Voultar recommended T12 soldering station, buyer beware

[Voultar]

looks like he updated the video with a warning

This was actually done days ago. People were moaning too much to notice.

[thebigcheese]

looks like he updated the video with a warning

This was actually done days ago. People were moaning too much to notice.

That's all I was asking for, just didn't think to actually look so I guess I am the doofus there. Ah well, thanks for updating it. I will say that I am sad people are having trouble with the iron. It looked pretty neat when you first posted it.

[Johnpv]

Mine has the battery underneath, and all the solder joints on it look good, the only difference is I have the PCB for the port where the soldering iron connects to it, vs the individually soldered wires going directly to it. I don't know how much of a difference that makes.

[leonk]

If there's one thing I can complain about the iron is the power button.

For some strange reason, "ON" is press down, "OFF" is press up. This is backwards from almost anything else I have. Given the button is in the back (where I only turn on by touch) it always throws me off to press DOWN to turn it on.

[ldeveraux]

If there's one thing I can complain about the iron is the power button.

For some strange reason, "ON" is press down, "OFF" is press up. This is backwards from almost anything else I have. Given the button is in the back (where I only turn on by touch) it always throws me off to press DOWN to turn it on.

Why not remove the chassis and flip the button upside down?

[leonk]

I’ll do that. For sure. Not sure how many people here have more than 1 soldering station to be able to do that!

[ldeveraux]

I’ll do that. For sure. Not sure how many people here have more than 1 soldering station to be able to do that!

It didn't occur to me that the switch was soldered to the board. I didn't pay attention to the pictures. I just assumed it was wired in and slip locked into the chassis.

[ASDR]

Another buyer beware I have to issue. A few weeks ago I ordered a replacement battery door for my PSP from a Chinese seller. Today a package arrived advertising 'PSP replacement cover door' on the outside customs declaration. It contained this:



Those fake hot pants do a poor job at keeping the battery securely in the PSP. There might be a fire/shock hazard. I'm not aware whether Voultar has ever recommended the battery door or the hot pants, but I would advise caution either way. Stay safe, everybody.

[Kez]

I think this is user error, I have been using those hot pants on my PSP for over a year with no battery issues. Also I have received many compliments when using the PSP in public.

[buttersoft]

"Would that be the hotpants, sir?"
"Aye, the hotpants!"

lol.

I can chime in and say i had a good look inside the T12 I ordered based on Voultar's review and i'm happy with it. Build quality is good, cable is secure and very flexible and soft. Tips do take a little time to burn in, as i noted in my own review of Voultar's review but it's nice to hear that confirmed, and there is more temp variation in the tips than shown on the video, and the display could be a little brighter - I like soldering in the sunlight as i can see more, and the display is 100% invisible there. But overall i've ditched my old Weller for this one.

I totally get that if you don't get the well-made version of this one as promised, it's going to be annoying, so I'm glad the vid (page?) got updated. I ordered mine within two or three days of the original review, and they were out of stock at the time, but i still seemed to get a decent unit. Maybe i want to open it up and triple check though.


While i think of it, does anyone know of a vacuum gun that can be plugged into the KSGER T12 station?

[ASDR]

The tips seem to need a long burn in period and mine never get quite as stable as in Voultar's video. Also most are completely unstable >400C, which is a problem because one of the calibration points is 435C, where the temperature just wildly jumps around. It seems the tips we've gotten are not of the same quality as the ones earlier buyers received.

Regarding the display, I've seen this complaint elsewhere and the issue seems to be that the front glass of the station is tinted. The display itself is actually sufficiently bright. You could probably just remove the display window and put a sheet of plexiglass or a glass screen protector on there and have better visibility.

I don't think there are any good desoldering gun options for the T12? It seems the main issue is anyway the vacuum part, not the soldering part, so not sure how much cost savings there would really be over an all-in-one or a station like the ZD915.

Now owning a pair of hot pants I'm actually reminded of maybe getting a pair of hot tweezers. You can get these AOYUE ones quite cheaply and I wonder if they could be made compatible with the T12 stations...



https://www.aliexpress.com/item/orginal ... 47458.html

[ldeveraux]

While i think of it, does anyone know of a vacuum gun that can be plugged into the KSGER T12 station?

I tried a number of alternatives, but finally splurged on the Hakko FR-301. Insane, yes, but it just works so darn perfectly...

[davidwhangchoi]

Another buyer beware I have to issue. A few weeks ago I ordered a replacement battery door for my PSP from a Chinese seller. Today a package arrived advertising 'PSP replacement cover door' on the outside customs declaration. It contained this:

lol

[FBX]

I tried a number of alternatives, but finally splurged on the Hakko FR-301. Insane, yes, but it just works so darn perfectly...

