KSGER T12 Soldering Station: Grounding and ESD MOD

In this video I modify my KSGER T12 Soldering Station to ground the chassis and the tip. I noticed LEDs flickering when I used the KSGER on them. That was the whole reason for checking. This should add some safety and ESD protection.
Facebook group: / 613941359509892

[@colin8532]

Great mod, I just did mine too. Thank you for the step by step guide. I just bought mine at the end of March of this year and everything is still exactly the same as yours. No attempt to ground anything properly.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

I got another mod for these I'm going to do soon. It's custom software for it

[@colin8532]

@@FixedUntilBroken - Holy, that'll be an amazing video. Looking forward to it.

[@jeffescortlx]

Mine are branded as just "t12" but built from a similar parts bin as the KSGR. Mine has a different power supply and front jack connector. The version I have is grounded all the way from the power plug to the tip from out of the box.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Lucky. Good to know the others are all grounded. Pretty lame that these aren't

[@FixedUntilBroken]

It's funny you could see the blink really well on the computer while editing but I personally can't see it in the video on my phone.

[@ArchLinuxTux]

👍🤘, Finally some else who loves the knife tip for the solder braid

[@FixedUntilBroken]

I haven't used arch linux since 2012 though haha. but yes I love the knife tip. I also like to use to drag solder 2.54 mm THT Pin Headers

[@ArchLinuxTux]

@@FixedUntilBroken zozylT, zi bet use use some Debian base because it's quick to st up and not much ih a headache should something go wrong.😆

[@FixedUntilBroken]

@@ArchLinuxTux :'( windows 10... SHAME. I just got a ton of software that doesn't work right with Wine. Bunch of Bootleg chinese stuff for these clusters I work on.

[@ArchLinuxTux]

@@FixedUntilBroken why not vbox windows sns pass through ports u need(sometimes its not an option but works most of the time)

[@FixedUntilBroken]

@@ArchLinuxTux with 4 kids, work, my repair business and KZbin I'm lucky to find time to sleep. Windows just works for my needs atm. Plus shaddy $3 keys off eBay lol

[@chrischris6399]

24V negative (black wire, number4 hole) and earth (green number3 hole) are connected once the handle is plugged in to the station. Meaning, you dont need your second wire.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Strange because I checked tip to ground (at the plug) and didn't have continuity. Maybe I have a defective handle or they updated the handle design? I will dig into this and see why mine was that way. I am not saying you are wrong I just didn't have continuity on my end. are you saying Pin 3 is tied to housing so once the housing is grounded the pen will be too? sorry going off memory on this right now.

[@RobHaag71]

The 1M Ohm resistor is so that if you touch a hot wire your not directly shorting to ground. You will find them in ESD mats and bracelets, if your wearing one and touch a hot from the mains you'll be glad there's a 1M Ohm resistor in there.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Makes sense. Sense I did this video I had actually looked into it and yeah it's a really just a safety thing for things that touch your body not a safety thing for esd rating. So wrist straps normally have it while irons and PSUs normally don't, it seems like it's 50/50 if the esd mat has it or not.

[@bear5016]

I have the V2.05 pcb (black pcb) and no, the tip is not grounded. Its somewhat difficult to see exactly what youre grounding in the video. Im assuming its the negative terminal that connects the main board to the control panel? The ground continuity stops at the +/- post on the main board. The layout is very odd. The Ground on the control panel pcb goes to the right terminal on the main board, which is marked + above it. However the continuity says its connected to the negative. If you de-solder the connector, from left to right it goes, positive, negative, ground. Although the ground isnt connected to anything. Ive already grounded the case and i just want to ground the tip. Its also odd that ive seen other green pcbs and theyre grounded. Im curious if theyre just jumping PE at the post? Its right next to negative...

[@FixedUntilBroken]

It's seems to be mixed bag on these getting grounded or not. I actually just did a firmware mod on this tonight and will be editing the video tomorrow. Hopefully have it up in the next day or so. Yes I was just Earth grounding the ground pin.

[@bear5016]

@@FixedUntilBroken when you say ground pin, are you talking about negative terminal on main board where the control panel plugs into the main board? Thanks for response 👍.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

@@bear5016 yes

[@bear5016]

@@FixedUntilBroken alright thanks.

[@J.C...]

Finally! I found some decent, clear instructions. Mine isn't grounded. I just ordered a replacement first. If #2 isn't grounded, I'll just do the mod to that one. Mine is V3.1s

[@chimera5588]

The version I bought was grounded at the tip, but the version I bought was v2.1 with the black front plate with Phillips headed screws instead of the silver front plate with the Allen key screws.

[@adredy]

Class II: A Class 2 or double insulated electrical appliance is designed in such a way that it does not require (and must not have) a safety connection to electrical earth (ground).

[@dbwt22]

Do you have any links saying the T12 is double insulated? There are no markings on the station.

[@cjones4433]

I asked this on another ksgerY12 video. Could a person just take a 24 volt computer transformer and wire it into the chassis and bypass the 110 volts? Thanks

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Yes it would just be those red and black wires you saw me mess with. They used to sell mini ones that didn't have a power supply it was just that front panel in smaller enclosure. You have a damaged one or something?

