Any opinions on the AiXun T3A?

[ttodorov]

Hi everyone,

I got my T3A in the T245 variant and I am very pleased so far, except for the price of original JBC tips. Anyway, I read a few posts which state, it doesn't work to plug the Aixun T12 handle into the T245 unit - is this confirmed? Is this due only to differences in the connector pinout, or are the PCBs different as well (a.k.a. is it possible to make a connector adapter for the T12 handle to make it work with the T245 station) ?

Does anyone have a handy comparison picture or other resource for the pinouts of the T245 and T12 handles?

Thanks,

Todor

[I Broke it Again]

I read a few posts which state, it doesn't work to plug the Aixun T12 handle into the T245 unit - is this confirmed?

That is incorrect.

The Aixun T-12 Handle works just fine with the T3A. All three versions of the T3A's are interchangeable, just plug whatever iron you want into the base T3A and it will recognize which one it is and work correctly.

The only issues with compatibility you are seeing is people wanting to use/adapt their existing non-Aixun T-12 handle with the T3A. If you buy the Aixun handle it will be plug and play. The Aixun T-12 Iron is decent for the money, if you want a T-12 style handle its a good choice in my opinion.

[canvas]

I found the same T12 handle in Taobao - here. It's only $5 but not compatible with T3A pinout. You have to mod it before plug into T3A. Fortunately, someone revealed the correct wiring on previous page. It works perfectly. You still need to tweak a little bit to make the sleeping feature working on this handle.

[L-Train]

I've noticed that when I measure the tip temperature of an original JBC C245768 on my T3A with firmware 1.23, the measured temperature fluctuates ~10 degrees C and isn't steady like in some of the YouTube reviews of the T3A (e.g. SteveyG's). The upward swing of these fluctuations is accompanied by the buzzing noise from the station I mentioned in one of my earlier replies. Does this fluctuation happen for anyone else? It's probably not an issue in practice, but makes calibrating the T3A a little more finicky.

Speaking of calibration, the calibration menu on 1.23 seems broken for me. Entering measured values for each temperature point, clicking OK, then returning to the calibration menu resets all of the entered values. In addition, when I entered measured values for the 200, 300, and 400 points, that threw off the temperature at 300 to a measured ~260. Thankfully a factory reset fixed that and I was reading 300-310 (fluctuating as above) when set to 300.

As I was typing this I just checked https://aixun-updates.github.io/ and it looks like they've released new firmware 1.24 with a graph function. Pretty cool! I hope it proves useful.

[L-Train]

I just installed firmware 1.24 and the graph function is useful for seeing temperature and power output. It's accessed by pressing the rotary encoder button while on the main view. Unfortunately there's a bug where letting the graph refresh a few times then going back to the main view corrupts some of the text at the top as well as some of the text in the graph view if you view it again. Turning the unit off and on fixes it.

As for my fluctuating tip temperature, I found that my tip thermometer reads ~3C higher than my Fluke 189 at room temp, so if that offset is constant then it might have been fluctuating -3/+7 around the set temperature. Sure enough, the graph shows that fluctuation as well as the small boosts in power to get the tip back up to temp.

[Ungolian]

I had an issue with recovering from hibernation.  I had to stick the handle back in the stand a couple of times and it woke up.  Seems like 1.24 has a few bugs.  For now, I'd just stay with 1.23.

[Hundleton1]

Hay everyone.  After Steves fantastic content on this station i was convinced to step away from basket with the JBC in it in and I ordered the T3A today with the additional stand. 

Tbh I have been an old stubborn Antex iron user for many years but it’s time to get with the modern age lo and I was so close to ordering the JBC but this thread and Steve convinced me. 

I will be tearing it down to take a look at mine and posting that too once done. 

Time to now go and spend more than the iron and kit on JBC Tips. 

[Balefati]

Hello everyone,

after reading through this forum post and watching several videos on Youtube i ordered the Aixun T3A. It arrived at my doorstep today and i promptly put it to the test.
One thing i noticed right from the beginning is, that whenever the iron is heating (not at 0%) there is a audible buzzing noise coming from the station. Its not crazy loud but its definitly noticable. I updated to the newest firmware but the problem stayed.
Has anyone noticed it in his/her station? Is that common? Or could it be a bad capacitor or something? I never possesed a soldering station before and my electrical knowledge is somewhat limited
I also ordered to new base/stand for the T245. But the sleep mode on it doesnt work. When i use the stand that comes with the station originally, it works without any problems. It might be a lose connection in the new version, but i would have to open it in order to find out whats going on.

I'm happy for any suggestions or tips and tricks that you guys may have.
Thanks in advance

[L-Train]

I have the same issue with the buzzing and posted my observations in reply #324. What version firmware did your T3A originally come with? I didn't notice any buzzing with the 1.19 firmware mine originally came with, but only used it for a short period before upgrading it to the latest. If yours also came with <= 1.19 I might be mistaken.

