I found evidence online that the "directionality" of USB-C cables behaviour is intended with USB tester. What I found is this: "It's due to one CC line changing roles to VCONN. If you 'flip' it in the middle with the tester, PD negotiation won't work. The device end shouldn't matter, assuming the devices implement USB-C properly." I think it makes sense, the USB-C pinout is not identical on each side, but it's designed to be plugged both ways. The protocol configures the lines according to HOW the cable is plugged. If you swap the cable AFTER the USB tester, well the cable stops working. Very interesting! I'm also reading that cables have an "e-marker" in them to tell the power supply/computer how much power they're able to sustain so the wrong cable - or worst, a passive one - will affect the max power. A passive cable in particular is limited to 3A (63W at 21V). What COULD be happen is that a cable rated - say - 100W is used between the PSU and the USB tester and a cable rated 60W is used between the tester and the device. The power supply would output 100W and the 60W cable might get damaged. I didn't smoke those cables in my tests but I should have probably be more careful. The tester has a function to "read" the e-marker and display the maximum power they're rated for. When NOT using a USB-tester, the system should be bullet-proof as it will self-limit itself based on the e-marker. Super-interesting!
@@jeremywh7 interesting, I wonder if it's just a bad implementation of USB-C as I understand the devices have to configure themselves to make sure the wires are connected as expected!
Thanks for re-uploading this. As you explained the first go-round, folks can make mistakes - it's permitted. What's important is what you do when you find a mistake. Well done!
In my mind, anything that doesn't support the JBC tips is a no-go. The original JBC tips are not **that** expensive all things considered and they last a really long time. I'd be happy to learn about something better but so far I haven't found it. Also for power supplies, a lot of them support a peak power that is higher than the rating for continuous loads. Great video, thanks!
I purchased quite a few genuine HAKKO tips over time and they're all still working 100%. The JBC will outlast many other tools I have - though some seem to be a bit "tired" already, I need to look into that. Anyways, I see your point and I agree. Thanks for watching!
These videos are fantastic! I chose my current hakko knockoff purely based on the "creepage" and "clearance" of the pictures of the power supply. (With a big thanks to Big Clive's channel for tearing down cheap DC supplies.)
Yes, I'd be scared to open those PSU's I was sent. I've seen videos where they found counterweights inside to make them feel "good quality"... |Thanks for watching!
31:23 - Fnirsi/kaiweets have screwing part for heating element, screw O ring terminal with earth wire there. T12 tips can be used also on Fnirsi, but I had to make aluminum part of 42mm to screw it on device. Now I have all range of tips.
Well, yes, I guess it's doable. Not the best to have a wire coming out of the FRONT of the iron! :) Interesting to hear about the T12 tips :) Thanks for watching!
@@tony359 I actually just recorded video now. Check on my channel or search for "Fnirsi HS-01 modification T12 tip and battery tip". One more thing that I have done to my Fnirsi HS-01 is that I power it from 12V Bosch screwdriver battery.
Regarding the speaker noise... if for example the current was 0.0004 A (which would still read 0.000A on the meter), at 100V you have 0.04W, which jives with how quiet you indicated it was; plus the ~90V floating iron was quieter. :-) Sequre's mod recommendation and gift is commendable, but I feel like they should provide the capacitor as well, especially if they're already offering to send a free tip! But thanks for these reviews! I've been needing to get a (pseudo-)portable iron... :-)
With your speaker you have build a simple radio. Remember the coil? The solder iron is your antenna. You hear the 50/60Hz humm. And you hear the radio noise the iron makes.
But I don't hear anything with my JBC or Aoyue. I'd say the iron is an amplifier here. A speaker won't make sound with just radio frequencies, would you agree?
Nice review. The tips on the Kaiweets should be HS01. T85, T65 should match too. Seems that the HS01-, T85-, T65-tips from Aliexpress are always of good quality. A HS01 iron like the 'Quecco T85' can be a very good solution for 20-25€. It even takes TS100/101- tips, has a grounding-point and have a silicon cable.
ah thanks! I couldn't get that info from Kaiweets! :) Yes, that iron looks nice indeed. And it comes with a ground lead, amazing! Though it would be in the way, they need to come up with a special USB cable which has a ground clip coming out of it at the other end, IMHO. Thanks for your comment!
Surprised you didn't use the headline feature of your Fluke 117 - the LoZ voltage option! It will tell you if the "phantom floating" 100V is capable of supplying any dangerous power or if it drops away as soon as there is a medium load.
You have Shucko, right? Yes, those are probably the best. One big advantage is that when they are on the floor they're not sitting with the prongs UP, waiting for you to step on them. British ones are PAINFUL, trust me :)
@@tony359shucko 90 degree plugs are pretty standard, the prongs can still be lying in wait for you waiting to step on them😂. Alot of the sockets in the Netherlands are still not grounded tho.
@@tony359 electrically swapping live and neutral doesn't really matter it's only when you start working on the installation it starts to matter. Personally I don't really get why people are puzzled by it, (balanced) AC is AC and if you work on it you should cut the power anyway. I am more puzzled about fuses in the UK power plug, that's what a fuse box is for in my opinion 😬 Got 30mA residual current breakers in my fuse box, my family's new house in the UK doesn't have those 🤔 My house only has grounded outlets downstairs and 1 in the attic for the central heater but the bedrooms don't have PE at all.
interesting, I thought RCD were compulsory here. My house is 2011 and I have it. Fuses in plugs are to protect the cable or the appliance. In theory, your fridge will have a 6A fuse in the plug - so if something goes wrong it won't wait the 20A breaker at the distribution box to cut power. Same if the cable is actually thin: it will have a proper fuse in the plug so it's always safe to use. It makes sense to me :)
I have a Miniware TS-101 type iron and I found that it also had about 90v AC on the tip, however I did read the manual and it does have an earthing point and with that in use, I see maybe a few mV AC, so quite a difference, so definitely a consideration when purchasing this type of iron. Very interesting video for sure.
