Making a new cable for the TS100 soldering iron

[@isidoromaich7226]

Now you got a better power supply for the soldering iron, I really like the vintage look of that braided cable, nice

[@CuriousScientist]

Yes, a better power supply AND a better cable as well. I also like that old-looking power cord, it looks nice, but it is also sturdy!

[@anothervoyager9654]

Can the ts100 itself be grounded to earth from the back screw to the power supply? I'm afraid the tip can do some ESD at some point if not grounded I guess.

[@CuriousScientist]

Yes, it can be. There's a tiny screw on it which is specifically made as a grounding point. You can run a small wire to it as grounding. I think it is a good idea to ground it. Recently I was soldering something while I had the terminals of my lab power supply around (it was off). I accidentally touched one terminal while holding the soldering iron. I got zapped. Then I measured the voltage difference between the tip of the iron and the terminals, it was 95 V AC... So, yeah no wonder I got zapped.

[@anothervoyager9654]

@@CuriousScientist Holy! 95V AC is no joke lol. My concern is also sensitive stuff in the board may get fried... I have the same PSU as you, do you recommend to connect the screw terminal of the ts100's back to the Earth terminal of the PSU? That way the PSU and the tip are in the same potential and closes all the ESD protection circuit to the socket Earth (although grounding on the AC side may not be a great idea...). I love my TS100 but ESD wise doesn't look that good.

[@eddiekytia]

Could you possibly give links for wire and connector

[@CuriousScientist]

It is in the video description.

[@eddiekytia]

​@@CuriousScientistyes I found it thank you so much

[@RedToxy-rc7ev]

Hi! I want to connect GND wire with protecting earth on PSU terminals. Have you idea - does GND line connected to shell of the iron tip in TS 100 schematic?

[@CuriousScientist]

Hi! The TS100 has a ground connector above its DC jack connector. It is a tiny screw. It is not connected electrically to the negative power supply rail, however it is connected to the tip. I just tested it now with a multimeter. If I touch the tip of the iron and the grounding bolt with the probes of the multimeter, I can see (and hear, since I use continuity mode) that they are connected. However, when I tested the tip against the negative supply pin, there was no connection. I guess, you can just draw a third wire from the PSU or use a 3-core wire and ground the tip with it.

[@eddiekytia]

I really appreciate your help and I did subscribe! I bought the pinecil v2 and want to make a power cable. Is there and chance you could measure the length of the barrel connector that gets inserted into the iron. I never knew that they come in different lengths. I thought if the size was 5.5mm x 2.5mm the LENGTH OF THE BARREL WOULD BE THE SAME. I'm asking because its not worth ordering 1 or 2 from the link you supplied. THANK YOU AGAIN.....

[@CuriousScientist]

Have you checked the video, especially at 3:36? I wrote the type of the connector there. You can find it on Digikey if you search for Tensility 55-00050. You can open the datasheet and you will see that the barrel length is 12 mm. 5.5 mm is the outer diameter and 2.5 mm is the inner diameter.

[@DriverWay8848]

This what i like to do to my KSGER, change the cable of the knobb with an silicon one but i can't find one with 5 core. I make one which is some king of flexible rubber but is to thick and a bit heavy on the hand. Do you have any suggestion!?...

[@CuriousScientist]

What do you mean by knob? The cable I used for my soldering iron is shown on my website with a link to purchase it, too.

[@DriverWay8848]

@@CuriousScientist sory, the handle. KSGER use 5 core cable, this one is 2 core. I would like to replace that flimsy cable with an silicone one, but as i mentioned before i can't find an good 5 core silicon cable.

[@CuriousScientist]

My answer is still the same. It is on my website under the parts & tools page. Bottom of the page.

[@BeetleJuice1980]

whats the description of the dc jack and the cable you used? you bought them online?

[@CuriousScientist]

Yes, and I even showed it in the video.

[@MrDavidSkinner]

I have a Hota D6 Pro and I want to run my TS100 from that on the PSU mode. I was thinking to set the PSU at 14.8V, 30W, 2A .... Does that sounds right?

[@CuriousScientist]

Why would you want to run it at such a low voltage and current? You can go up to 24 V and nearly 3 A. If you use it with your settings, it will heat up slower. Basically you would use it at half power. It is a 65 W unit.

[@kevincapitaneo5734]

Hi, wouldnt be extreamly dangerous running 220v through a wire that is exposed? Or is there any thing that blocks for touching it?

[@CuriousScientist]

Hi! Where do you see exposed mains voltage?

[@kevincapitaneo5734]

@CuriousScientist just asking. I never used a power supply like that and since you connect the wires like that I thought it would be exposed. Can't really see what's protecting it in the video

[@CuriousScientist]

Usually, there's a plastic sheet over the power terminals that protects you from touching the exposed parts. Otherwise, the rest of the power supply is harmless.

[@kevincapitaneo5734]

@@CuriousScientist oh ok, that was my main worry. I thought there wasn't anything to protect from touching the exposed wire or connector that the wire goes in. Thanks for the answer

[@bardenegri21]

I run it off my bench supply, it never draws 3 amps for any meaningful amount of time at 24v, usually around 2.5a or lower since it heats up in seconds. But nice cable nonetheless. After 3 years of use the barrel connector on mine is so loose it keeps sliding off, I'm considering a permanent connection without a connector on the iron side.