I also ordered the new stand for the T245 and also had issues with it entering "dormancy" mode. The wire is connected to both the cartridge extractor and the handle holder via ring connectors and screws, and in particular the screw on the left side of the stand connects it to the handle holder. The screw is is half threaded (i.e. threaded in the top half near the head, and smooth/unthreaded near the tip), and the handle holder has a shallow hole in which the tip of the screw is supposed to touch and make electrical contact. On my unit however, the end of the inside of the hole had a layer of the black paint they used to paint the outside and thus didn't make good contact. Scraping it out with a toothpick and cleaning with some isopropyl fixed it.

[Hundleton1]

Mine has not arrived yet. Hmm does not sound good as I’d not expect the PSU to hum not under load.  Good info on the stand too.  Your seeing some of the QA issues there for sure. 

It’s hard to say if the station is bad based on that but others have not commented on this as far as I have seen as I did skim the whole thread. 

I’d be tempted to get it swapped.

[mastershake]

i have three and one of my techs has 2 none of them buzz here at the office. but do stay away from 1.24 for now i upgrades one and its had all sorts of odd things here and there. hopefully they release an update soon i hate that we cant go back to a previous firmware.

[canvas]

Speaking of calibration, the calibration menu on 1.23 seems broken for me. Entering measured values for each temperature point, clicking OK, then returning to the calibration menu resets all of the entered values.

My copy came with version 1.19, and the calibration menu behaves just like yours. The actual temperature values will not be saved. I wonder if this is normal for T3A? Anyone?

[Balefati]

What version firmware did your T3A originally come with?

I unfortunately didnt look before. But it was making the buzzing noise before i updated to 1.24. So i figured i just update and see if it fixes things

Regarding the stand, my stand uses a banana style plug to connect to the soldering station itself. That connection should be good. There might be an internal connection inside that is faulty. Maybe the connector is not properly connected to the housing because of paint. I will have to open it and check on it. But i'm gonna wait on an anwser of the shop that sold it to see if they want me to resend it or just give me a refund or whatever.

I also messaged them about the buzzing noise and i'm awaiting an answer on that as well. Maybe they can implement an option to choose with firmware to flash onto the station.

I will keep you guys posted once i get an answer.

Edit: I was measuring the stand with my multimeter to check for continuity and measured resistances. I didnt get continuity but a resistance of initially 500 Ohms. I moved that part that swivels and holds the handle back and forth a lot and the resistance kept decreasing. It seems like it rubbed itself free or something and makes better contact. Works just fine now.

[lemoi]

Does anyone have a link for a T3A + new style stand + T245 handle + 3cartridges? Aliexpress search results are confusing. I'm looking to get this as my first soldering station kit. Shipping to Canada if it matters.

[mastershake]

you are better off from the prices i have seen to buy the regular one and then buying the stand separate. some of them are charging a lot more then you would pay separate. the stand can be found for around 35$ and the normal style kit for 105-130 depending on where you live (im in the usa)

[Balefati]

Does anyone have a link for a T3A + new style stand + T245 handle + 3cartridges? Aliexpress search results are confusing. I'm looking to get this as my first soldering station kit. Shipping to Canada if it matters.

I dont think there is a seller that sells the station with only the new stand included and not the more "flimsy" looking one.  Like mastershake said its probably best to get the base set and buy the extra stand. 

I bought my station + the new stand from this seller on aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003188761354.html?spm=a2g0o.9042311.0.0.49164c4dPfXKUf
The easy100fix store seems trustworthy. I messaged them about my problems and i'm now working with them over whatsapp to sort them out

Base set comes with the soldering station itself, the T245 handle and 3 cartridges. You can buy the new stand there as well. I also bought 2 genuine JBC cartridges locally in germany. I read that that knockoff ones arent as good as the real deal (obviously) and that the tips are very small. I dont really do very fine soldering so i bought 2 in more reasonable sizes for my uses.

[mastershake]

new update to fix the issues with the last one:

1.25 (2022-01-08)
1.Solve the problem of garbled characters displayed on the home screen;

1.解决主界面显示乱码问题;

[Ungolian]

Thanks! Again, I'll give Aixun credit for overall good firmware support.  But I should have listened to my own advice and never upgraded past 1.23.  The new screen is more of a curiosity than necessary.  If you're already on 1.23, there really isn't a good reason to upgrade past it.