Absolutely! I know people using ungrounded irons with no issues. But grounded makes it safer for sure. Amazing that the TS-101 has the feature - so the Kaiweets is the black sheep here! Kaiweets actually confirmed me it's "by design". Thanks for watching!
@@tony359 By design? That seems to be a bit of a cut and run statement... I know there's no current flowing but it seems you'd want to follow what other manufacturers are doing and at least offer it as an option. I also wear an earthing strap for myself these days too just to be 100% sure I'm not going to damage anything I'm working on.
I tend to get shocked by everything particularly in winter when the heating is on so I religiously wear my earthing strap when touching electronics! Yes, Kaiweets' statement was debatable but after debating for a while about that power supply I didn't feel like insisting :)
@@tony359 Yeah, I get your point re the power supply. Incidentally it was your original video that put me on to the voltage at the tip of the iron and why I went with earthing with my TS-101, so thanks for the great content 😁
Pay attention if there is a direct galvanic connection from the outside of the case to the tip (a screw to connect ESD). Sh*t happens. That is an unnecessary risk to get an electrical chock. In my long repair practice I managed more than once to solder a real hot point...(tubes). My fault, but as I am still a live as I am a trained professional...(now). If there are such metal screws isolate them! My Weller is completely isolated(but has an ESD connector in the power supply. These device are dangerous toys.
3:10 It's very badly worded but I'm fairly confident each USB-C can deliver 65 W. If you use both at the same time, that's 45 W on the first and 20 W on the second
That's mentioned where it says USB-C1+USB-C2 = 45W +20W = 65W in between the ones I highlighted. But I see what you mean, that is probably the max ratings for then C1 is in "45W mode". Thanks for that!
A solder iron that can't be ESD grounded is crap. The problem with ESD is, that it doesn't kill immediately but might degree the ICs protection a bit. There must be a way to connect the solder tip to earth with a high voltage 1 Megohm resistor. Using a power bank doesn't help.
I agree. In fact, I tried earthing the Sequre with 1MOhm resistor and I would still read 80V-ish at the tip. To read 0V I had to wire it directly to earth.
No, I disagree with you about Sequre's way of addressing this. Not only do they not give you the component you need, but they don't even give you the "free" tip unless you order something else from them! Crap!. I can only assume the the money sent to them works as it should right from the beginning. No. This is on them and is their responsibility to fix. All you should have to do is send them a photo of a valid order with the number clearly shown (to prevent fraud) and they should send you a new unit. Optionally they could also send a return mailer to get their faulty ones back.
I have the Fnrisi (or whatever the name is) version. I have tried running it on power banks that dont output 20v and it will not work for some reason. Mine didnt come with an adapter either. However, I really do like it! Work great off my 40k Anker bank. That rebooting issue (from my experience) is caused by the iron pulling more current from the power supply than it can handle and the voltage drop causes the microcontroller to reboot. Had that issue with every adapter I own, save one.
I cannot have my 100W PSU working with the S99 anymore after I applied the capacitor mod, it just negotiate 5V now and nothing more. All my JBC tips also reboot the smaller USB PSUs no matter how much I limit the power or the protocol I choose. Sequre are trying to help though, But yes, once it's grounded is not a bad thing! :)
You need to go into the menu ad adjust the running voltage of the iron to what your power bank can produce. The power bank needs to be able to supply at least 9V. 12V -20V is preferred.
So have you found any usb soldering iron or similarly small soldering station which is worth recommending? I mean S99 looks nice but i already soldered some 0402 components and REALLY would like to avoid it as much as possible :)
Those "type G" UK cord ends are over engineered in my opinion. They are massive and look like busbars you are plugging into the socket for the actual amount of current being drawn. Not saying the north American Type A and B are perfect either ( trust me I'd rather be using 240V over here too)
Since these failed - I would really be interested in what you think about the Aixun T380 ‘portable’ unit?? I know you found serious faults with the T4A - what about the T380??
I have no idea I'm afraid but it's battery powered (well it can be). I feel the 380 is a different beast, it has a base, it's not something you can put in your pocket :) That said, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with a company which sticks their head in the sand when one of their customers reports an issue with one of their products.
I have found some good c245 tips from china if anyone wants to know which ones I can recommend them, the resistance is fine so you will get good power from them, I do prefer the Alientek t80p soldering iron, very similar to S99 but has better grip and better build quality
It reminds me of some AMD CPUs which would require a BIOS update on the motherboard before they could work. But to perform the BIOS update... you need a CPU! Back then AMD used to send compatible CPUs for free, just to perform the update :)
Thanks! With the ground point - which is a bit cumbersome to use I have to say - the Sequre is getting a step up in my consideration. I might end up actually using it! Thanks for commenting again and my apologies again!
Yo the direction of the cable only matters for your usb tester. Some of them cheap out and only have the one set of critical contacts inside of the usb c connector instead of all of them to save money.
I've found the explanation! It's "expected". The USB-C cable can be reversed, the connected device will configure themselves so that all pins match. If the pinout is swapped "on the route" (at the USB tester), this configuration cannot work so the cable stops working. It makes sense. This is what I found: "It's due to one CC line changing roles to VCONN. If you 'flip' it in the middle with the tester, PD negotiation won't work. The device end shouldn't matter, assuming the devices implement USB-C properly."
