Geeboon TC20A (now TC22) 240W - TC20B 380W - JBC clone

[thm_w]

There is some existing discussion here but the thread title was generic so will start a new thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/good-quality-chineese-soldering-station/msg5014180/#msg5014180



All units support C245, C210, C115, T12.
All units have ground and sleep stand 4mm connection on the back.
Tons of settings: sleep, power limit, PID values, frequency of PWM for C115, calibration, etc.
There is a dynamic temperature compensation option, for heavy load. Unsure if JBC themselves do this, they might.

Geeboon TC20A $70:
- 240W peak claimed (says 190W continuous PSU in the description)
- Uses 5 pin GX12 circular connector
- Tip voltage less than 2mV and <2 ohm claimed

Geeboon TC22 $74:
- Upgraded version of above
- 6 pin JBC style circular connector

TC20B $120:
- 380W peak claimed (360W continuous?)
- Uses 5 pin GX12 circular connector (can it handle the 380W?)
- Also supports C470

TA305 $120:
- 150W peak - 85W continuous (?)
- Transformer based power supply (so 110V or 220V specific)
- Uses 6 pin JBC style circular connector
- guess this station is to please the toroidal fanboys.

HC24 $150:
- 450W peak 400W continuous
- Dedicated CH1/2/3 preset buttons
- Exhaust fan connection on back

Switch box is available: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807424641457.html $20 + ship


Tips look reasonable, all around 2.6-2.7 ohm:


Handles look OK, seems better quality than Aixun, grip is softer. Ignore the tip I didn't insert all of the way:


Measured ~210W peak for C245 and 70W peak for C210 for mains draw on power on. Less under normal use of course.
GX12 connector is earthed, which is connected to the case, but due to anodizing it doesn't fully connect everywhere. Not a huge deal IMO as there appears to be good PSU separation.

Overall, seems good for the price.


Pinout - T210 handle - GX12
1 - NC
2,5 - Heater+ (red)
3,4 - Heater- (blue, green) shorted internally



Comparison from joechina

[marck120]

All units support C245, C210, C115, T12.
All units have ground and sleep stand 4mm connection on the back.

- 240W peak claimed (says 190W continuous PSU in the description)
- Uses 5 pin GX12 circular connector
- Tip voltage less than 2mV and <2 ohm claimed

Hi, sorry for a question, is the GEEBOON TC20A compatible with the original JBC handles ? The other day you explained to me that from the photos of the GX12 connector you can understand if the soldering station is compatible with the original JBC handles, how can you understand ?

[thm_w]

Its clearly explained above:
- TC20A/TC20B = GX12 = not compatible, metal circular connector
- TA305 = compatible JBC connector

Just look at the photo, if its black round plastic plug with 6 or 7 pins its JBC compatible. Worst case someone had to drill out the empty space to get their JBC handle to work.

edit: updated

[marck120]

Its clearly explained above:
- TC20A/TC20B/TC22 = GX12 = not compatible, metal circular connector
- TA305 = compatible JBC connector

Just look at the photo, if its black round plastic plug with 6 or 7 pins its JBC compatible. Worst case someone had to drill out the empty space to get their JBC handle to work.

Thanks for the explanations.

Apart from the shape of the connector I thought that the compatibility depended on the order in which the pins were connected, I thought it was a question of internal connections, in some stations I saw that they change the order of the cables on the handle to make it compatible. Thanks again.

[Sarych]

Its clearly explained above:
- TC20A/TC20B/TC22 = GX12 = not compatible, metal circular connector
- TA305 = compatible JBC connector

TC 22 has the same connector as TA305

[Frtech]

There is a Geeboon store on Ali, from where picture of the first post are commong from I suppose. In the description there is a Google drive link and Baidu link for TC20 firmware updates and user's guide. But no firmware for the TC22.

In another review, we have this "Seller's Reply: TC22 is an upgraded version of TC20, adding more error compatibility and ground wire processing. The hardware is also different, the software will be modified, and their firmware is not universal. Thank you for using it, and welcome to evaluate the product."

There is no more useful info on the Taobao page. Except buyers who complain about the poor quality of the handle or tips.

For the TA305, there is non more information on store's pages, except a link to a google drive withe the user's guide and firmware upgrades as for the TC20. In the guide, a more powerful unite, named TA310 is mentioned. This model can't be found on Taobao nor on Ali, but the official website there is a new model named HC24 that looks like a more powerful TA305.

Nothing more about the TA305 on the Taobao page of the product.

There is a Geeboon channel on Bilibili with few videos. There is one of the TA305 prototype, it looks like it's being developed by a single guy in his kitchen or garage! I don't know what to think about it.

I'm hesitating whether to buy a TC22 or a TA305.

[thm_w]

There is a Geeboon channel on Bilibili with few videos. There is one of the TA305 prototype, it looks like it's being developed by a single guy in his kitchen or garage! I don't know what to think about it.

That is cool, you can see him scroll through some code at the end.
I don't know if you need to think too much for $70 IMO. You have "bigger" companies like Aixun who can't even get the basics of soldering right sometimes.

Also there are a LOT of positive taobao reviews, some interesting stuff in there. One mention of the cracked handle but no photo and a new handle is ~$15.