[mastershake]

we got more in at the shop today (ordered a dozen of them). they work so well honestly the guys had me order in some to keep on hand and a few wanted some to take home. 2 of my guys have been using them all day every day for over 2 months now and not a single complaint yet from them one guy said he hasn't touched his jbc since then. but the new ones we got today have light bleed from the lcd in the upper right corner on all of them. one has a really bright spot that bleeds out well into the screen. im going to try to get that specific one replaced you can see it even in a brighter room it washes out that side of the screen. the others you can only really see the light bleeding in a darker room in the upper corner. also looks like maybe a different panel in the newer ones the colors are a bit more faded on them compared to the older ones. another one had some really small nicks in the case on the top like it was dropped at the factory on the ground and they used it anyway. its only cosmetic and i did get a discount on them so not to big of a deal but still. but the original 5 total we got months ago seem to have better qc then the newest ones do. the psu also is a bit more sloppy on the newest ones that came in. not terrible but more glue and crooked components things like that

[Ungolian]

That brings up an interesting question-  how would you go about replacing the screen if needed?  After looking at SteveyG's tear down video, and poking around on AliExpress, this is probably a good place to start.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32829704426.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_groupList.8148356.12.4602d2591kPFvs

It's the same 3.5 inch screen, same white borders, but without actually looking inside, I can't say if it's a direct replacement.  But the dealer (JR E-Shop) seems to be up to his eyeballs in screens and probably has the correct one if that isn't it. 

QC may be another issue though.  Having had to replace the screen on my TS80, these vendors don't seem to actually know/care if their products are functioning properly.  The feedback for the vendor I ordered my replacement screen had a lot of people reporting dead pixels.  So I ordered 3 of them (they were $1.88 each, so no big deal).  The first one worked fine, and I (hopefully) have 2 more spares.  At most, it looks like a replacement screen for a T3A/B would be $7.  But are you going to have to order multiples to get a properly working one? 

[mattlward]

I am thinking about buying the T3A for personal hobby use.  I have several T12 irons that I really like, but I build flashlights and soldering to large MCPCB's on copper heat sink pills can be a real challenge with a T12 iron.  I am located in the USA and would like to find a trusted seller here.  It looks like injuredgadgets.com is located in the USA, are they reliable?

[mastershake]

injured is fine to deal with. they do only sell the 245 version.

[BlackICE]

https://youtu.be/auCu-JZe4wY

Another YouTube review. Other than the large overshoot when doing the sponge test seems like a pretty good system for the money. To test the maximum power output would be better to set a low temperature on the tip like 105c degrees and stick it into a known quantity of water and measure the temperature rise.

[Hundleton1]

I received my T3A today and started to play. I ordered with the decent stand and I will be reviewing properly in a few weeks once I have had more time in it.  Did a good few hours on it today though and I am impressed so far. 


Quality of the unit is really nice apart from the rotary encoder. It feels a weak point and the knob also rubs on the back of the panel.  (An annoyance more than anything)

Electricity it’s passed every test with Earth and IR ect but not stripped it yet to see build internally is like.  One thing i have noted is I am seeing much higher than I’d like Earth continuity to the outside of the front Jack plug. Getting a few Kohm there but the 4th pin clockwise in the connector is earthed fine, I’m guessing the plug/Jack housing is not well earthed.

On powering up mine arrived in Chinese but was easy to change.  Menus are fairly straight forward but again another annoyance/quirk is the encoder works as you would expect to change the temperate with clockwise being up however this behaviour follows into the menu with anti close wise in the menu being down the list, it’s not what your brain expects.   

Today I did a power jack change on a laptop at 280c and 24 bullet connectors among other things on large drone build at 350c and nothing gave it any issues at all, I was actually surprised how well it did the larger bullet connectors even with the a fairly small tip. It’s impressively fast to get to temp and it’s ready to go before I get to the board most of the times I tried today even from room temp.  Mine has shipped with the 1.23fw and it has the massive overshoot like mentioned, sometimes as much as 60c but it does very quickly drop to the desired set temp.  In use having been watching the screen at no point other than in warm up have I seen the power go over 10% either.  Even sinking heat into a large board it seems to just be fine. The tips supplied are just not big enough to put any really stress on the unit as far as I have see.   

The 245 handle is really nice with the blue being plastic. Iv not fitted the foam and I’m not sure I’ll need to as Iv felt any heat I’m concerned about so far. 

I have noticed at the lower power levels I am hearing a slight buzz from the handle at times. It’s very quiet but it is there. Again nothing I have any concerns over. 

A last thing to mention is the form factor is not great. While the unit is high quality it’s shape and form is not ideal for bench use. It sits so low it’s not really at the ideal angle for normal use. I’m going to try and 3D print a stand for it and get the front up.  It’s just too low however you also can’t just angle it up with something as the power cable hits the surface as it’s so low. It needs to come up front and back to add angle.  Also it really needs a front power switch or even one on the top.  Having to reach around the back is a faff and again not ideal. 


Overall so far I’m really pleased with the unit. It need time and a lot more use before I can say I’m 100% happy but for $130 or so with the decent stands it’s a bargain. 

[dreamcat4]

Quality of the unit is really nice apart from the rotary encoder. It feels a weak point and the knob also rubs on the back of the panel.

any chance we can get the encoder spec at some point? it would be nice to know what to order for a replacement. for example we found a bournes encoder for the ksger t12 stations.

maybe next time somebody gets in there and does a teardown. no big hurry or anything