I'm still using an S-993A myself. I've developed a few life hacks to keep it in working order:

1. I take a Q-tip with just a little Neosporin ointment (not the cream) and swap the rubber gaskets on the front and back so they don't give me fits trying to slide the tube back on them. Works great.

2. I bought a pack of 1mm drill bits for the rare occasion I get a clogged nozzle. Rather than drilling, I just take a hammer and tap the drill bit till it busts through the clog. Then I slide the bit in and out to make sure it's fully clear.

3. Voultar suggested using the better Hakko ceramic filters than the cotton ones.

I think however at some point I'm going to invest in a better desoldering gun. While this one has given me plenty of use, I think I'd like to try one that heats up faster and has an on-off switch.

[donluca]

Has anyone here tried using a hot air station to desolder through hole components?

There are those pesky 8739573059038 pin DIPs that are a pain to desolder and I've seen a youtube video of a guy just passing the hot air stream over the solder part of a PCB and getting the DIP chips out this way and the work was super clean.

[ASDR]

Has anyone here tried using a hot air station to desolder through hole components?

There are those pesky 8739573059038 pin DIPs that are a pain to desolder and I've seen a youtube video of a guy just passing the hot air stream over the solder part of a PCB and getting the DIP chips out this way and the work was super clean.

You can do that, but I would not recommend it. Generally older boards that still use such large THT DIP packages are nowhere near as heat resilient as modern boards. You'd have to put quite a lot of heat on the board to pull out an entire large DIP package at once. Also, just removing the IC is not necessarily clearing the via. The you'd either have to also re-solder the component with hot air or do a second pass to clear all the vias.

I've used hot air as a pre-heater for desoldering, though. Modern multi-layer boards with large ground planes etc. can be a real bitch to work with and I had trouble clearing vias. If you heat up the board a bit (100-150C) first it's much easier to actually get the solder completely removed.

[donluca]

Thanks for the tip, I'll definitely keep that in mind.

I still have to find a reliable way to remove DIP chips with lots of pins.

[Kez]

I still have to find a reliable way to remove DIP chips with lots of pins.

I don't think you'll find a better way than a desoldering gun.

I have the S-993A that FBX mentioned above, but it seems the ZD915 is the newer discovery that people are getting good results with. If you want a high quality, recognised brand the Hakko FR-301 is the way to but they don't come cheap.

Even the cheaper ones of these are still quite pricey, but if you are doing a lot of desoldering they will make your life so much easier. Not just for DIPs but even if you have to remove a bunch of capacitors or any through-hole components it can go by a lot quicker and smoother.

[donluca]

Eh, my issue is that I often go with long periods without touching the soldering iron (like 6 months to 1 year) and then, all of a sudden, I find myself with lots of soldering to do here and there.
And then, again, I won't touch it again for lots of time. This makes my decision pretty hard as I don't want to invest too much money in something I use so sparingly.

[maxtherabbit]

I still have to find a reliable way to remove DIP chips with lots of pins.

I don't think you'll find a better way than a desoldering gun.

I have the S-993A that FBX mentioned above, but it seems the ZD915 is the newer discovery that people are getting good results with. If you want a high quality, recognised brand the Hakko FR-301 is the way to but they don't come cheap.

Even the cheaper ones of these are still quite pricey, but if you are doing a lot of desoldering they will make your life so much easier. Not just for DIPs but even if you have to remove a bunch of capacitors or any through-hole components it can go by a lot quicker and smoother.

when I got my first desoldering gun it was an epiphany - how the fuck did anyone tolerate using ANYTHING else like a caveman?

I will NEVER go back, I'd rip a PCB in half in pure rage before I'd ever use an inferior desoldering tool again

[ASDR]

Let me agree, Fuck, That, Thing:



But I can understand not wanting to spend tons of money on some tool you use once a year. Those are slightly better than the one above:



They have more suction and the silicone hose attachment means you can actually get it right at the solder joint. But I sure as hell wouldn't want to use it for like a 30 pin package...

[unmaker]

If you want a high quality, recognised brand the Hakko FR-301 is the way to but they don't come cheap.

There are alternatives. You can get a used Pace desoldering station for the same price or less off ebay, example here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-PACE-Sens ... _cvip=true

Pace has various stations capable of desoldering such as the Pace ST 75, ST 115, MBT 301, and MBT 350. I've bought a handful of their stations for insanely low prices that were sold as "untested" or had cosmetic defects but worked perfectly fine. Pace equipment is top notch and made in the USA if that sort of thing matters to you.

