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Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones

Hello,

I have a soldering "station" that has been working just fine for quite a while now and up until this morning. You can get a glimpse of it in this message:  Finally took the time to reorganize the workbench! 

But this afternoon, when I turn it on, the usual two left LEDs turn on, one for "there is power" and one for "heating up" but the iron tip and body do not get hot at all and the temperature bar does not light up to the set temperature.

What could be the reason? What should I look at in the hopes of repairing it?

Parents
  • 0

    Looking around for the handle pinout, I stumbled across a picture of of it brand new: 

    image

    The cord has a 5 pin DIN connector but I'm not sure which pin is which.
    And to open then handle, I should have needed a "prong" screwdriver but luckily the screw heads were accessible and moved with simple flat pliers.
    But even if I could figure out the pinout, I don't think I even could replace the heating element, it looks like it's potted:

    image

    However, and that's the good news, taking it apart and putting it back together brought it back to life!
    It's now heating up again and not lying about it either.

    This gives me more time to better document myself on current technology, especially with respect to tips.

    So far, I believe my station and the three candidates that I presented below are using "passive" tips in that the temperature sensor is inside the body, not near the extremity of the tip.

    And it seems there are newer technologies named T12 and JBC, the latter being the most recent one, and so the recommended these days.

    As I've never used any of those new techs, what could I expect from upgrading in terms of usage feeling?

Reply
  • 0

    Looking around for the handle pinout, I stumbled across a picture of of it brand new: 

    image

    The cord has a 5 pin DIN connector but I'm not sure which pin is which.
    And to open then handle, I should have needed a "prong" screwdriver but luckily the screw heads were accessible and moved with simple flat pliers.
    But even if I could figure out the pinout, I don't think I even could replace the heating element, it looks like it's potted:

    image

    However, and that's the good news, taking it apart and putting it back together brought it back to life!
    It's now heating up again and not lying about it either.

    This gives me more time to better document myself on current technology, especially with respect to tips.

    So far, I believe my station and the three candidates that I presented below are using "passive" tips in that the temperature sensor is inside the body, not near the extremity of the tip.

    And it seems there are newer technologies named T12 and JBC, the latter being the most recent one, and so the recommended these days.

    As I've never used any of those new techs, what could I expect from upgrading in terms of usage feeling?

Children