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RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

Jan Cumps — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 20:19:37 GMT

I have the little version of that YIHUA pre-heater:

Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:45:22 GMT

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: [mention:b59661a970174656bfa2e272c545013d:46448885d0e64133bbfbf0cd7b0fd6f7]

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?

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:44:53 GMT

Woah, that's a whole lot other category here!
Nice indeed, but definitely not in my skills and price range.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

michaelkellett — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:42:14 GMT

It looks very nice (for the money).

Have you tried soldering medium sized 0.8mm or 0.5mm pitch BGAs with it ? (up to 500 balls)

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

battlecoder — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:29:06 GMT

I've used a couple of stations with T12 tips and they heat up fast so the are ready to go in seconds. They are also very efficient (or at least a lot more efficient than passive tips) when it comes to supplying heat to beefier joints/components/leads.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

SensoredHacker0 — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:37:05 GMT

The box is amazing!

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

geralds — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:21:14 GMT

Hi,

I bought this soldering station: YIHUA 853AAA

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0C4XXBKQM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1

It works very well.

And, if you want to build an enclosure with inserts, for this soldering tip you can buy an adapter too:

https://www.amazon.de/ruthex-L%C3%B6tspitzen-Einschmelzhilfen-L%C3%B6tkolbenspitzen-Gewindeeins%C3%A4tze/dp/B0DP51DDF7?ref_=ast_bl_cpl_dp&th=1

https://www.amazon.de/stores/page/3ACCBCAE-4D12-47C7-93DB-99763A8BC21B?ingress=2&lp_context_asin=B0DP51DDF7&visitId=4d6fbfc1-5d76-4b22-b57d-776261d5a878&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandlogo_sto&ref_=ast_bln

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

michaelkellett — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 14:17:35 GMT

I bought one of these and it's pretty good (expensive but still cheaper than Weller!)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F6D3PBPT

For hot air I use one of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SAG-55-Handheld-Portable-550W-High-Power/dp/B0FKNFYZXV/ref=sr_1_2

I didn't like that the power brick (for the SAG 55) doesn't have a main switch so I added an inline one on the mains cable.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:49:24 GMT

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

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:

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?

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

acdc90 — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 06:35:20 GMT

If this has had a lot of use i would check the cable Especilly where it has a bend comming out of the hand piece

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

colporteur — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 23:21:33 GMT

I received a Welder for a RoadTest that heats up in less than 20 sec. I don't think I can go back to the 3-5min wait.

I will short my missus Christmas gift purse if I need to replace it:)

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 20:32:12 GMT

Well, I already have a spare one, more like the "stylus" format for soldering work that cannot be done on the bench, like repairing a LED strip on site, so I could use it for now, but it's not as convenient as a base station.

I looked at the TA305 and it's in the same price range as the MP740907 but without the hot air side. Now, to be honest, the hot air side is more of a "thing to discover" for me, as I'm not sure I would actually use it regularly. This would open me to SMD with solder paste where I only do them with fine tip for now, and I don't do that many of them anyway.

Ah the choices, too many choices!

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

shabaz — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 20:00:59 GMT

Hope you're up-and-running again with a soldering iron soon! I really like the soldering irons with the tips that have an integrated heater.

Have you seen TA305? I have not used it, but there seems a lot going for it (but check reviews just in case). The base has a transformer inside instead of switch-mode (transformer is important, to reduce voltage on the tip), plus it uses standard JBC compatible tips, and price seems reasonable for the unit. There are bundles with model 225 or 245 handles, the 245 is a good all-rounder.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:05:20 GMT

Yeah, I started that and I'm at the early stage of "hey, there are all sort prices for this, let's create yet another spreadsheet".

I mean, a quick glance gave me this:

185€ -> https://fr.farnell.com/multicomp-pro/mp740907/station-reparation-2-ch-800w-230v/dp/4034894

80€ -> https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B09PH7NSX1?smid=A3FU3DFR5FRAPP&tag=egcdealabs2-21&ascsubtag=ppr-fr-1904557071&th=1

25€ -> https://www.lidl.fr/p/parkside-station-a-air-chaud-et-fer-a-souder-phlls-745-b1/p100395263

Next move: power, functionalities and so on...

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

colporteur — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:52:25 GMT

20 years! That will have some burnt skin on it. Time to Christmas shop for a new one.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

obones — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 16:05:00 GMT

Well, spares for a station that is 20 years old, that's gonna be tough, it seems I'll have to open it then...

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

michaelkellett — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:28:50 GMT

Could well be the heating element - to make sure you could check the resistance of the element via the connector if you can find out which pins are used for what.

Otherwise you will need to take the iron apart to check the element.

Nothing much to lose by taking it apart.

Might be worth checking if you can get spares before doing any work on it.

RE: Soldering iron station that suddenly does not heat anymore

BigG — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 14:59:35 GMT

Usually its the heating element that fails

RE: a small request

SensoredHacker0 — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 22:35:28 GMT

web.eece.maine.edu/.../tutorials.php

a small request

ezain — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:35:13 GMT

dear engineers
I only wanted to ask for some courses that explain ICs from start to end ( explained easy and full all versions) like op amps and more cause jumping from transistors to them makes it hard to grasp is you have a very good one please tell
( I kept this short cause I am in hurry)
also tell if i have to remember all of them and their working.
thanks in advance

RE: a small request

geralds — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 17:30:58 GMT

Hi ezain ,

Here you can learn all about audio, voices, including formulars as well with calculation tools.

https://sengpielaudio.com/Calculations03.htm

https://sengpielaudio.com/index.html

You can read in English also in German.

RE: a small request

perryaire — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:30:50 GMT

In 1980 I taught a course in constructing computers. The text book I used was, "Microprocessors/Microcomputers: An introduction." It was published by McGtaw-Hill and authored by Donald D. Givone and Robert P. Roesser. The course was taught at the Roosevelt University Extension Service in Chicago Land (Class was in Arlington Heights twice and downtown Chicago once.)

The prerequisites were that the student should have some programming experience. Frequently the University allowed students without the prerequisites to attend. By the third class, Ii asked students not to read chapter 4 of the book until the class was completed. I told them that I would be more than willing to answers questions about Chapter 4 after the semester. I found that non-techies were not ready to read about semiconductor theory; it just destrioyed their confidence and made learning the rest of the course more difficult.

The course introduced students to electronics, semiconductors and computers by requiring them to create a device to be attached to a computer (today we;d use Arduino or Raspberry Pi) and demonstrate its use.

TTL Cookbook and CMOS Cookbook are good sources for learning about semiconductors. I also have catalogs from electronics component manufacturers and/or distributers that I still use as reference. All the electronics are through the hole format.

RE: a small request

balajivan1995 — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:45:54 GMT

[quote userid="18385" url="~/technologies/experts/f/forum/57097/a-small-request/236378"]

You can enrol for free and do the work, you only get a certificate if you pay, else you can "audit" the courses for a set time, and it's functional and feature filled.

[/quote]

edX is like this as well.

RE: a small request

balajivan1995 — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 13:41:05 GMT

In my final year of college, I took a few courses. One of them was Introduction to MATLAB. At the time, the course was already a decade old, and now it’s older by nearly another decade.

RE: a small request

ezain — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:13:38 GMT

thankyou guys for your support I will definetly look into them although it might be too much because i also have my igcse but i can manage also i really love the (https://wiki.analog.com/university/courses/tutorials/index) and the mit ones ( because i have tried using alison for other courses moreover all the rest ideas are also good but the ones mentioned are the top :)