Many moons ago, I was dreaming of a temp control soldering iron that could take those slide on screw lock tips. One day I came across a blue iron on Ebay with a tiny thermostat on the handle marked off in degrees C, with just such a tip combo. I picked it up for very little money, and for the past 4 years she has served me very well. She is very quick to heat up, seems to hold the heat well, and the standard tips fit her with no problems at all. I keep her set at about 300 degrees and she seems to do what ever I ask of her, on difficult soldering problems, I can turn her up to 450 C Max and she will solder the most difficult joint, however it reeks havoc on the tips, so it is nice that they are interchangeable, and I did order a goodly supply of my favorite style as well as a simple set of misc. tips for strange and exotic soldering problems. While I am sure she isn't as nice as those with the nice power transformer and regulated temp control, for what she is, and what I need to do she is quite adequate. Plus it fits in the overhead on my RV so she can be handy when the problem arises that needs a touch of solder.
In regards to the blow-back, there's currently 3 distinct variants of this board on the float. 1. this one (differentiated by the fuse being directly soldered to the board (and other minor differences). 2. another, with the fuse in a swap socket 3. last one, which is very much like the second one, but with a heat sink attached to the back. This one, of the ones i've tested, has the most variations. Some boards have protection from feedback, some do not, some have ... something, that seems to fizzle out after a few hours left on the feedback. Just a thought, i'm no EE, but i do tinker a bit, so take the info with the customary pinch of salt.
I looked into it also, and didnt like it much. How does the on/off switch work ? It grounds the "power good" pin, that disables the LTC. So far so good. But the powerGood is the output of the 1st stage of the opAmp (comparing the input voltage to the minimum voltage required as set by one of the pots). I'be curious on much current you draw when "off", most of it would be the opamp trying to raise its output. I dont remember seeing a resistor there, but it's a bit foggy.
Why isn't it a proper on-off switch (open circuit rather than closing off part of it)? How much current does it draw in this "soft off" mode? Does any part get hot if you leave it like that for long?
Julian, i dealt with crappy soldering irons for years (and could never justify an x hundred dollar soldering station), but just bit the bullet and spent 40GBP on the TS100. It's amazing, and has aftermarket firmware. takes almost any voltage, however if you want the lightening fast warm up times, get yourself a 24v DC power adapter (i.e. laptop). Also, i reccomend spend the 1.5GBP on a stand, as i learnt the hard way when i touched the iron the the bench :(
You should be using the temperature controlled iron anyway in the first place. Its better than the crappy antex. You can continuously adjust the temperature.
What do you expect with such small diameter solder bits. I use a 2.4mm chsel bit on a 45W iron for almost everything including soldering soic ic's. Temperature of the iron will help but you need to be able to transfer the thermal capacity of the iron to the joint.
The Antex would solder that joint fine, it just needs the correct bit. Pointy bits are the work of the devil when it comes to general soldering, especially with thermal soak from groundplanes.
Please make a follow-up video on the results of your super capacitor back feed testing. I am very interested in the outcome of your experiment. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Is that a 25w antex iron ? Get a bigger tip, more mass should allow you to solder things like that middle pin. I have 2 XS25's, one with a 1/8" and one with a 1/4" chisel tip, and i've soldered a smd led with the smaller one (had a blown one on a strip, so replaced it from another). I also have an Antex 100W
Yeah looks like he's using one of the smallest tips for that iron, with a bigger tip (3-4.7mm) the 25w XS Antex is actually pretty capable for an unregulated iron.
Whatever happens with this unit, I'm sure it will be documented and posted here. I'm sure I am not the only guy who wants to see what happens, be it good or bad experience.
Maker: this circuit does not have back feed protection, place à diode in séries with the output for that. Julian: I dunno, maybe they have designed in back feed protection and maybe I could put in the missing switch to get it. Place your bets.
With this video being about 6 years old I'm kind of taking a shot in the dark. BANG! What do you call the tool that was used to adjust the little blue box (variable capacitors?) I've been looking high and low but without knowing what to call it have not been able to find it. Would really appreciate it if you could let me know what it's called and where to get it. Thank you very much.