I'm hesitating whether to buy a TC22 or a TA305.

Personally the light weight and cheaper cost is pro for me. Maybe power supply dies in some years if its a poor design.

edit: I found one bad review, maybe they got a defective station or a previous revision?

[Frtech]

Also there are a LOT of positive taobao reviews, some interesting stuff in there. One mention of the cracked handle but no photo and a new handle is ~$15.

Reviews are always good on Taobao (and Ali), no?
However Aixun as no review at all on their products...

[thm_w]

Reviews are always good on Taobao (and Ali), no?
However Aixun as no review at all on their products...

Its skewed toward 5 star reviews definitely, so the high star means almost nothing. But if you see reviews where people actually bother to write out comments and add photos, then those can be useful.

And what you won't see is any review saying it died after 1 year, because commenting is closed by that point.

[minkok]

It is a very, very nice soldering station, amazing. The Hanles 245 and 210 look the same as the JBC pinouts. The only note is the Stand - it is made from metal, robust but thoughtless. The contact sensing is sensitive and activates even when you touch the cleaning wire - hmm.. . You have to fix it for yourself.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vn0c24l4p5stmxpq7z2ul/Geeboon-TC22.mp4?rlkey=yevs71drzujxm07up777jrtrr&st=cb1sl6a2&dl=0

Sorry, I do not have the time nor will to fully disassemble it - it needs to remove the front sealed plastic.

[minkok]

Resistance Tip to Earth - 0.00 Ohm
That is what is declared:

[thm_w]

It is a very, very nice soldering station, amazing. The Hanles 245 and 210 look the same as the JBC pinouts. The only note is the Stand - it is made from metal, robust but thoughtless. The contact sensing is sensitive and activates even when you touch the cleaning wire - hmm.. . You have to fix it for yourself.

Throw out the sponge and put the brass wool at the front.

[Sarych]

The contact sensing is sensitive and activates even when you touch the cleaning wire - hmm.. . You have to fix it for yourself.

It is worth trying to increase the sleep delay time to 5 seconds.

[minkok]

Hi, The video shows the fixed stand. Thanks.

[Sarych]

Hi. I know. Yesterday I received TC22. I didn't like how the station reacts to cleaning the tip) I just increased the time from 0 to 5 seconds in the menu. Now I can safely clean the tip. There is enough time

[minkok]

Good idea. It is good to think also about when you need to change the tip - you need to wait 5s  and I have to add an extra extractor - really thoughtless. Maybe the best solution is to revert back and use a separate cleaning wire.

[homer2020]

Hello. Does anyone have a handle T12 pinnaut

[thm_w]

Why would you not get T245? Crazy.

Its going to be probably 2,5 P+, 3 P-, and 4 E. You can look at the connector or ohm out if you want to double check. I don't know how the station recognizes the tip in that case though.

[minkok]

 The station (JBC option) supports hot tip change, meaning it should have a sleep wake-up delay of 0-5s 0,5s step - for safety removing (connecting) the cartridge. I can't see something similar or maybe I miss it?

[ilyaaa]

Just got TC22 with C210 handle.
Can confirm that there is no voltage between the tip and the ground. Also, touching the ground with the tip does not create any problems as with Aixun units with switching power supplies. The ground connector on the unit is connected to the ground wire of the 110V power plug, and resistance between the tip and the ground connector is about 2.5 Ohms.
I agree that the stand could be improved. Brass wool should be isolated from the case. And also the extra tips do not stay in the holes meant for keeping them, they fall on the side because there is nothing at the bottom. Would be nice to put a rubber block there with holes for the tips. Another suggestion is to make the stand to be the same length as the unit (or vice versa) so that you could stack the stand on top of the unit. You can do it to some degree now but it is not perfect. Alternatively, if the screen could be rotated 90 degrees, I'd put the unit vertically next to the stand.
Other than that I'm quite liking it. It is small, universal (multiple handles) unit that meets all the requirements I'd have of a soldering station.

[minkok]

The lack of a sleep wake-up delay menu and existing of the sleep delay one make me suspective (the sleep delay menu is fully thoughtless - it serves only the bad stand design)., and I asked the seller about that, his answer was "It supports, the shut cable is used for", no sense - the shut signal is used only for the switch support ( Hm ..., meaning the switch has hot replug support, and the station doesn't ?! ... seller's reply)
The sleep delay menu excludes proper safety tip removal except if it is at a 0 - deactivated - no sense.
I used it for a week and I love the way the station works, and not everything could be perfect from the first time - it will be good to have communication at least.

[Sarych]

Software for station TC22
Baidu
Google

[rubicinc]

Would if work with AIXUN T3B soldering iron stand?
Are there any other benefits to this one compared to AIXUN  t3b/t3a except for multiple handles/tips?

[thm_w]

Would if work with AIXUN T3B soldering iron stand?
Are there any other benefits to this one compared to AIXUN  t3b/t3a except for multiple handles/tips?

- Properly grounded
- Much cheaper
I would expect the stand to work assuming its passing through the signals, if it didn't work you could not use the plug on the stand, and then run the sleep cable and connect to appropriate pin on the circular connector.

[minkok]

It will also work with the following: