Best BST-863 hot air station

[SteveyG]

Well they are offering a full refund now. Well done, Banggood. I'm going to ask for some more details about it. Item has to be returned to China. Hopefully they will take return expenses. And I will probably ask for a working unit instead of any refund. We'll see.

They're normally quite reasonable about things, but they'll always offer the least cost/effort thing for them first as seems to be the case for anything in China. Confirm they will cover the postage of your selected tracked service before sending otherwise start a Paypal dispute.

[mastershake]

im thinking about trying the mod board for one of these (i have a few of them...long story) anyone try one and did it work okay? id love to have the dials and some of the new features on one.

[giovannirat]

I've installed a mod board and it works great. The mod board is nicely designed, everything fits as it should. The youtube video regarding installation is really helpful.

The only thing I miss is a user manual and of course the software on github....

[mastershake]

yeah he said it was open source and after ordering the mod i realized he has no code listed on github which is a bummer. i already fixed the buzzer issue so hopefully this will make it just more useable. i got the best so cheap i ordered three of them at the time (109$ and like 2.xx$ shipping on banggood im guessing it was a mistake because they changed it later that day back to i think 160$ or something like that i figured this way i have spare parts if i need them for that price lol)

[tatel]

Yeah, code should be already released under a free license, it doesn't matter if it's not in the best shape. As said, until then it can't really be called free software.

[RandomHacks]

Alright code is now in the github repository. I really wanted to organize some bits and create more functions as I have repeated code here and there but I didn't have time and you guys seem eager to look at it so it is what it is

I'm actually working on a version of the board with the RP2040.

I plan to write some simple instructions, I will try to find the time in the weekend but can't promise. For now you can watch my two videos on youtube as they explain pretty much everything.

Thanks to all that purchased the board, I plan to ship the new orders today.
More stock should be available by the end of the month.

[dreamcat4]

very good. thank you 

personally i would recommend converting this project to platformio IDE, which is an extension for the popular vscode IDE (vscode + the PIO extension). After being converted, then it might not open anymore in the original arduino software. just due to different filename

but there are 2 huge benefits to doing project conversion:

* no problem with broken arduino library conflicts. this is because the library system on the original arduino ide is fundamentally broken and flawed. it simply cannot cope with multiple versions of the same library being installed on the same computer.

this then becomes a problem for any person(s) who want to build multiple different projects on their same computer. and where project A uses a different (conflicting) libraries than project B.

the PIO environment solves that problem very elegantly

2nd major improvement is for debugging. because you cannot run a debugger with the ordiginal arduino ide. however you can in vscode + pio. it uses the swd hardware protocol, and then realtime hardware debugging, it becomes incredibly easy

those are not the only benefits for converting your project. there are also many other more minor smaller advantages. for better quality of life etc.

learning how to setup and use PIO does have a learning curve. and requires a bit of extra time / effort and knowledge to configure and setup. however overall the total benefits which are rewarded back is much greater than the cost of switching to this newer platform. and it is a one time cost. which you can then use for all of your other existing future embedded projects going forwards 

[giovannirat]

I'm actually working on a version of the board with the RP2040.

Is there a special reason why changing from STM32 to RP2040 ?

Do we have now old (no longer supported) boards?

Will future software be compatible with the old version?

[dreamcat4]

this is just a guess, i do not know. however maybe it is something related to the global chip shortages. which has affected most of the stm32 platform

but the thing about the rpi pico is that.. it is still very new micro architecture at this time. and with some features like the internal io bus, or multi core which are not so wel supported in the software libraries (not yet). but some people are still working on that stuff

[RandomHacks]

I'm actually working on a version of the board with the RP2040.

Is there a special reason why changing from STM32 to RP2040 ?

Do we have now old (no longer supported) boards?

Will future software be compatible with the old version?

STM32 prices are ridiculously high right now (about 19$ a piece) and are hard to find due to the silicon shortage. I should have bought a few hundreds when I started this project. It would have been a better investment than crypto 

Software is pretty much the same between the two boards, there are only slight changes so updates will be made for both boards.
This also doesn't mean I will stop selling the stm32 version completely, when the shortage ends I will possibly start selling the stm32 version again if it makes sense then.

Both boards will behave exactly the same.

[mastershake]

as im new to rpi is there any real advantage or disadvantage to this over the stm32 other then cost? im just now looking into it. im much more familiar with the stm32. what about other chips like cks? i have used them a handful of times and they have worked just the same for me so far. also can you tell me which stm chip you are using on these? im just being curious. cant wait to get them installed thank you!

[tatel]

Yep. CKS look like very good clones. In Quicko soldering stations, that now are shipped with CKS, they seem to be working almost exactly the same that STM32.

