CFW for KSGER/Quicko STM32 Soldering Stations

[anwfeb]

currently i am testing T210, i have changed 6PIN to 5PIN and all is working fine when using the power supply 24V.
but after i read in this forum, many say that T210 is 12V, then i tried with 12V power supply, the result is temperature reading is unstable.

my question is, do you recommend 24V for T210? and will the cartridge last long with a 24V power supply? which do you think is better between 12V and 24V.

[DavidAlfa]

24v is ok, just set the correct resistance and power limit in the iron settings, so the average power is never exceeded.
I think C210 was 75W or so.

[anwfeb]

24v is ok, just set the correct resistance and power limit in the iron settings, so the average power is never exceeded.
I think C210 was 75W or so.

I don't have a precise ohm meter, but I have 2 different ohm meter and they show ±2.0Ω without cable. (OSS brand cartridge)

for watts, how do i calculate it? while some sources say 12V or 24V.

i have another question, when i change TIP T12 to T210 the firmware can't auto read cartridge type, i have to change it in SYSTEM menu, is there something wrong in my settings?

[vulkan35]

for watts, how do i calculate it? while some sources say 12V or 24V

JBC C245 - 24V 130W, JBC C210 - 24V 40W, JBC C115 - 9V 14W.

[anwfeb]

JBC C245 - 24V 130W, JBC C210 - 24V 40W, JBC C115 - 9V 14W.

nice information,
have you tested the T115 with this project?

[DavidAlfa]

R is usually 2.6 ohm, just set 80-90W power limit, the firmware will do the rest.

[anwfeb]

I did the calibration, and the measurement calibration results are
C210_Cal250 484
C210_Cal400 1194
after the saved calibration I tested again, and the result is when the
setpoint 200 measurement result 228 => looks high
setpoint 250 measurement result 251 => it's ok
setpoint 300 measurement result 278 => this is lower
setpoint 350 measurement result 336 => this is lower
setpoint 400 measurement result 399 => this looks good

[DavidAlfa]

Yeah I know it gets a bit off in the middle and the extremes, this is because it's using linear interpolation but the sensor  response is slighly curved, now I see it's more pronounced in the jbc than in T12s, which had 5-10°C error typical.
Before the calibration was 3-point, but I was really tired of so many calibration steps for each tip and decided to simply it.

Ideally you would only need one step calibration and just apply a polinomial, but I really got tired of working so much in this fw.

So it's "my free working period has expired, take it as-is, enhance it, or don't use it" .

But you won't be soldering anything at 200°C and 15°C lower isn't a big deal anyways.
And I prefer the error to be lower than higher!

[anwfeb]

yes, more step calibration, it will be better, even up to 5 steps will get better result too. I don't want you to waste your time if it's not important because I'm just relaying what I'm testing, not that I'm asking you to debug for updates.

[SynthKeyWizard]

I can't find "remember last temp" option in SYSTEM menu. I have a battery connected (KSGER v3), all the functions are working well (I'm using T12 tips), but I can't find this option anywhere. What am I doing wrong?

[DavidAlfa]

Must be manually compiled enabling the option.

https://github.com/deividAlfa/stm32_soldering_iron_controller/blob/master/BOARDS/KSGER/v2/STM32F101/Core/Inc/board.h#L115

It's pretty simple, just un-comment the line (Remove the //) and run a compilation using the building script.

I'm not a fan of that, I would  have done a menu option for it, but I didn't made that specific part and have other important stuff to attend.

[SynthKeyWizard]

Got it. Thank you!

 Finally I successfully enabled this feature. Also I changed boot screen to the custom one (KSGER logo).

Thank you one more time!

