Jovy Systems iSolder-40. Wanna try? Don't. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 10:56:58 am
content: Well, I wrote some time ago in the 'what did u buy' thread that I got myself a new soldering station. Well, it arrived and right now I have one advice - avoid it.The station supposedly has an automatic mode which magically regulates the temperature of the tip without the user actually having to set the temperatue. So much fo the theory. In practice it seems that the control algorithm only generates enough heat to melt the solder, not to reflow it properly, which makes it pretty useless.The iron also has manual modes selectable with a switch (in a pretty peculiar way, but that's a different story). I tried to connect the iron to my PC in order to adjust those profiles and maybe update the firmware, but not only did the station not get recognized by the system, but it actually got damage for some reason. Right now the tip heats uncontrollably to white-hot just after the thing is being turned on. Seems like the control part os completly toast, but obviously I can't open it up to veify.Besides the fact that my unit failed catastrophically (which may have been some built-in fault, and perhaps could've even explained shitty peformance) the build quality is not really decent. The cable and the strain relief feel loose in the body of the handpiece, some tips almost fall out of the handpiece. Plastics feel cheap.Well, I have asked for a full efund from the reseller, but under EU law they may choose to repair it (the online shopping 14-day return policy may not apply because the unit is not intact). Anyway, I just hope I get back at least some part of the ~150€ this piece of shit and the additional tips costed me... The reseller has a pretty good opinion, so I just hope they'll live up to their name.Maybe my unit was faulty, but even if they replace it with a new one that works better, the build quality is still poor.Maybe I'll shot some video during weekend, but right now I'm a bit too pissed off.EDIT:BTW. I've seen numerous reviews of this station and they were all very favorable. It seemes like it was used by some pretty proffesional electronics repair shops and they were happy with it. If you have different experience with it - please feel free to post it.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 11:17:12 am
content: Quote from: poorchava on May 06, 2016, 10:56:58 amAccording to the law, there is no requirement that you cannot open the box and try using it a bit before deciding to return. Also, at least here, first 6 months of the warranty you can ask for a refund and refuse a repair.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 11:24:35 am
content: Well in Poland there is a special provision, that you can return stuff bought online within 14 days without any reason, provided that it is in its original state. It would seem to me that a soldering iron tip that has been tinned doesn't count. I generally hope that the reseller will refund money for the tips too to avoid bad rep.If everything else fails they still have to repair or replace it the unit under warranty so I can get rid of it via an auction site with some minor loss (perhaps somebody else will find it adequate)Sent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk.

author: MrSlack
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 11:25:15 am
content: Also buy it on a credit card with purchase protection. Doesn't matter then as the card merchant just won't pay the vendor if it turns out to be a pile of crap. This is more powerful than consumer law from experience as the hoops to jump through for the purchaser are considerably less.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2016, 11:26:53 am
content: To bad this was paid CoDSent from my HTC One M8s using Tapatalk.

author: Markybhoy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2016, 12:22:17 am
content: Maybe you got a duf unit ?Andrew Paul on youtube who does a lot of repair videos seems to rate it highly.You can hear him talking about it here -https://youtu.be/8pgE2i30Dpwand if you look at his old videos you can see it in use.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 08, 2016, 02:27:24 pm
content: I have seen this video, and it was one of the main reasons I decided to buy that soldering iron, especially that the guy in the video seems to really know his stuff.The unit that failed on me is on its way to reseller in order to be fixed under warranty, we'll see.By the way: I intend to make video this time. Previously I didn't get around to it before the station failed. This will also help with warranty claim I think. This time I'm gonna hit 'record' before I even open the damn box.

author: infracore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 17, 2016, 10:24:06 pm
content: I have one of the first versions of the iSolder without the extra button on the top and have not had problems with it. Had it for a few years. It heats the solder and the joint/part. Using the proper tip helps since the tip senses heat for the particular size of the job.As with many things made, when they start changing model specifications, problems occur.The shape of the unit is not hand friendly, and perhaps just meant to be parked on a work table and not moved. A handle would be nice or a cradle of some sort.I did some delicate reflow soldering on a vintage amplifier circuit board and the iSolder did the job better than an ordinary soldering iron could keeping the parts safe from overheating.I like that there are no extra knobs to fiddle with or having to turn off the unit while doing other tasks. The alarm that beeps to let you know it goes to sleep or wakes up is sort of loud but perhaps with an instrument that can potentially harm human flesh or plastic items, guess it's par.Purchased from China for about $100 for the base unit, with shipping these days is whatever the going rate is.Purchased the extra tips for different applications. Those are important to get several of for this station to be viable.