Would that undervoltage protection pin work as a poor mans MPPT with a solar panel? where it limits the output current based on the input voltage? or does it just cut off the module entirely and turn on again when light returns?
I would glue the iron holder to the top of the unit and permanently put it on my desk because temp control is great. Even my old straight to mains iron - it's all I can afford - has a triac to change temp,
Hi, have you ever mucked around with the UV setting on this unit, can't seem to find anything on the Net as to the range of adjustment etc. Most small Buck converters don't like running on solar, the problem being that the slow rise of voltage at sunrise stops the buck converter from starting properly, I'm hoping it can be set to start the Buck converter when input voltage exceeds 12v.
No real grip on the TS100, and no finger guard. Fingers do get sweaty when you do a lot of soldering, easy for a smooth metal body to slip through your hands.
I use my ts100 for drones and I use it to solder giant ground planes all the time, it works really well, also when soldering a ground plane that big I recommend using the max temp of the iron
Hello Julian, I bought the LTC1380 board after seeing your first video on it. Ans IIRC yours also had a thick Al piece on the back--the one you have now seems to be missing it! The problem is that the Al is physically blocking the three holes for the ON-OFF switch. However, I see that I may be able to 'fake' surface mount a switch since there seems to be a thermal insulating pad between the PCB and Al slab--which will prevent solder from flowing through the via barrels, causing possible shorts. Did you remove your slab? It doesn't appear so?
hi, wondering if you were able to enable 42v boost feature of this board according to the datasheet. its says pin boost1, boost2 3v to 42v. could you please try. im thinking of making a power bench with this board with a 36v switching power supply.
Why not use a double throw switch? One to switch +in and one to switch +out? No risk of any feedback from the capacitors to the converter. A switch always beats a diode, only setback is that it is to be done manually. So what, you already decided that.
Hi Julian ! Is this version of LTC3780 as good and reliable as the red coil one ( labeled WD2002SJ) that you already have, to power up high-power LEDs? I heard so many ppl complaining about them. ( also th-cam.com/video/tlhZOCQF5Ws/w-d-xo.html )
hola gran canal adquirir dicha placa y después de reemplazar el potenciómetro la placa ya no se encenderá. y corto en los polos de entrada y salida. ¿que puede ser?
I have often wondered if a fellow could add a switch, or perhaps a capacitor in the holes that are not filled on these Cheap China boards. An economic cut has stopped me from the joy of ordering in such devices to play with, and I am in the process of selling off all my toys, both woodworking and electronic so I can sell off the house I have owned and lived in for the past 25 years. Not that this is a bad thing, indeed it is so we can enjoy our lives on the road, where we have spent our last 3 winters touring the great American South West deserts in search of warmth while our home in the Dakota's sits under a cover of heavy snow and extreme cold. When you reach our age, and can no longer work for a living, then enjoying your leisure time becomes so very important, lest you become like a bump on a log, something worthless and only of interest to passing students of plant life. I have vowed, however to keep my collection of blank boards and discrete components so I can build a few toys while on the road.
Joy! A buck/boost converter! It’s been so long! Fitting my switch now....PS Can you get knobs which permanently fit on the pots? It’s a pain to have to fiddle with a screwdriver.
It would be helpful if you measure the quiescent (idle) current and efficiency of these modules (the ones that pretend to be efficient). Last time I bought decent chip DC-DC synchronous converter it was worse than the cheap ones. Probably because if the circuit design...
he Julian. I immediately thought about a schematic i had seen in a LT datasheet using super capacitors. After some googling i found it. The LT8705 looks to be the same tech. on page 40 there is a circuit using super caps as a UPS. maybe this chip can do the same. Good luck
if the fault light comes on, i wonder if it was designed to have a NO thermal fuse of a similar in it's intended application? or maybe devices have some type of feedback loop when it wants to cut itself off?
The chip has a control pin to switch the output off. Maybe the switch is wired to this control pin. See the datasheet. With the output off, the output will be outside 7.5% of the set output voltage, hence the chip indicating a fault condition.