[ststefanov13]

David, I have a problem with the readings from the NTC, the station is KSGER 2.1s, when the NTC is turned on with autodetect 10k/100k and pullup 4.7k, everything is ok and shows 25-26 degrees, but when the NTC is turned off, the temperature shows -9 -1 degrees. Isn't it more reasonable to display and use the MCU STM32 temperature with the NTC off.
in my opinion there should be three possibilities ON , OFF and MCU STM32 . This will leave an opportunity to recognize the type of soldering tip (station profile) (T12, C245 and C210) as an example AIXUN T3A there with a different resistor connected to the GND the station profile is determined, for this purpose the NTC input of MCU STM32.
There the selection can be AUTO and MANUAL (T12, C245 and C210).
I haven't tried on my other HANDSKIT and KSGER 3.x stations to see if it has this problem. The version I use is 1.10.5.
This would also solve potential problems with HANDSKIT Stations where the NTC is on the board and not in the soldering iron.

[DavidAlfa]

Setting NTC off or failure in Auto Mode will use the internal temperature sensor.
I checked the manual and that part is wrong, stating it uses fixed values, that was ages ago.

I never had any issue with this, so it's likely to be a clone or fake stm32.
I used the internal temperature for months when my NTC broke, also lots of people have used it for JBC as the handles don't have NTC sensor.
What stm32 is it? Try making detailed pictures of it.

[ststefanov13]

Genuine stm32 20036410 (Digikey) visually it does not look like a clone or a rebranded mcu. , my other stations ksger 3.x and Handskit are with CKS32 original. Pullup resistor is 4.7k 1% . Тhe station was with clone but i changed it.
Currently in the room 24-25 degrees, the station with NTC off shows 8 degrees at the tip and 5.5 degrees in SLEEP , when the NTC is turned on with autodetect 10k/100k and pullup 4.7k, everything is ok and shows 25-26 degrees. NTC has changed 10k 1% and again the same result.

[DavidAlfa]

The don't look genuine, the label seems printed, not laser engraved..
Maybe the stm32 is defective somehow.
What happens in the other stations?
Ksger stations can have all kind of issues, it could be power-related.
You could try flashing the original firmware and check if it measures correctly when disconnecting the NTC.

About the detection and such, this project is not in active development anymore, so there are no ETAs, no plans, if something is done if will be when I feel motivated enough and having free time, which I'm having none.

Also, what temperature is showing wrong? The ambient temperature or the tip? I understand that both are off.

Can anyone with ksger v2 test this by disabling the NTC?

[anwfeb]

David, I have a problem with the readings from the NTC, the station is KSGER 2.1s, when the NTC is turned on with autodetect 10k/100k and pullup 4.7k, everything is ok and shows 25-26 degrees, but when the NTC is turned off, the temperature shows -9 -1 degrees. Isn't it more reasonable to display and use the MCU STM32 temperature with the NTC off.
in my opinion there should be three possibilities ON , OFF and MCU STM32 . This will leave an opportunity to recognize the type of soldering tip (station profile) (T12, C245 and C210) as an example AIXUN T3A there with a different resistor connected to the GND the station profile is determined, for this purpose the NTC input of MCU STM32.
There the selection can be AUTO and MANUAL (T12, C245 and C210).
I haven't tried on my other HANDSKIT and KSGER 3.x stations to see if it has this problem. The version I use is 1.10.5.
This would also solve potential problems with HANDSKIT Stations where the NTC is on the board and not in the soldering iron.

if you are using internal NTC STM32 (or NTC OFF) and the reading is not accurate, there may be a problem with the clone chip, I have a clone chip and get the wrong value. now i am using original stm32 chip and everything is fine.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/stm32-oled-digital-soldering-station-for-t12-handle/msg4967692/#msg4967692

Can anyone with ksger v2 test this by disabling the NTC?

I just tested the NTC OFF, it looks like the system is reading the NTC from the MCU, before I turned on the iron it showed 26C, after turning on the iron for about 30s it quickly rose to 43C I don't understand whether the STM32 MCU gets hot fast? but this is not a problem, all show the correct numbers, even if they are not accurate, maybe around 1-3C difference with a IR gun thermometer.

