Pace ADS200 soldering station

[grantb5]

I'm a bit of a heretic, but I use the 1/64" tip (1131-0002-P1 1/64" conical (0.40mm)) to solder down to MSOP-10's (0.5mm) pin-by-pin.  Most of my parts are a bit bigger though (0.8mm) and I use magnification.  Although few of my peers seem to recommend this, it does show you what is possible.

[helius]

Conical tips do have one big advantage, which is that they don't need to be rotated to face the solder joint. It makes it possible to use a more relaxed grip as you would with a pen, as opposed to the tenser grip you need to use with hoof or chisel tips (and the aggravation of fighting torque from twisted handpiece cords). I think this is the reason that soldering tools with awkward grip angles (like the Hakko FX-901 battery powered iron) come with conical tips.

[Hydrawerk]

Three new instruments will be released soon probably.
https://www.facebook.com/paceworldwide

[lemoi]

I just received my Pace ADS200 and I'm ready to start working on my projects. I got an assortment of soldering tips, solder wire, flux, sponges, brass wool etc. Do the Pace tips need pre-tinning before being used? Is there any procedure that I should follow?

Thanks!

[thm_w]

I just received my Pace ADS200 and I'm ready to start working on my projects. I got an assortment of soldering tips, solder wire, flux, sponges, brass wool etc. Do the Pace tips need pre-tinning before being used? Is there any procedure that I should follow?

Thanks!

They should be pre-tinned with lead free when they were factory tested.
Just wipe off that solder using the brass wool, and maybe when you're done soldering add a tiny bit of fresh solder to the tip to help protect it. Otherwise no special procedure.

[Shock]

They all have a tinned surface at the end of the tip and are ready to go. Since you just brought a few I'll give you some tips on tips (applies to all brands) :

Out of habit I heat all new tips up to about 300C, apply solder to the tip and clean a few times before using.

Counterintuitive to what most people are taught, when not using the tip for a prolonged period or leaving it in the stand it's best to first clean the tip then apply fresh solder across the entire tinned surface. If done for the night just turn off like that.

Doing this will prevent the disused portion of the tinned surface becoming hard to tin and slowly creeping down the tip over time. The sponge does an ok job, but use purified (distilled or deionized) water, otherwise it will accelerate oxides forming. The sponge should be just moist to avoid excessive thermal shock to the tip.

When resuming soldering, you clean that protective blob of solder off and the tip will be like new each time. So periodically I'll do that full tin and clean to keep it optimal. But otherwise just wipe between joints and give it a good coat when done.

[helius]

It makes perfect sense that covering the working area of the tip with solder protects it from oxidation, because it excludes air from that surface. It can sometimes be difficult to cover the whole tinned area because the solder wants to bunch up on one side or the other. Also difficult to cover sharp edges like tweezer tips. If you glob on too much solder, it will just fall off.

[Hydrawerk]

I bought the ADS200 from Farnell. I am quite happy with that. I like the military look.  But I have a little problem. Some of the soldering tips are not so perfectly shaped so they are a bit difficult to insert into the handle. One tip even jammed the internal o-ring. I had to remove the o-ring. Did someone experience this? Can I run my handle without the o-ring??

I will do some further experimets and maybe add more photos... My o-ring is orange. Once the tip is fully inserted, it works as it should.
Spare o-ring in black color are offered by the manufacturer...
https://paceworldwide.com/td-200-td-100a-td-100-replacement-o-rings-pkg-5

See page 9.
https://paceworldwide.com/sites/default/files/2018-03/5050-0532%20TD%20100_MT%20100%20Handpiece%20Manual.pdf

[Shock]

There is a little insertion pressure as the cartridge tip connector seats which is normal, but it should feel soft and not catching. You should be able to insert the tip with the tip tool for instance. The oring helps align the tip correctly into the socket and hold it there and also probably helps with fumes/contaminants ingress, so I think it's necessary.

It is possible for the oring to become misaligned but once it's seated correctly it gets held in place by the pressure of the back cap washer. To inspect the oring turn off the station remove the tip and look down the barrel with a light or unscrew the cap and check if the oring is centered on the socket correctly, deformed or damaged.