[dreamcat4]

sorry my follow up, it was posted as a new thread by mistake 

which is here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/no-fan-spin-issue-and-solution/msg3604686/#msg3604686

then now is photos after successful fan board repair

[hafrse]

Just in case anyone is interested, here are the insides of the BST-863.

Hi there, watched your video today on this station. Quick question: do you have any line of contact to the Best company? Because it would be nice to give a user feedback directly to them about the user interface. Having digital rotary dials / rotary encoder instead of the touchscreen is definately preferred. As it allows much faster and more pleasant setting of the temperature and airspeed. - not just me who thinks this, many of us do and it's glaringly obvious.

Others (well, Lois) have also previously commented about the need for dials as when you have your head to the microscope. Well then you cannot actually see the controls on the hot air station without taking away your head from the microscope. Then putting it back again afterwards into the eyepieces. That is where the dials can really help. Do you can quickly turn up/down tweak the temp or airflow away off the baseline preset (as required) for whatever you are blowing at. Since some objects on the PCB have a higher thermal mass, whilst others not. Let's please make this process a more pleasant and rewarding experience. Well that is a way how it can be done.

A good question to be thinking about if there is no stop point on the dial, and it's a continuous rotation. Then having the station chirp or beep at you at coarser temperature increments (For example every 20C) might also be helpful here. To keep track of how far the temperature has changed whilst adjusting it. But buzzers can be pretty annoying. A better solution is just really good haptic feedback on the dial itself. Where the increments are easy to feel. Preferably with a fixed with a stop point at the far end of the adjustment range. I have seen other solutions be implemented very well (and digitally) on other test equipment such as bench supplies etc. by having actually 2 dials for the 1 control. To let the user adjust in both coarse and fine increments. This then permits both a fixed stop point, and a wide adjustment range. With very fast user adjustment to dial in the desired value.

BEST Company - please implement this! Isn't it the Best way? 

Another point which you noticed in your review was the amount of air blowing. In this scenario a digital option in the settings to switch between logarithmic and linear scaling of the airflow control - could potentially also be helpful.

After having seen your teardown I really agree overall that this bst-863 station is really the Best one out there right now... haha. Excuse the joke. But it could be better with a refresh / revamp the design. Just keeping everything same except for the front panel and it's controls. That would be perfection 

Here is my existing / previous discussion on this matter. Since there is now this other product with such type of dials control https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-hot-air-rework-station-nt-861dw-quick-(not-quick!)-761dw/msg2707394/#msg2707394
However it's not very likely to have such a great quality of build, which we would also like to see. All together in the same device.

Hi, I have shopped it out , it is very easy

[mastershake]

wow that was fast. parts showed up today. i cant believe how fast they got here. i cant install them at the moment but hopefully soon.

[tatel]

I got a second unit, this time from Banggood's CZ store. This is what I have to say:

[WattsThat]

After reviewing this thread, I bought a real Quick 861 from Tequipment with the EEVBlog discount. It arrived the next day with free shipping. It helped that I’m only 100 miles away from the source.

No fuss, no pain, no drama, first project already completed. I wanted to build boards, not a hot air station ;-)

Thanks for the uhhh, reviews.

[tatel]

Good decission, I think. But, man, no drama here. Just I'm not going to buy lottery anytime soon...

[grantb5]

After reviewing this thread, I bought a real Quick 861 from Tequipment with the EEVBlog discount. It arrived the next day with free shipping. It helped that I’m only 100 miles away from the source.

No fuss, no pain, no drama, first project already completed. I wanted to build boards, not a hot air station ;-)

Thanks for the uhhh, reviews.

That looks like a good deal. Can someone explain to be why this combo I've been looking at is not worthy?

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi853bplus.html

[thm_w]

That looks like a good deal. Can someone explain to be why this combo I've been looking at is not worthy?

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi853bplus.html

Doesn't really have anything to do with this thread, but it looks OK to me. Looks like a Yihua 853AA.
Personally I would prefer to have two separate units. But combo unit will reduce bench space slightly.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32619093836.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32834022177.html

[dreamcat4]

the thing to realize here is that in fact the quick 861dw shares the exact same fan design internally as these best bst-863. and there are certainly more people out there, whose quick fans have failed in the exact same fashion

there are these plastic welds that attach the disk which forms the side of the fan. and under the sharp jerky acceleration when it switches on, those plastic welds are the weakest point in the construction and will get sheared off by the sharp edges of the holes punched into the aluminium disk, which they are melted into

so what i have done on my one today is get a toothpick and some ca glue / super glue. and then put a little drop of super glue along the half of the toothpick which is not being held by your hand. and then turning the fan face down. (so that the aluminium disk is face down). and smearing the bottom inside joint where the curved fan blades meets the inside of the disk. you want a kind of arcing motion, like playing a violin. to get the glue applied evenly along the entire length of the fan blade seam. and hopefully some of the thin watery ca glue has been sucked into the tiny gap where they meet.