I was thinking just the same :) And the have a nice boxed set available now www.banggood.com/12-in-1-TS100-Soldering-Iron-Kit-with-9pcs-Tips-1pc-XT60-Cable-1pc-Holder-p-1256069.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN Not cheap I know but there are some thing you just have to have! :)
These controllers are complete garbage; I've ordered 3 identical \ similar ones from Banggood in the last 4 years and within one month they always croak. No input light, no output. They're complete rubbish.
Nein! Here's a question for you though since your here. I want to solar charge a 18650 with a TP4056 but my panel outputs 12 volts. I was going to buy a cheap "DC-DC 4.2-40V to 3.3V 5V 6V 9V 12V 24V Buck Step-down Converter Linear Regulator" that will convert the 12v to 5v for the TP4056, however the panel will not output a steady 12v it will dip & rise depending on light conditions. Do you think the regulator would output a steady 5v whatever the voltage it is supplied?
It can't be both linear and buck. Its either linear (a simple 'wattage torch' meaning it burns away power through heat, very inefficient !) like the 7805 or a buck DCtoDC converter (it switches on/off with a very high frequency so you get an often 'dirty' lower voltage of say 5V).for both the input voltage of the solar panel may vary you still get a steady output voltage BUT you do still need a charging/protection circuit for the Li-ION cell.
I've bit the bullet and connected the TP4056 directly to the 12 volt panel. Although I said my panel was 12v output, I didn't mention that its really just a 5 watt battery trickle charge model and I think there is a massive voltage drop under any load. The TP4056 seems to be happily charging the cell. If it all works out I'll update with a picture of the setup :-] Thanks for your input so far.
hehe good job. I'm not a pro so don't expect me to know everything :) Julian or BigClive know more LOL. I always charge Li-Ions in a stone soupcup (fire prevention) that I stand off of 'everything'
A switch to turn a unit on and off! Amazing stuff.
This video should be renamed "man solders on a switch" :)
It started with a title not dissimilar to that :)
"...a TH switch" :-)
Many moons ago, I was dreaming of a temp control soldering iron that could take those slide on screw lock tips. One day I came across a blue iron on Ebay with a tiny thermostat on the handle marked off in degrees C, with just such a tip combo. I picked it up for very little money, and for the past 4 years she has served me very well. She is very quick to heat up, seems to hold the heat well, and the standard tips fit her with no problems at all. I keep her set at about 300 degrees and she seems to do what ever I ask of her, on difficult soldering problems, I can turn her up to 450 C Max and she will solder the most difficult joint, however it reeks havoc on the tips, so it is nice that they are interchangeable, and I did order a goodly supply of my favorite style as well as a simple set of misc. tips for strange and exotic soldering problems. While I am sure she isn't as nice as those with the nice power transformer and regulated temp control, for what she is, and what I need to do she is quite adequate. Plus it fits in the overhead on my RV so she can be handy when the problem arises that needs a touch of solder.
In regards to the blow-back, there's currently 3 distinct variants of this board on the float.
1. this one (differentiated by the fuse being directly soldered to the board (and other minor differences).
2. another, with the fuse in a swap socket
3. last one, which is very much like the second one, but with a heat sink attached to the back.
This one, of the ones i've tested, has the most variations. Some boards have protection from feedback, some do not, some have ... something, that seems to fizzle out after a few hours left on the feedback.
Just a thought, i'm no EE, but i do tinker a bit, so take the info with the customary pinch of salt.
I looked into it also, and didnt like it much. How does the on/off switch work ? It grounds the "power good" pin, that disables the LTC. So far so good. But the powerGood is the output of the 1st stage of the opAmp (comparing the input voltage to the minimum voltage required as set by one of the pots). I'be curious on much current you draw when "off", most of it would be the opamp trying to raise its output. I dont remember seeing a resistor there, but it's a bit foggy.
Why isn't it a proper on-off switch (open circuit rather than closing off part of it)? How much current does it draw in this "soft off" mode? Does any part get hot if you leave it like that for long?