[DavidAlfa]

It's not the stm32 what gets hot, but the psu, voltage regulator, mosfet.. heat eventually spreads across the pcb, this is completely normal and positive, because the handle will also warm up, so it reduces the temperature drift.

If the board was at 20°C while the handle did 40°C, the effective tip temperature would be 20°C lower.

[ststefanov13]

The don't look genuine, the label seems printed, not laser engraved..
Maybe the stm32 is defective somehow.
What happens in the other stations?
Ksger stations can have all kind of issues, it could be power-related.
You could try flashing the original firmware and check if it measures correctly when disconnecting the NTC.

About the detection and such, this project is not in active development anymore, so there are no ETAs, no plans, if something is done if will be when I feel motivated enough and having free time, which I'm having none.

Also, what temperature is showing wrong? The ambient temperature or the tip? I understand that both are off.

Can anyone with ksger v2 test this by disabling the NTC?

Now I looked again under the stereo microscope and the marking is laser engraving.
the chips are not polished and remarked.
CPU ID (DBGMCU_ID) = 20036410 are taken from Digikey
I will try to flash 2.11 or 2.12 of the original firmware.

[ststefanov13]

Also, what temperature is showing wrong? The ambient temperature or the tip? I understand that both are off.

Can anyone with ksger v2 test this by disabling the NTC?

Both.
With NTC on, ambient temperature and the tip are normal values.
NTC is not disconnected in the soldering iron.
When the soldering iron is disconnected from the station, when starting it shows -9 degrees and slowly rises up.

[DavidAlfa]

Well, I don't know how the temperature sensor is accurate, but I recall it wasn't very precise.
30°C however is a lot.

Mine is also a 103, recycled from an old blue pill, it has always worked fine.
Try flashing the other stations too, you have the original fw for all of them.
Will try the temp sensor with the ksger v2 build when I arrive home from work.

[DavidAlfa]

I don't have KSger v2 so I can only run the software blindly, but I can debug it, accessing the internal variables.
As you see, 29.9°C. Something seems wrong in that controller, better attach a picture of the board.


Perhabs it's the terrible 24-to-3.3V LDO design that dumps lots of heat, it often becomes unstable.
Is it stable, or moves around randomly?
It shouldn't move more than 0.2ºC or so between measurement, if it goes like -1, 0, -9, 1 then there's a physical problem.

[SynthKeyWizard]

A simplest way I found to avoid 3,3V regulator overheating is to put a 78m05 voltage at PSU board in ksger devices. An empty place for it exists at the board. Also a third pin hole exists under 24v connector. All you need is:
- solder 78m05 at appropriate place
- replace a 2-pin 24v connectors with a 3-pin
- add a third wire to female connector (you can use the same 24v wires, just replace a plastic part of connector)
- remove a diode at the main board (from +24v to 3,3v regulator
- solder third wire to 3,3v input (where diodes cathode was)
- also would be great to clue a small heatsink to 78m05

I made these changes and now it works flawlessly. No overheating, restarting or any other issues.

[ststefanov13]

The don't look genuine, the label seems printed, not laser engraved..
Maybe the stm32 is defective somehow.
What happens in the other stations?
Ksger stations can have all kind of issues, it could be power-related.
You could try flashing the original firmware and check if it measures correctly when disconnecting the NTC.

About the detection and such, this project is not in active development anymore, so there are no ETAs, no plans, if something is done if will be when I feel motivated enough and having free time, which I'm having none.

Also, what temperature is showing wrong? The ambient temperature or the tip? I understand that both are off.

Can anyone with ksger v2 test this by disabling the NTC?

First boot after flash with disconneted solder iron (handle)  -99.9 C     ,  NTC  setting is default :    (NTC on  pulup 4.7k  autotetect off  NTC 10k )  ??

[DavidAlfa]

The NTC is enabled but it's not connected (It's in the handle itself), what do you expect?
There's no magic glass ball peripheral in stm32