Micro Tool too. -
@ Scientist that's the beauty of having phones for parts. You can take the Ic's off them and put them on another phone. With iPhones it is tricky because the security, baseband versions and such need to match up etc, but samsungs are more are easier from I've heard. There's also special "boxes/tools" that can flash these phones. Literally bring a absolutely hard bricked phone back to life, with a special box called the Riff box and soldering. I can't wait to start doing that. So far I've only been using this box that can flash phones that are soft bricked, also unlock etc.
@nanofrog, thank you. It seems I am 99% set on the T245 Iron now. I love the wide variety of tips it uses. I also love that it's a lot cheaper than the nano, lol. Do you think the T245 can work on 0402s, though? And would a T245 iron be able to work under a microscope? But yes general purpose soldering with so many tips does seem a lot better
I still don't know much about components. It seems like there's general components that work on most or all PCBs, and IC's that are specific for that hardware that contain software? Is that how it works? Is there some guide or online PDF that explains all this, or a book? I'd like to check it out. If you or anyone knows any please recommend Thanks!
@ quarros Interesting. I'm seeing a lot of people talk about this ERSA Icon since you've brought it up. I checked it out, it looks really nice. -
Do you think the T245 can work on 0402s, though? And would a T245 iron be able to work under a microscope?
Yes and Yes with the right tip.It seems like there's general components that work on most or all PCBs, and IC's that are specific for that hardware that contain software? Is that how it works?
Passives would be things such as resistors, capacitors, and diodes. There are also active components, such as transistors, voltage regulators, ... sorts of things that are common. IC's fall into the latter category as well. These can be referred to as jellybean parts, particularly those that don't require any code. Just wire it up properly to make the circuit work.
Then you start getting into user-configurable/programmable IC's (i.e. contain a ROM or are tied to one) that store the necessary code to make it work. Still common off the shelf components (COTS), so anyone can buy them without licensing/IP violation issues. FPGA's and micro controllers would be such examples. Just have to create the hardware design and code needed to make it work as intended (makes them very flexible).
There are also custom IC's, which are designed for or by a specific manufacturer that they have made for them (or in some cases, can also manufacture the chips themselves in-house, such as Samsung). These are specifically designed for the products they're used in, and not made available to competing companies or general public. Apple's A6 chip for example, is based on an ARM processor design they've licensed, but has extra stuff added to make it an ideal component for the iPhone and iPad tablets they're used in. Cuts down on the number of separate components, which can save on costs, can reduce power consumption, and take less PCB real estate for the completed design (i.e. potentially allows for a smaller product). This is viable due to the number of units produced, as it keeps the per unit cost within an acceptable level. It also makes a device that contains them a PITA to fix compared to designs that are based on jellybean parts, as it's much more difficult to get the parts or the code from any source other than a working donor device (at least the part you need).
Hopefully this is enough to clear at least some of the confusion (tried to keep it as short and simple as possible). -
You can do 0402s and probably 01005s with a sharpened Radioshack iron, if you've got the skills.
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You can do 0402s and probably 01005s with a sharpened Radioshack iron, if you've got the skills.
tinning + iron reflow for the win. that and something to brace your hands/arms against unless you're super steady.