Julian, i dealt with crappy soldering irons for years (and could never justify an x hundred dollar soldering station), but just bit the bullet and spent 40GBP on the TS100. It's amazing, and has aftermarket firmware. takes almost any voltage, however if you want the lightening fast warm up times, get yourself a 24v DC power adapter (i.e. laptop). Also, i reccomend spend the 1.5GBP on a stand, as i learnt the hard way when i touched the iron the the bench :(
A soldering iron with firmware? WTF
Julian i've seen one, it only changes the interface display not the values!
Google Ralim/ts100, has adjustable temp, reduces heat after a period of time, and auto-reheats when moved.
thats not true
You should be using the temperature controlled iron anyway in the first place. Its better than the crappy antex. You can continuously adjust the temperature.
Hello, what module do you recommend the one that appears in the video or this W XL4016 DC-DC Max 9A, for a 90W 19V 4.5A source?
What do you expect with such small diameter solder bits. I use a 2.4mm chsel bit on a 45W iron for almost everything including soldering soic ic's. Temperature of the iron will help but you need to be able to transfer the thermal capacity of the iron to the joint.
The Antex would solder that joint fine, it just needs the correct bit. Pointy bits are the work of the devil when it comes to general soldering, especially with thermal soak from groundplanes.
Please make a follow-up video on the results of your super capacitor back feed testing. I am very interested in the outcome of your experiment. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Will do :)
You need to tin the end off the soldiering iron first. Also move your tip up and down on the pad it will help.
Is that a 25w antex iron ?
Get a bigger tip, more mass should allow you to solder things like that middle pin.
I have 2 XS25's, one with a 1/8" and one with a 1/4" chisel tip, and i've soldered a smd led with the smaller one (had a blown one on a strip, so replaced it from another).
I also have an Antex 100W
Yeah looks like he's using one of the smallest tips for that iron, with a bigger tip (3-4.7mm) the 25w XS Antex is actually pretty capable for an unregulated iron.
If he needs a bigger tip, there are Nigerians lining up to sell him a pill for that...
Got any spare pills? Asking for a friend...
Awesome I have one in the mail so your video will be helpful if I want to charge batteries with it! Thanks
Whatever happens with this unit, I'm sure it will be documented and posted here. I'm sure I am not the only guy who wants to see what happens, be it good or bad experience.
Maker: this circuit does not have back feed protection, place à diode in séries with the output for that.
Julian: I dunno, maybe they have designed in back feed protection and maybe I could put in the missing switch to get it.
Place your bets.
I'm hoping the four MOSFET topology will make a backfeed diode unnecessary, but there's only one way to find out :)
Julian Ilett ta for thé response and sorry if I sometimes sound grumpy.
With this video being about 6 years old I'm kind of taking a shot in the dark. BANG!
What do you call the tool that was used to adjust the little blue box (variable capacitors?) I've been looking high and low but without knowing what to call it have not been able to find it. Would really appreciate it if you could let me know what it's called and where to get it. Thank you very much.
Would that undervoltage protection pin work as a poor mans MPPT with a solar panel? where it limits the output current based on the input voltage? or does it just cut off the module entirely and turn on again when light returns?
I would glue the iron holder to the top of the unit and permanently put it on my desk because temp control is great. Even my old straight to mains iron - it's all I can afford - has a triac to change temp,
Doesn't blu-tack leave oily marks on the board? Or is it more like some kind of rubber?
Hi, have you ever mucked around with the UV setting on this unit, can't seem to find anything on the Net as to the range of adjustment etc. Most small Buck converters don't like running on solar, the problem being that the slow rise of voltage at sunrise stops the buck converter from starting properly, I'm hoping it can be set to start the Buck converter when input voltage exceeds 12v.
Buy a ts100 if you want a small temp controllable iron, can plug 12v stright in. Much better tips than those two too. :)
The TS100 on 12V would never be able to get that ground plane warm. It runs at around 10W at that voltage.
No real grip on the TS100, and no finger guard. Fingers do get sweaty when you do a lot of soldering, easy for a smooth metal body to slip through your hands.