The socket is keyed so to insert it without the oring moving I found by holding it vertical and lowering the handle barrel down on then tighten the cap from the bottom. Pace seems to use a bit of lubricant on it otherwise which sort of holds it in place.

I have a few dozen tips and they are all fine, so I think one of two things is happening. The oring has been misaligned or damaged which is easy to fix. The cartridge tip metal barrel or connector plastic is catching slightly on the lip of the plastic socket (just past the oring) which could be while you are feeling extra resistance.

[Hydrawerk]

Thank you, I will check it!

[Shock]

Paces new MBT360 promo video. I like the design and the display looks like it has crystal clear contrast in the video compared to other brands with simple displays.

[tooki]

I expect the display is the same 16x2 LCD they’ve used for many years in the MBT301 and MBT350, which as far as I can tell is just a standard 16x2 character LCD.

[Shock]

Yeah same type of display, I was commenting on how clear it looks.

[tooki]

Well that image is clearly a composite. LCDs are notoriously hard to photograph, hence why the artists do that. Tells you nothing about how good the LCD is in practice. There are segments in the video that appear to be real footage of the display, and it looks like a typical blue character LCD. Edit: never mind, that looks composited, too.

My comment about it being the same is that it’s likely the exact same model as used in older products.

Good thing is, IF it actually is a standard off the shelf character display, then if one doesn’t like it, it can easily be replaced with a compatible module with superior characteristics, like the OLED character displays available now.

[Shock]

That image was a screen grab from the video.

This is my MBT350 I took with an old mobile. It's at a different contrast/backlight setting though. Pace has changed them a few times (likely as the displays improved). To the best of my knowledge the MBT350 are generic. Not sure about the MBT360 though, but it looks even better.

[Hydrawerk]

(PACE ADS200) (...)It is possible for the oring to become misaligned but once it's seated correctly it gets held in place by the pressure of the back cap washer. To inspect the oring turn off the station remove the tip and look down the barrel with a light or unscrew the cap and check if the oring is centered on the socket correctly, deformed or damaged.(...)

I am not quite sure what happened but my orange oring was probably misaligned, although I never saw it. After another o-ring alignment everything seems to be OK and the o-ring now never becomes jammed. I tried all my cartridges. I will monitor it. The o-ring stays to be the original one.

When the o-ring is brand new, it might be more likely to jam. After it wears away a bit, the danger of jamming probably becomes smaller. BTW i did not notice any lubricant there.

[Shock]

I checked one of my own orings. It might be a self lubricating variety, hard to tell now as it could be rosin flux residue but when my station was new it seemed to have a trace lubricant present.

It was more likely the back cap was opened at some stage and it moved then. Once they are in that socket groove they should stay there captive. I'm fairly confidant you've corrected it now.

Congrats on the station, took you long enough.

[Hydrawerk]

When the soldering iron stand is attached to ADS200 with supplied screws, it is like floating in the air. I will have to do a user mod probably.

[Hydrawerk]

I think I identified the microswitch used in the stand of ADS200. It is probably the ZMA03A150S06PC by C&K Switches.
https://www.ckswitches.com/products/switches/product-details/Snap/ZMA/ZMA03A150S06PC/

[Hydrawerk]

Blue and white wire is used.

[Hydrawerk]

Pins are made of sheet metal. It looks cheap but it is probably OK. Can someone say if this is an off-the-shelf connector? Can it be replaced by T 3324 501 AMPHENOL? https://www.tme.eu/cz/en/details/c091-3324-501/din-connectors/amphenol/t-3324-501/
But I doubt it will ever need to be replaced.

[gnavigator1007]

T 3324 551 with the crimp pins (sold separately).

[Hydrawerk]

Some more photos of ADS200. There is that well known capacitor near the heatsink, but I think that it is OK.
The power transistor is marked P6023, that is probably a 7Amp mosfet named DMP6023LE and made by Diodes incorporated. https://www.diodes.com/assets/Datasheets/DMP6023LE.pdf
There is some flux residue.

[Hydrawerk]

 

[Hydrawerk]

The power transformer is probably made by Galaxy. https://galaxytransformers.com/ Seems OK.
The rocker switch is made by Arcoelectric England.