Reviews of ATETOOL AE970D soldering station? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: robdejonge
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2023, 09:03:41 am
content: This is an 80W, ESD-safe soldering station that comes with a stand and an active tip handle that is said to take ~9 seconds to heat up. Full product details athttps://www.atetool.com/product/welding-supply-AE970D.html.This station (I think) is sold under their own brand by a reputable seller in the Netherlands for €100, tax included. They've suggested this is a step up from the T12 type soldering stations and should last me a lot longer. I trust their advice, to be honest.However, I can't find any reviews anywhere of this product, even though I think it's been out for about a year now. So I'm wondering if anyone has experience with soldering stations by this brand.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2023, 09:25:45 pm
content: You're in thailand or netherlands?It may be a step up from T12 and its probably a decent enough station, but, I can't see being a big step. The tip almost looks like JBC style but then when you see the photos its more like a T12. This locks you into a non-common tip type.The photos also show an Atten temperature meter but I can't find an equivalent station or tips, maybe someone else can.There is a youtube comment stating that the sleep mode is not automatic? The screen is very simplistic so does not allow user settings.For around $100 you could get a JBC T245 clone.

author: robdejonge
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2023, 12:48:09 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on April 04, 2023, 09:25:45 pmI'm Dutch and visit the Netherlands often, but live in Thailand.Quote from: thm_w on April 04, 2023, 09:25:45 pmThe display is admittedly simple. Some would suggest long-term reliable. What I've found so far is that you can set the temperature unit, screen brightness, turning auto-standby and auto-sleep on and off, temperature lock. There is also a physical component to turn to calibrate the temperature reading.I am a hobby user, and beyond reading and adjusting temperature I have found myself wondering how genuinely useful all the data is that a T12 or T3A throws at you through their OLED screens. This is not criticism, just lack of experience.I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I've emailed the manufacturer to ask about the tips.

author: Jayden
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 05, 2023, 10:43:04 am
content: Thanks for your interested in our AE970D soldering station.1) I go over the eevblog reply in your questions. It's true that the soldering tip is similar to T12 tip, but shorter in length and slimmer in size. This helps our station quicker in temperature rise (about 10 seconds reaching tin melting point), and more comfortable in soldering. T12 tip is rather long, meaning your handle cartridge longer than AE970D handle. With silicone handle cable, our soldering experience should be more friendly.Our customers are more likely wholesalers, and resellers. We don't actually have online shopes (except a US Amazon store, mainly for brand building and quick sample delivery to our clients) targeting on end users and directly compete with our customers. This limite our cooperate with youtubers or bloggers for marketing. One reason you seldom see their review.As you have found our Netherlands resellers, AE970D has also been supplied to UK, Germany, etc. I also have positive comments from Thailand or request from India recently. I believe its quality is trustworthy and worth a sample to try.2) Our soldering handles are with 25VAC output, and can only compatible with our own tips. You might need to go to our resellers or us for a replacement or spare kits. This is shortcoming, but also strength. We design and produce the tips by ourselves, we can control its quality.Hope my information help ease your concerns.PS: my mail reply was declined as spam.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2023, 09:14:24 pm
content: Quote from: robdejonge on April 05, 2023, 12:48:09 amOK not sure how hard it is to order from aliexpress to thailand. Looked on shoppee, saw a few stations but not nearly as many as ali.QuoteI mean the graphical screen isn't overly useful. Mostly just to see set temperature and current iron temperature at the same time.Its just another point, in addition to the separate stand, auto-sleep, and 3 tips included on the aixun. But again, I don't know how hard it is to import stuff for you. For me the price of the two stations is basically the same, for you if one is double, its probably not worth it.It is on sale for -$25:https://www.reichelt.com/nl/en/soldering-station-ae970d-1-channel-80-w-atetool-ae970d-p325932.html?r=1No mention of included tips.

author: robdejonge
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2023, 01:56:22 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on April 05, 2023, 09:14:24 pmAliExpress is great here. Very fast, no hassle, etc. Better experience than Lazada or Shopee, to be honest. And I certainly have ordered lots of stuff from there. But there is something to be said for buying gear from reputable sellers. You know the kind ... true experts in their field, super helpful, always there, but usually a little more expensive.QuoteI'm planning to post on this forum asking for input on a buying decision, and the Aixun will be one of the options.QuoteThanks for the link! The guys at Eleshop have been super helpful, and they're in the same town as where my father lives.Ifthis is the model I land on, I might ask if they'll price match though :-)