From the Product page: 12V=17W, 16V=30W, 19V=40W, 24V=65W. Also, even at lower power (
I use my ts100 for drones and I use it to solder giant ground planes all the time, it works really well, also when soldering a ground plane that big I recommend using the max temp of the iron
Yep.
I'm going to echo everyone else TS100 soldering iron.
You'll find one from around £30 -ish.
Great. Am using mine for glow plug driver. the switch will be very useful.
It sais on/off and your guess is? An on and off switch! That's fucking genius!!!
Hello Julian, I bought the LTC1380 board after seeing your first video on it. Ans IIRC yours also had a thick Al piece on the back--the one you have now seems to be missing it! The problem is that the Al is physically blocking the three holes for the ON-OFF switch. However, I see that I may be able to 'fake' surface mount a switch since there seems to be a thermal insulating pad between the PCB and Al slab--which will prevent solder from flowing through the via barrels, causing possible shorts. Did you remove your slab? It doesn't appear so?
I have another module which has the aluminium slab on the underside
hi, wondering if you were able to enable 42v boost feature of this board according to the datasheet. its says pin boost1, boost2 3v to 42v. could you please try. im thinking of making a power bench with this board with a 36v switching power supply.
Your work area looks forever just like mine... WOW...
Hello, is it possible to make a solar charger (MPTT) with this LTC3780 ? thanks .
Hey Julian, what happened to your vocoder project?
Just waiting for its renaissance :)
Why not use a double throw switch? One to switch +in and one to switch +out? No risk of any feedback from the capacitors to the converter. A switch always beats a diode, only setback is that it is to be done manually. So what, you already decided that.
You need a big switch that can handle the full current of the converter.
Sure. That's okay. Although you will not be switching when the current is that high. I reckon a 10A switch would do fine.
Hi Julian ! Is this version of LTC3780 as good and reliable as the red coil one ( labeled WD2002SJ) that you already have, to power up high-power LEDs? I heard so many ppl complaining about them. ( also th-cam.com/video/tlhZOCQF5Ws/w-d-xo.html )
that booster looks like a beast lol wots the max current out on that
hola gran canal adquirir dicha placa y después de reemplazar el potenciómetro la placa ya no se encenderá. y corto en los polos de entrada y salida. ¿que puede ser?
I have often wondered if a fellow could add a switch, or perhaps a capacitor in the holes that are not filled on these Cheap China boards. An economic cut has stopped me from the joy of ordering in such devices to play with, and I am in the process of selling off all my toys, both woodworking and electronic so I can sell off the house I have owned and lived in for the past 25 years. Not that this is a bad thing, indeed it is so we can enjoy our lives on the road, where we have spent our last 3 winters touring the great American South West deserts in search of warmth while our home in the Dakota's sits under a cover of heavy snow and extreme cold. When you reach our age, and can no longer work for a living, then enjoying your leisure time becomes so very important, lest you become like a bump on a log, something worthless and only of interest to passing students of plant life. I have vowed, however to keep my collection of blank boards and discrete components so I can build a few toys while on the road.
LT controllers are always very good.
Joy! A buck/boost converter! It’s been so long! Fitting my switch now....PS Can you get knobs which permanently fit on the pots? It’s a pain to have to fiddle with a screwdriver.
You can remove them and wire in a standard pot...
Can a circuit and relay be created to turn off/on buck/boost when the battery voltage is low and/or when the capacitor reaches a specific voltage?
This module can do both :)
It would be helpful if you measure the quiescent (idle) current and efficiency of these modules (the ones that pretend to be efficient). Last time I bought decent chip DC-DC synchronous converter it was worse than the cheap ones. Probably because if the circuit design...
You should give the TS100 a try! Nice and small
he Julian. I immediately thought about a schematic i had seen in a LT datasheet using super capacitors. After some googling i found it. The LT8705 looks to be the same tech. on page 40 there is a circuit using super caps as a UPS. maybe this chip can do the same.