It's strange to me that Pace doesn't seem to have the same name recognition as Hakko. Pace has been pioneering soldering techniques and equipment for decades. Their stuff is so good the US military used/uses their PRC 2000 stations which was made way back in 1992! Their soldering tutorials are still useful to this day. For example, they demonstrate how to properly deal with ground planes when doing NESRGB/Hi-Def NES installs: https://youtu.be/Skdh8zMVGFs?t=110 . The guy in the beginning of Voultar's T12 video is actually a Pace soldering instructor. That series is fun to watch if you're interested in some vintage soldering pr0n and one can learn quite a bit despite it being made in 1980 https://youtu.be/vIT4ra6Mo0s

They have more suction and the silicone hose attachment means you can actually get it right at the solder joint. But I sure as hell wouldn't want to use it for like a 30 pin package...

This was my primary desoldering device before I got my Pace unit and it works well for small jobs. With that and a Hakko FX-888D I've done numerous NESRGB installs and recapped 3 PVM's at about 200 caps each, never again

[ASDR]

It's strange to me that Pace doesn't seem to have the same name recognition as Hakko.

I think they're just virtually unknown outside of the US. They don't even seem to have distributors here and generally can't be bought at all the places where all other major brand soldering gear is available. When I've seen stuff from them it was at crazy markup. They're like Amtech, good product, but it almost seems like they try to prevent you from buying it / learning about it.

[thebigcheese]

I have that solder sucker (the nicer one), it's quite nice. I've used it on ICs and it's a pain, but at like $10, it's hard to beat. Especially when I only need to desolder things like once a year.

[hbard]

Let me agree, Fuck, That, Thing:
<snip>

Yeah I just recently threw that blue one in the trash. I've also been using the engineering ones for quick jobs and the silicon makes it easy. I'm also hunting for some good heat tweezers now myself but they can be pricey. Those AOYUE ones look like very similar to the Hakko FX-8804. I gave the 8804 a try only because my only soldering station supports it. It does the job but I don't like the feel of it for the Hakko price. Extra tips are even $50 a set. I'm probably not going to get any more Hakko heat tweezers at all unless they are superior in some way to other options, which I doubt. I don't have an issue with the investment for a new station that supports new tweezers, but I have to make my next choice count.

[Jdurg]

I too was weighing the 'do I spent a few franklins on a Hakko FR-301 when I may only use it a few times a year?' battle. In the end, I decided to get it and I am very happy with my decision.

I cannot fathom installing a HiDefNES mod, or recapping an arcade monitor chassis, without it. Even if you use it only once a year, that one time you do use it you'll be very happy you have one.

No more plastic solder suckers that break every time and are messy overall. I still have desoldering braid for cleanup though, or for when I only need to desolder one thing and don't feel like breaking out the big boy.

[ASDR]

Once I got my ZD915 I was able to fix multiple consoles and other devices with it very quickly, it pretty much instantly paid for itself. I'm about to attempt an iMac repair that would be a total pain without hot air & desoldering gun.

Desoldering guns can never completely replace solder wick. You never get pads fully clean with just the gun.

btw, I just received a bum tip for my TS100. I replaced my old knife edge tip that broke after >1 year of usage. The old one worked just fine, but the new one always has a wildly fluctuating temperature, even after ~1h of break-in. Packaging etc. looks like a genuine Mini / e-Design tip, absolutely identical to the old one. So much for my TS100 recommendation, seems they also got some quality control issues

[Ryoandr]

Once I got my ZD915 I was able to fix multiple consoles and other devices with it very quickly, it pretty much instantly paid for itself. I'm about to attempt an iMac repair that would be a total pain without hot air & desoldering gun.

Desoldering guns can never completely replace solder wick. You never get pads fully clean with just the gun.

btw, I just received a bum tip for my TS100. I replaced my old knife edge tip that broke after >1 year of usage. The old one worked just fine, but the new one always has a wildly fluctuating temperature, even after ~1h of break-in. Packaging etc. looks like a genuine Mini / e-Design tip, absolutely identical to the old one. So much for my TS100 recommendation, seems they also got some quality control issues

did you calibrate the new tip

[ASDR]

did you calibrate the new tip

You mean the cold junction compensation? That doesn't have anything to do with the tip / temperature being unstable. Even if the calibration was totally wrong it would simply heat up to an inaccurate temperature. All the old tips work stable.

[Brad251]

They have more suction and the silicone hose attachment means you can actually get it right at the solder joint. But I sure as hell wouldn't want to use it for like a 30 pin package...

This was my primary desoldering device before I got my Pace unit and it works well for small jobs. With that and a Hakko FX-888D I've done numerous NESRGB installs and recapped 3 PVM's at about 200 caps each, never again

A lot of Amazon reviews say that the Engineer brand solder sucker clogs a lot. Is this true? Is there any way to prevent the clogs? I have also considered getting a Soldapultt solder sucker that is made by Edsyn but some reviewers say that it is too big for soldering on PCBs.