[@cjones4433]

Thanks for your rep[y. No, I am waiting for mine to come in the mail and I noticed several videos about grounding this. To me it was safer to use 24 volts instead of 110.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

I don't know much about laptop power supplies but you would probably have the same issue.

[@cjones4433]

​@@FixedUntilBroken How about this?www.amazon.com/stores/page/0ED251D3-4A47-43AA-8B14-DD13E0D446E3?store_ref=SB_A09206083EDRS1G7ASC20&pf_rd_p=274f2ba7-613d-4449-a541-91f024a91961&aaxitk=STdAjHbZqUfPMpxNMnJAFA&hsa_cr_id=1486712140301&lp_asins=B01GC6VS8I,B078RY7BPL,B078RYWZMH&lp_mat_key=24%20volt%20power%20supply&lp_query=24%20volt%20power%20supply&lp_slot=auto-sparkle-hsa-tetris&ref_=sbx_be_s_sparkle_td_brand

[@svsv9]

The Tip don't have continuity to ground yet. Not ESD yet I guess?

[@AlienRelics]

I'm grounding the case and tip of mine through a 1M resistor to limit ESD damage in case the thing I'm soldering has a charge on it, but then I worry about safety. Ideas? Maybe some kind of crowbar that is triggered if more than an ESD spike appears on the 1M resistor? Or maybe I'm being too paranoid about ESD and should just ground it and rely on working with the equipment I'm soldering be grounded via ESD mat.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

I would definitely say if your that worried about ESD get a certified esd safe station like a real hakkos, jbc or metcal. I always use the jbc on things I really worried about ESD. 1m resistor isn't ba bad idea though. I thought about it myself but changed my mind when I didn't see any in my parts bin. I know I have some but they aren't where they are supposed to be.

[@M.E63]

Proper esd safe stations must have a resistance of 2ohms or less and there’s other rules as well that need to be met to have a proper esd safe iron

[@shine9001]

@@M.E63 Why dont you use a TVS diode?

[@M.E63]

@@shine9001 I don’t need to modify my soldering station , I was just explaining the esd safe rules for a soldering stations , a proper esd safe soldering station must have a resistance of 2ohms or less otherwise it can’t be certified as esd safe

[@radman999]

The comparable Weller doesn't even have a fuse.

[@FixedUntilBroken]

I'm not a weller fan myself. I love my JBC unit but I know that's not in everyone's budget. Real hakkos are very good but the UI is always weird on them. Metcal and pace stuff is great because it's so simple.

[@cybermaus]

So question (having similar T12 clone) Obviously the case should be fully grounded. And I know it is common to fully ground the tip. But would it not be wiser to ESD ground the tip with 100K or 1M instead, similar to armstraps, so if you touch something charged, it bleeds rather then sparks?

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Yes I would assume you absolutely correct with that. That being said my JBC is grounded at 0 ohms so if a dead short ground is good enough for jbc it's good enough for me. I do take common sense esd safe practices at my bench but I don't stress over it either.

[@M.E63]

There’s rules and regulations for esd safe and the resistance has to be 2ohms or less, otherwise it can’t be classed as esd safe

[@FixedUntilBroken]

@@M.E63 ah the jbc must be closer to 2M then my BK precision can only measure up to 1m

[@wh0tube]

The wonderful world of the web! So much great info and yet so confusing! So tip to ground should be less than 2 Ohms to be ESD safe, yet it should be between 100K to 1M Ohms, or just leave it floating! Basically pick anything from 0:to infinite resistance and you may or may not be ok! Thank you all 🤓

[@FixedUntilBroken]

@@wh0tube to be honest all I really cared about is the iron having a path to ground if I made a dumb mistake and was soldering on something that still had live power on it. I know that has nothing to do with esd really. yeah the iron floating is definitely not the answer on esd safe. For people care about true by the book esd safety and not just trying to take common sense approach to it they need to buy a esd rated iron like a real hakko, JBC, weller, metcal or ersa.

[@vagnerrodrigues7738]

I DON'T KNOW THE PASSWORD THAT I PUT DOWN, HOW CAN I MAKE IT BACK?

[@J.C...]

Mine has 50v at the tip!

[@tempname4]

i have no experience or tools, would it be better for me to get the mini t12 and power it with a laptop ac adapter? i think the tip wouldn't be grounded but my alternatives are the ts80/100 anyway lol

[@FixedUntilBroken]

Id say the T12 clones over the ts80/100 because the TS80 tips only work with it but you can use real hakko tips in the clone stations.

[@phatman808]

T12 clones all the way, being able to use actual hakko tips is awesome.

[@Dave-im8xr]

Did you test between the iron tip and the earth pin on the KSGER I know you did on the JBC but it looks like you tested between the iron tip and case on the KSGER. I have watched a number of other video's and the iron tips earth path is via the negative wire, the inductor and then a capacitor.

[@giorgostexnikos6976]

finally some else who loves the ground.best video ever.thenks

[@N0gtail]

You sound like an AI that's tried to generate a comment based on the other comments