[@CuriousScientist]

Thanks! My connector is still sitting on the terminal well and my TS100 is also around 3 years old. Maybe you also just need to replace the plug. Usually those flexible pins can wear out with time. I can really recommend the one I used in the video.

[@brandenprateek273]

@@CuriousScientist hi, is ts100 that good for almost daily use? I need to solder 3-4 days in a week and not for long hours. Im from India so everyother iron has no reviews and idk what to trust, i saw many reviews of ts100 and most says its nice all i was worried about was longevity. Let me know should i buy the iron for my use or look for something else

[@CuriousScientist]

Hi! I've been using this soldering iron for several years without any issues. I really recommend it. Just make sure that you buy a proper power supply for it so you can use it at its full potential.

[@Ruboka]

what temperature is your cable rated for? the link to aliexpress goes to a cable rated for 200°C. will this hold up if the iron touches the cable while at 350°C for example? I am so confused if I look for a cable for my ts100 that should be able to handle high temps, but silicone cables only are listed for 200°C(at least those which I found). and how much cable length did you use? I know of those xt60 cables(which are also only rated for lower temps?...) that are only 45cm long, but I think this is a bit short for using a psu and not a battery. I really hope to get an answer. also I really like the helping hands, but it seems those are out of stock? any alternative you could recommend?

[@CuriousScientist]

Hi! According to the seller, the cable is rated for 180°C. It will hold up for a while without sustaining critical damage if you touch it accidentally with the iron. I did a test for you and I uploaded some pictures to my KZbin channel's community page, please check it. I used 110 cm long cable, but I would say that the active length of the cable is roughly 90-95 cm because I made a tiny semi-circle shaped loop at the PSU side of the wire so I could fix it on the casing of the PSU to avoid fatigue damage on the terminals. I have a soldering station and I just copied its cable length, so I guess this is a typical length. The helping hands sold by Omnifixo is indeed out of stock, but I would preorder it and wait. I don't have any better alternative in my mind because I haven't tried anything else. I think it worth the wait.

[@Ruboka]

@@CuriousScientist very appreciated. thanks for going this far to answer my question.

[@CuriousScientist]

You're welcome! I'm glad that I could help.

[@Ruboka]

@@CuriousScientist Hey, sorry for asking again, but where can I get rated dc connectors (male and female)? I am living in Germany, but I can't find any at all. amazon, ebay, aliexpress,banggood, etc. And your link asks for a company... :/

[@CuriousScientist]

@@Ruboka Hi! No worries! Have you tried digikey.de?

[@eddiekytia]

Yea I just found it. Thank you so much

[@CuriousScientist]

You're welcome!

[@patdowling5]

Great video, thanks

[@CuriousScientist]

Thank you!

[@mumbaiverve2307]

Always nice to watch these builds ... but why not use one of the laptop chargers ? Atleast that's the unit i got with my TS100. Smaller than this SMPS and saves bench space.

[@CuriousScientist]

I would still need to replace the cable of the laptop charger or at least create an extension. Also, many of them are 19 V and not 24 V. So at the end, I would need to do the same amount of work or more and I am pretty sure that a laptop PSU would be more expensive. Regarding the bench space, I have a very smart solution to hide the PSU. I might post a picture of it here on KZbin later.

[@mumbaiverve2307]

@@CuriousScientist Thanks for replying. 19V would be a limitation, because the current draw would be higher ? Please do post a pic of the smart solution; after all it is the reason why we watch channels such as yours :o) .

[@CuriousScientist]

You are welcome! No, it would not draw higher current at 19 V. Actually, it would draw LESS. Just think about Ohm's law, and think about voltage as a driving force. The higher the voltage, the more current could be pushed through a certain resistor. If you test the soldering iron, you will notice that at 12 V, it will draw very little current and it will warm up to the target temperature slowly, because 12 V cannot push too much current through the iron. If you double the voltage (24 V), the iron will draw nearly 3 A when it is being heated up to the target temperature. I actually tested this a few minutes ago just to be sure that I am not writing anything stupid. At 12 V, I saw 1.4 A, at 19 V I saw 2.3 A and at 24 V I saw 2.8 A current draw. If you do the math (R = U/I), you get roughly 8.5 (Ohms), so the power supply will see this resistance when it tries to supply current to the soldering iron. If you have a higher voltage PSU, you can supply more current. Obviously, the PSU has to have the capability of supplying higher current too. I also added the pictures of my way of mounting the power supply at my desk. Check the community tab on my KZbin channel.

[@mumbaiverve2307]

@@CuriousScientist You are right of course.

[@thatradioguy6839]

Do check out the Pinecil aswell :v Nice vid

[@CuriousScientist]

Thank you! Now I have enough soldering irons for a while. :D

[@willthecat3861]

current is not power.

[@CuriousScientist]

You don't say?! I immediately wrote the correction on the video where I slipped, if you haven't noticed. I only noticed the mistake when I was editing the video, so yeah...