Good luck
I would dearly like a LT8705 module - I ordered one which never turned up, got refunded - it appeared to be bidirectional, perfect for supercaps :)
I must confess. My work area is worse.
if the fault light comes on, i wonder if it was designed to have a NO thermal fuse of a similar in it's intended application? or maybe devices have some type of feedback loop when it wants to cut itself off?
David Riley My guess is that the switch just pulls the undervoltage detection circuit to ground.
I think you're right - it's right next to it :)
The chip has a control pin to switch the output off. Maybe the switch is wired to this control pin. See the datasheet. With the output off, the output will be outside 7.5% of the set output voltage, hence the chip indicating a fault condition.
Hey Julian, what do you use between the terminal and the 2.1mm terminal barrel connector? seems very usefull.
legs from a diode , he used them in his pwm5 .
Aaaah thats kind of brilliant. Thanks!
Wow, you have a very good memory :)
... A good memory or a small container with loads of LED legs ;-)
Hit up Banggood for a TS100, rave reviews, plug straight into your solar system.
Also it's hackable!
That's sold it to me :)
Peter Moore Good suggestion. Keep looking at them myself - less of a palaver :-)
I was thinking just the same :)
And the have a nice boxed set available now
www.banggood.com/12-in-1-TS100-Soldering-Iron-Kit-with-9pcs-Tips-1pc-XT60-Cable-1pc-Holder-p-1256069.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN
Not cheap I know but there are some thing you just have to have! :)
I'm honestly surprised he doesn't have one yet. Make sure to get the angled hoof tip it is so much better than the chisel tip!
If you think your desk is messy, you've never seen mine when it's organised. Even messier if it isn't
Could you please tell me the make of this tool: 1:22 that you use to rotate the pots
it's a adjustment tool for potentiometer , in this case a "bourns" one .
Thank u
yeah the 3296 series :)
Is that a Tom Duncan book I see 6 minutes in?
Yes it is :)
Awesome project. 🙄
Julian, use a lil flux...
what was the input voltage?
about 13.5V, from my solar power system :)
All the ebay stuff you get and no TS 100!
Julian Ilett is a hoarder!
Try to use some flux at first!
BUY A METCAL.
FIRST TO DISLIKE... OFC I DIDNT 😇
use flux
Its Called FLUX try it
Move over, Tesla, Edison, etc....
i am here too
These controllers are complete garbage; I've ordered 3 identical \ similar ones from Banggood in the last 4 years and within one month they always croak. No input light, no output. They're complete rubbish.
I'm sorry you need a good job explaining the output. What is your input voltage? How do you set that and how do you set the amperage?
2nd last!
Oh, and continuing thanks to Julian for your videos 😎
Last
n-1th
Forst! :D
you must be Scandinavian :)
Nein! Here's a question for you though since your here.
I want to solar charge a 18650 with a TP4056 but my panel outputs 12 volts. I was going to buy a cheap "DC-DC 4.2-40V to 3.3V 5V 6V 9V 12V 24V Buck Step-down Converter Linear Regulator" that will convert the 12v to 5v for the TP4056, however the panel will not output a steady 12v it will dip & rise depending on light conditions. Do you think the regulator would output a steady 5v whatever the voltage it is supplied?
It can't be both linear and buck. Its either linear (a simple 'wattage torch' meaning it burns away power through heat, very inefficient !) like the 7805 or a buck DCtoDC converter (it switches on/off with a very high frequency so you get an often 'dirty' lower voltage of say 5V).for both the input voltage of the solar panel may vary you still get a steady output voltage BUT you do still need a charging/protection circuit for the Li-ION cell.
I've bit the bullet and connected the TP4056 directly to the 12 volt panel. Although I said my panel was 12v output, I didn't mention that its really just a 5 watt battery trickle charge model and I think there is a massive voltage drop under any load. The TP4056 seems to be happily charging the cell. If it all works out I'll update with a picture of the setup :-] Thanks for your input so far.
hehe good job. I'm not a pro so don't expect me to know everything :) Julian or BigClive know more LOL. I always charge Li-Ions in a stone soupcup (fire prevention) that I stand off of 'everything'
Why would you focus on the switch? We need information how to control or operate this unit. You're talking about a switch