ERSA Stations - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 09, 2013, 01:52:03 pm
content: I am looking at different options for soldering stations and the ERSA I-Con stations have been recommended in some places, however I can find very little information on them. Specifically I've been looking at the I-Con Pico and the I-Con Nano, the only difference from what I can tell is that the latter is ESD safe, and costs more, the former costing about the same as a Hakko fx-888D. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with either of these stations. In addition I can get the tips for these stations easier, which is a plus for me. From the spec sheet, they seem better from the fx-888D but I know that isn't always reflected in use.

author: quarros
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 04:10:38 am
content: I don't have experience with these units! But one time I was considering buying a Nano, but in the end I went down a different path. What put me off in these units is the hand piece tip assembly. It was hold in place with a .spring attached to a hole on the tip and to me this method seemed kinda unconvincing. (But it is probably only me) Oh and the units power switch is on the back! Making it harder to place it on a more tightly packed shelf.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 11:46:11 am
content: Quote from: ben1066 on November 09, 2013, 01:52:03 pmHello,I have the Nano and I can only recommend it. Very good, heats up extremely quickly, like 7 seconds from ambient temp and maybe a second from standby - certainly faster than I can bring the handle to the joint! It has also very fast thermal response - absolutely no problem soldering both small and big joints and ground planes without having to touch the temp settings. I was really surprised, compared to my old Aoyue station it is a world of difference. The Hakkos certainly cannot do that as easily and the 240V versions cost more here in Europe. If you search for i-Con Nano on Youtube, you can find several review videos.The ergonomy is also very good, the pencil-style iron is easy to handle and the base station is really "nano" - tiny brick that takes no space at all. It comes with a decent chisel tip that works well even for SMD work. I have got some extras, but the stock tip is pretty good. The tips aren't expensive and are readily stocked, at least in Europe (ERSA is German manufacturer).I don't recommend going for the Pico - it has worse thermal control because the power supply is different, less power, is not programmable and it isn't ESD safe. The price difference doesn't justify it, IMO. If you have the funds, go for the Nano, you really won't regret it.Jan

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 11:55:50 am
content: Are you sure the Pico is that different? They appear to both be 80W, both have a 9s heat up time and both use the SD card for configuration, are there other differences?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:01:17 pm
content: Quote from: quarros on November 10, 2013, 04:10:38 amThere are no springs in I-con stations. IIRC there was something like that in the older models.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:06:49 pm
content: Quote from: ben1066 on November 10, 2013, 11:55:50 amIt have ceramic heater. Maybe it is 230V, so no esd safe. Otherwise specs are the same.

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:18:19 pm
content: Definitely appears there is some difference in the tools, the I-Tool Nano is £70 more. The Farnell listing also shows the Nano tool as 150W vs 80W.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:21:30 pm
content: Quote from: ben1066 on November 10, 2013, 12:18:19 pmNano uses the same iron as regular I-con (only different color) which is 150W, that's why it is so expensive.

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:30:40 pm
content: Ah that makes sense, implies it's a better iron too, I think I'll just wait a little and go with the Nano if I can. It's also listed as German rather than Chinese though from what I remember reading both are made in China?

author: quarros
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 12:50:45 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on November 10, 2013, 12:01:17 pmI stand corrected. I looked back on my old bookmark's, and you're right! It was the ERSA-RDS80 Station. That's what you get if you write to the forum instead sleeping at 5 am.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 04:00:59 pm
content: Quote from: ben1066 on November 10, 2013, 12:30:40 pmDon't know if it's any better when under-powered to 80W but spare iron costs more than whole pico. Technically i-tool nano isn't the 100% same as i-tool. They likely made them artificially incompatible to justify price difference, at least they don't advertise them as compatible. But heater element have exactly the same part number for both.http://uk.farnell.com/ersa/013100j/heating-element-i-tool-pico/dp/2057379farnell says that pico heater is 240V.

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 05:39:00 pm
content: Well there isn't any real reason I should have to replace the tool is there? Just the tips and the heating element perhaps.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 06:16:26 pm
content: Well you shouldn't need that unless you abuse it or electronics inside it dies. Yes there are some funny stuff inside, like accelerometer and micro.

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 06:37:41 pm
content: We have a Ersa i-CON 2 station at the lab. One i-Tool died after three years of use. It heats up very fast. Tips are relatively cheap. The pen is light and is very comfortable to work with. The only thing I can critique is the tip changing method. You need to unscrew the holder, use a tool to take the old tip off, put new tip on and screw the thing back on. If you need to replace tips often I would suggest something like Weller WSM-1. TopLoser was selling some Weller gear on the forum recently with a big discount. If you don't need that Ersa is a good choice.

author: jpb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 07:17:02 pm
content: I have the Ersa i-Con nano and am pleased with it - see this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/ersa-vs-hakko-soldering-stations-and-a-question-on-%27anti-static%27/msg203446/#msg203446I found Ersa very helpful in responding to technical questions before I bought mine, which impressed me as a hobbyist I was just buying one-off.I don't know which country you're in, but in the UK it was much cheaper to buy directly from Ersa's official importer (Blundell Production Equipment Ltd) than it was to buy from Farnell.I went for the nano rather than the pico because I felt it was important to have the ESD protection.

