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JBC CD-1BQE

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Shock:
Going back to the Jabe, I did a little more digging. From what Equalizer said it's a 50W rated iron and tip and it's set to "150W" in software. So in other words they are overheating/cooking the element. He said running it at the 150W setting will destroy your expensive tips (I think he was speaking from experience). This is starting to make more sense, I smelled a rat but you never know, they could have changed the firmware since then.

Looking at this process I can't help but feel you have now thrown $320 or so at China and really got little benefit out of it, and your interpretation of a high power T12 smps indicating the performance of the station is leading you astray. Transformers (unless you need portability) are the best way to go, aside from control technology transformers simplify ESD, grounding, reliability and safety. On the bench (if that is your purpose) you want hefty station, when you hit buttons, spin knobs and move the handpiece, the station itself shouldn't move.

To me it's a bit backwards seeking the ultimate GUI. If you want DIY look for the best iron and control circuit then add your own micro and software around it. You get no closer using closed source showing some fancy calibration menus, a jumpy power indicator and a clock. All that crap you can add to any DIY project.

Gandalf_Sr:
Sure I threw some money at China but I now have a very heavy soldering station, so heavy in fact that, even if all the electronics fried, it would make a great door stop.

Seriously, if I get round to my own design, I'll use an off the shelf $16, 24V, 6A, SMPS brick that are now ubiquitous because they're used for LED lighting - this approach also means that it works anywhere on the planet (and maybe off-planet too).  I have considered the need to have a heavy unit on the bench and would consider having an iron weight inside the case to give it 'heft'.

exe:

--- Quote from: Shock on June 14, 2019, 01:06:35 am ---On the bench (if that is your purpose) you want hefty station, when you hit buttons, spin knobs and move the handpiece, the station itself shouldn't move.

--- End quote ---

TL;DR: different people have different priorities. I'm happy with my tiny soldering station, so happy that gave away my hefty unit to a friend.

Actually, I like small equipment, so I can put more on my bench. I don't have problems pressing the knobs (because I grab the station with index finger, but that's alright, I don't change temperature too often. But even if I had, I'm still not willing to pay extra for this. I'd rather glue the station to my bench, or install rubber feet, or something.

I'm also a price-sensitive person. There are trade-offs I can make. The only thing I demand is, probably, safety. Rest can be fixed:
1) grounding -- my tip is grounded from the factory, I checked.
2) ESD safety -- not sure what this means, the tip is grounded, I am grounded, I feel safe. Moreover, many stations are not declared as esd-safe, or it costs extra (hello, ersa) to get them made of conductive plastic. But, again, what's the point if tip is grounded? Anyway, I'm yet to kill something with esd. Even sensitive mosfets survived my soldering (probably, due to integrated zener on the gate). Actually, I'd rather connect tip via a 1Meg resistor to prevent accidental shorting, like my wristband.
3) reliably -- just change caps, or replace the power supply, it costs about $20, not a big deal. I also have a fire alarm in the lab, just in case (though it does only sound, it doesn't alert fire brigade). And house insurance.

So, I'm not saying everyone should share my value. I'm saying that there is a demand for cheap small compact soldering stations for those who don't solder 8 hours a day. I even like it has a clock on it. That's totally unnecessary, as many other feature it has, but I like it. It's a gadget.

So, let's praise diversity -- if one wants a brick that can survive a nuclear war there is Pace. For people on a small budget there is ksger. These are two different markets, afaik, and I'm glad both ends are covered.

snoopy:

--- Quote from: Gandalf_Sr on June 13, 2019, 02:24:33 pm ---Snoopy, that looks like my head unit.  It's an OLED display, do you want the actual part number?

--- End quote ---

Yes would be interested in the exact part number.

It looks a lot better quality than the run of the mill 128x64 OLED displays kicking around on ebay.

cheers

snoopy:

--- Quote from: Shock on June 14, 2019, 01:06:35 am ---Going back to the Jabe, I did a little more digging. From what Equalizer said it's a 50W rated iron and tip and it's set to "150W" in software. So in other words they are overheating/cooking the element. He said running it at the 150W setting will destroy your expensive tips (I think he was speaking from experience). This is starting to make more sense, I smelled a rat but you never know, they could have changed the firmware since then.

Looking at this process I can't help but feel you have now thrown $320 or so at China and really got little benefit out of it, and your interpretation of a high power T12 smps indicating the performance of the station is leading you astray. Transformers (unless you need portability) are the best way to go, aside from control technology transformers simplify ESD, grounding, reliability and safety. On the bench (if that is your purpose) you want hefty station, when you hit buttons, spin knobs and move the handpiece, the station itself shouldn't move.

To me it's a bit backwards seeking the ultimate GUI. If you want DIY look for the best iron and control circuit then add your own micro and software around it. You get no closer using closed source showing some fancy calibration menus, a jumpy power indicator and a clock. All that crap you can add to any DIY project.

--- End quote ---

You can dial down the power on the JABE so you don't cook the tips. I have mine set at 70 Watts. There's no doubt that the on board micro is calculating the average power delivered to the tip in real time which may explain why the JBC uses a dspPIC but the STM32 used on the JABE is equally capable of doing this as well.

For the price I'm not sure why you'd want to reinvent the wheel when the KSGER is working fine and offers many more options than the original fx-951 or its clones which don't even have a proper setback function.

cheers

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