after the glue has dried with the fan kept upside down position, then you can turn it back up facing. and maybe put some tiny little dots of super glue on each of the black plastic welds. to help a bit more. here a tiny drop is much less than a full water drop. only enough to connect the pastic weld to the disk

hopefully that will be enough to prevent the sharp hole punched disk from shearing the welds. and keep the 2 components in place relative to each other. we shall have to wait and see what happens. which may be months / years. if it will still fail regardless. or if the repair was effective IDK

it just seems worth trying this as a precaution, before the failure occurs. because you know, if the disk comes off it will have broken those welds off. which is a valuable element contributing to the total strength of the joint. and if the fan is spinning fast when it fails, there is a potential for it causing more severe damage

you should all probably do this, regardless of which model station you own (except for the atten st-862d). because... all of them use these same exact blower fan. it is shared between all of them except the atten. of course i also am not mentioning older and lesser stations here. i mean all the current ones within this same general performance category


in regards to so many DOA for these best stations - it is indeed pretty unfortunate. i am not at all sure the reason(s) for this happening. although we could put together a list of the most likely causes. which are the actual ones is pretty hard to know. it could be any combination of those things.

therefore it would seem wise to nowadays only buy these bst-863 stations from local resellers inside your own country (or within EU etc). that should help a lot for dealing with the DOA possibility. YMMV

[SteveyG]

I got a second unit, this time from Banggood's CZ store. This is what I have to say:

That's massively disappointing, apologies if your decision to get the BST-863 was swayed by anything I had shown/said. It seems the QC has gone massively downhill recently so I shouldn't be recommending it any more.

in regards to so many DOA for these best stations - it is indeed pretty unfortunate. i am not at all sure the reason(s) for this happening. although we could put together a list of the most likely causes. which are the actual ones is pretty hard to know. it could be any combination of those things.

therefore it would seem wise to nowadays only buy these bst-863 stations from local resellers inside your own country (or within EU etc). that should help a lot for dealing with the DOA possibility. YMMV

I am guessing cost cutting, fake parts etc,  but this should all be picked up at end of line testing which they definitely USED to do. There was a burn-in period of 1-2 hours with them running.

We can't exclude returns being resold by the sellers though, which would not surprise me in the slightest.

[tatel]

That's massively disappointing, apologies if your decision to get the BST-863 was swayed by anything I had shown/said. It seems the QC has gone massively downhill recently so I shouldn't be recommending it any more.

I think the blame could only be put on those "Best" guys and their QC. So, don't worry. I'm trying to get in contact with Best directly. Should I got any answer, I will let people here know.

I feel bad for @RandomHacks; It's real bad luck to develop an aftermarket product for a station just to find out that QC has vanished from OEM production line. I received my kit past week, but after getting two faulty BST-863 units in a row, I doesn't look as if it would get out of the box anytime soon.

[dreamcat4]

well i guess it depends on how much you paid and your prior expectations before buying it. because for myself i can definately say that this station, despite these issues around the fan, i would still have any day over my previous 858d+. which this unit is replacing. because while the higher performance fan is somewhat less reliable. it is never the less eminently fixable, and there is no better general blower fan design out on the market right now. and if the blower+motor fan unit does end up failing terminally... then the spare part is available (not so cheap), is $75 USD listed by multiple sellers on aliexpress

as far as i can tell all of the fault here i have seen is purely related to the fan function. for which i have found 2 different ways to fix it. so in other respects it seems ok to me. after you ditch the original control board, then what you have is some pretty dumb pieces (other than the bldc fan). you have a decent quality handle, a decent quality mains filter, internal wiring is pretty neatly done and all that

this is.... miles better than my 858d+. and while the quality is better in other more expensive stations, the extra quality is not a linear scale for the price... you are paying relatively more for that last mile. when compared to the base price / base materials price and bom cost

next i am migrating the open firmware source code to build in platformIO. so literally there is no other station that has that capability. all apart from the 858d+ too, which of course does not have a high enough performance to cope. so i'm pretty happy overall

however i did also pay #100 GBP less than everybody else. for buying the item as faulty to begin with. so there is that too

 

[SteveyG]

DOA's should be minimal though, but I'm hearing of a few of these now. That said, I used mine daily for well over a year with zero issues, but it was pretty new when I got mine.
I'm now using the 861X since it had been sat on the floor for a year  I don't like the extremely slow ramp up/down of the fan on the Quick station - the rapid cooling on the Best station is really good in comparison.