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2013, 08:57:55 pm
content: Thanks for the heads up, I'm also from the UK so I'll email them for a quote, it's £210 ish at both Conrad and Farnell.

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 12:52:53 am
content: Our Slovenian distributor currently has a special offer for Pico, Nano and i-Con 1 stations. 121€, 182€ and 304€, respectively (tax included). Quite a bit cheaper than Conrad or Farnell.

author: quarros
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 01:24:42 am
content: Quote from: Dave on November 11, 2013, 12:52:53 amWow thats really quite a discount 27%

author: ben1066
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 07:31:44 am
content: Yeah, I saw someone else take advantage of that, great offer.

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 11:26:38 am
content: Here(use Google Translate to translate the page to your preference).The prices written on this page are without tax, so you need to add 22% to get the total price.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 12:16:43 pm
content: Quote from: quarros on November 10, 2013, 04:10:38 amIndeed it isThe spring-hook construction allow for changing tips in a few seconds. All what is needed are some small pliers. When I solder a project I change tips all the time. The Ersa iron I use is at least 15 years old.

author: quarros
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2013, 03:49:29 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on November 11, 2013, 12:16:43 pmWell I guess you're right. But please tell me so I can understand. Taking a tip off the handle sounds easy enough with pliers, but attaching a new one and setting the hook to the small hole... thats seems(at least in my mind)a little more difficult to do fast and easy.But perhaps I just grown lazybecause I can change tips on my Metcal in seconds.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 12:59:35 am
content: I have no problem with itBut maybe its because I'm used to it. Anyway Ersa has been selling this system for (I think) over 30 years. They would have changed it if it was impractical. It beats screwing/unscrewing tips like you have to do with Weller and Pace irons hands down.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 02:21:50 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on November 12, 2013, 12:59:35 amNot that big of a deal with this configuration either (nothing to align; just "wax off", empty the retainer tube, insert desired tip, "wax on", and done). And that's if you don't cheat with multiple retainer tubes for the most commonly used tips.Just need to be able to change out tips reasonably quickly/easily, as speed isn't actually critical for hobbyist use.

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 07:50:24 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on November 12, 2013, 12:59:35 amHave you seen these from Weller? You can change the tip without turning off the iron. The heating element isinthe tip so heating is rapid. Bit on the expensive side though.

author: AndrejaKo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 08:28:20 am
content: Quote from: quarros on November 11, 2013, 03:49:29 pmI've been using an ERSA RDS80 for a few years and I've found the tip changing system to be easy to use. It takes me some 4-5 seconds to change the tip, and I don't change my tips very often, so I don't have much practice.Basically there's an extrusion on the heater and a slot on the tip which should mate. When they do, you just move the spring two millimeters upwards and that's it. What can get problematic is if the heater is dirty. They do tell you in the manual to keep it clean, but not why. Normally it's very easy to rotate the tip on the heater and it get quickly in the correct position, but if there's some contamination on the heater, the tip can get stuck in unnatural position and that will make the change more difficult.ERSA also makes a changing tool for the tips. It's like pliers, but has circular holes matching the diameters of the tips types, so you can grab the tips without putting too much pressure on them. Tips for RDS80 are quite wide and hard, but for some other ERSA irons, they're longer, narrower and softer, so you can deform the tip by holding it hard with regular pliers.I myself use insulation stripping pliers to change the tips. The ones I have have just the right size and location of small holes to grab the spring end and detach it from the tip.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 09:12:09 am
content: Quote from: owiecc on November 12, 2013, 07:50:24 ambit expensive? its an understatment. and from my experience it doesnt like at all hotplugging, tried once killed the calibartion in the station, had to tweek it in several steps until it was at correct temp. displaying 400celsius and ccold to touch is a bit problem i guess

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 09:38:45 am
content: Quote from: M. András on November 12, 2013, 09:12:09 amYikes.Perhaps it wasn't quite seated properly (quick glance at the manual warns of this, though doesn't list the exact consequences).No warning statements of "Do Not Hot Swap Tips" at all.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2013, 10:19:50 pm
content: didnt even dare to try it again, as i have only the rt3 which came with the set and the rt11 which i bought cos i needed a higher mass tip then that 1mm little bugger they included its great for fine pitch stuffs but dont even try to use solderwick with it. the funnies thing is that the problem appeared when i switched the unit on next day, i took it back to the shop i bought it the guy was surprised and was srcatching his head hard when he saw that it displays 400celsius and you can touch the tip. tried it with another tip it wasnt good too, they sent it back to the weller's hungarian hq 2 weeks later it comes back as nothing is wrong with the unit yeah. the guy in the shop was laughin on it too, but all my settings which i changed in the menu was reseted back to factory settings they reloaded the firmware or i dont know what they did with it. i took it home 2 days later same problem and i didnt even move the tip that time i got a cloned hakko temp sensor and played with the calibration until it was ok it can be adjusted approx 50celsius at a time took a few steps to do it its fine after almost 2 years.sorry for the off topic