KADA 952D+ soldering station fixes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: staxquad
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 05:48:12 am
content: QuoteDon't really know the differences between the KADA 852D+ and the 952D+, except for the color, and the $5 extra; the 952D+ uses the 852D+ circuit board.During inspection, the following was deemed unsatisfactory:Power cable loose entering case, the hole was punched too big for the cable stop.Only 2 bolts securing the transformer, with no direct contact between the laminations and the case, instead, the bolts pulled the coils against the case. The transformer had a buzz because only two bolts were used, so the top had two corners of the laminations loose and the bottom had four corners of the laminations loose. No continuity to ground.The neutral was fused, not the hot.If the cable was plugged in, the circuit and transformer were always powered, no way to shut it all down without unplugging the cable. It was done this way so that cool down could occur before shutdown after the air station was turned off.The chassis wasn't grounded. The crimp on the ground cable connector was open, so when bolted on the chassis did not conduct, as were the two other ground connections using the same bolt.The fuse holder was plasticky flimsy (unable to withstand an unsolder resolder), rated at 10A, but had a 15A fuse in it, when the unit probably would require just a 3A fuse. The house circuit breakers would have probably tripped before that fuse.The soldering iron cable is very stiff.The soldering iron holder doesn't hold.edit: Air only starts after 5 on the air dial. I assume since the pump is using 120VAC to run that they forgot to replace the 100kohm pot with a 50kohm pot when they developed a 120VAC version.remedies:New thicker longer power cable, a piece of folded copper at the bottom of the hole and hot glue has made the cable immobile and solidly implanted.Added a switch to intercept the hot and neutral. So now the unit can be switched off (no power to the transformer and circuit board) while the cable is still connected to an outlet (my outlets are under the table).Added a light indicator in the front panel to indicate when the new power switch is turned on.New more robust fuse holder with a 5A fuse (3A later). Hot to fuse.Used a better soldered ground connection. Scraped some paint away for better ground connection at the connector and the 4 bolts holding the transformer.Added 2 more bolts (total 4) to fasten the transformer, and 4 brass feet to the chassis immobilizing the laminations and lifting the coils and cables from the chassis. No buzz. Ground confirmed.EDIT: Still have to replace the 100kohm pot with a 50kohm pot for the air control.As for the soldering iron, the solution is not to use it (should have purchased a stand alone air station).

author: metalphreak
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2013, 03:19:04 pm
content: The transformer buzz annoyed me to the point that I installed a fused IEC socket with a power switch in place of the fixed cable. Essentially fixes the same things you dislikedCutout for it was big enough to remove the cable and fuse holes. Also, the heatshrink on one of the mains cables wasn't actually heatshrunk, so it just slid around exposing the joint. Mine was "properly" earthed in terms of actually connecting to ground. Mine was an 852D+ though.