KSGER 2.1S unstable - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: rewitalian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 15, 2021, 07:39:46 pm
content: Hi,I believed the internet (naive, I know) that KSGER T12 is good enough and bought one. But I have somehow more problems than usual grounding problems and KSGER itself is not helpful.I can't get automatic standby to work. Even if I enter into standby mode manually, it exists standby quite quickly. Anyone have seen it and can recommend how to debug/fix it?Most of the tips I bought with station aren't usable on temperatures above 350-360C – temperature readings are unstable on higher temperatures and "Error" is shown time to time on screen. Note that it's not the usual "it stops doing it after some time" issue.Are original Hakko tips better in this regard? I have seen some reports that for some users Hakko tips are unstable, but KSGER clones are OK.Any recommendations to buy Hakko originals in EU? I thought that Digikey sells Hakko, but discovered later that it's for US only. Now UK has left EU and that makes sellers from there also problematic.

author: Dakkahun
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2021, 07:43:35 pm
content: Hello.One distributor in EU area for Hakko stations and tips is batterfly.com.Cheers!

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2021, 08:26:40 pm
content: You can try the custom fw if you are already planning to trash it

author: rewitalian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 16, 2021, 12:37:19 pm
content: Quote from: Dakkahun on January 15, 2021, 07:43:35 pmThanks, but it illustrates the problem well for us in eastern EU countries. Even if distributor exists somewhere, transport costs are insane for any small order – 45.- for me in case of batterfly.com.Quote from: DavidAlfa on January 15, 2021, 08:26:40 pmLets not go there. The last thing I really need is yet another hacking project for a tool.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 16, 2021, 01:31:05 pm
content: Concerning unstable temperature, did you try to wait, 5-10 minutes? (don't leave the tip untinned, or it will oxidise).As of standby, I found handle to be very sensitive, and it wakes up very easily. You can put it into sleep, I think (need to check manual). In this case it would require a key press to exit sleep.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2021, 02:07:08 pm
content: Quote from: rewitalian on January 16, 2021, 12:37:19 pmI would never call a ksger a tool. What I say that is, if it's already unusable, why don't try?Last version seems to have got stable, as there were a lot of changes to allow new features.And I'd like to support every board out there if possible.

author: rewitalian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 16, 2021, 07:43:53 pm
content: Quote from: exe on January 16, 2021, 01:31:05 pmI waited, but probably not 10 minutes. I'll give it a try, but I got impression that waiting helps if it's unstable with every temperature. My tips are stable up to certain temperatures (350 - 360 mostly, but some work up to 400), but become unstable with higher ones.Regarding manual sleep – yes, that helps and that's what I'm using now.Quote from: DavidAlfa on January 16, 2021, 02:07:08 pmIt's not unusable, it's less usable than I hoped for and I'm just trying to avoid "3d printing trap" – ie people who buy 3d printer and then spend whole time to print new mods for these.You probably don't support this board anyway – my 2.1S seems to have STM32F102R8 which has only 10k of RAM.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2021, 10:45:47 pm
content: Omg, no, 10kb is not enough...It's actually working, but you would need to put something better, like the 103

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2021, 09:05:56 am
content: Giving it a second thought, I'd suspect a hardware fault. That's because it 1) writes "Error" 2) goes unstable only at high temperatures where, I suspect, it needs to supply more power.If you can't get a replacement, I'd suggest inspect the controller board. May be there is a decoupling capacitor missing, or loose wire. May be power supply is not capable of providing enough current, or protection trips, or something.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2021, 11:08:47 pm
content: Error is when the tip measurement is too high. Defective tips, low measuring delays will cause that.

author: Mestapholes
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 18, 2021, 02:11:01 pm
content: Hi,i also have a Ksger T12 unit that would wakes up on its own (entering sleep, going down to 210 degree and wake up).It was detecting movement all the time.After some tinkering with my oszi I found that this is because of an instable power supply. The supply voltage drops for just some really short time (ms I think), you would not even notice with an ordinary multi meter.That leads to the 3.3V missing (which the handle normally pulls to ground if the motion switch in the handle gets activated).If I connect the board to 24V of my laboratory psu, than the unit works fine.I was thinking about buying a new psu for the soldering station (any recommendations?), but also would like to find what is wrong with the supplied psu.Any thoughts were the fault could be located on the psu board?GreetingsChristian

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 08:53:26 am
content: Put some beefer capacitors before and after the 3.3V regulator might solve the issues.Also a 10Ohm resistor in series between the 24V supply and the regulator input will improve the filtering, preventing the mains from drawing power back from the regulator caps.

author: DavidAlfa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2021, 09:05:15 am
content: Quote from: rewitalian on January 16, 2021, 07:43:53 pmI removed the debug screens and 2 pretty useless options, and it's currenty on 9.89KB

author: cosmin1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2021, 08:20:07 am
content: Quote from: Mestapholes on January 18, 2021, 02:11:01 pmI think it's clear enough, your problem is the psu. What type is yours? Any picture?

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2021, 10:20:46 pm
content: Quote from: rewitalian on January 15, 2021, 07:39:46 pmIs the shake "dot" flickering all the time. Like shown here:https://youtu.be/dvdpSpRz-84In my case I fixed it by grounding the tip. But maybe you tried that already.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 27, 2021, 08:21:20 am
content: Quote from: cybermaus on January 26, 2021, 10:20:46 pmOMG, glad you fixed it. Their QA lacks a lot. Mine works well except shake sensor way too sensitive. Like, I put my hands on the table and it wakes up. I gave up on that.

author: cybermaus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2021, 09:30:50 am
content: Well, apart from the "redo QA" part, I am *very* pleased with this unit.Going from passive to active tip is the best.

author: rewitalian
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 08, 2021, 06:24:48 am
content: Quote from: Mestapholes on January 18, 2021, 02:11:01 pmThanks! Power was the right answer in my case as well, seems. During investigation I noticed that mains connectors to the PCB were cracking/sparking slightly it I move PCB. After some time with soldering iron and replacing these horrible rigid connectors with proper wires the problem with iron waking up is gone as well!