SDG

[@sdgelectronics]

The GT120 uses inductive heating, hence the large inductors. It's not a resistive heater.

[@catharperfect7036]

I just have a question: aren't the tip sizes different (16:00)? The MX-5200 seems to have much wider contact, and JBC the least. I'm not criticizing, just genuinely curious. Your videos are awesome btw.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@catharperfect7036 You might be right - I can't tell from the video which tip I used, but later videos definitely use the ~5mm or 7.5mm tip.

[@Alex-M0OOV]

Hi Steve. After seeing several of your soldering station videos, I decided to get a Metcal MFR-1110 (SxP cartridge tips) and what a fantastic station it is! And it was £295 delivered from Farnell in Sep 2024. What a steal!

[@Mr.Laidukas]

6:10 I use original JBC with T245 and T210 for 8-10 years including big and chunky tips like C245-741 and find these stories about heat handle strange and I must say I never use that foam add on for handle, I like the feel of bare handle. Never felt inconvenience or discomfort due to heating. Maybe this is personal thing.

[@bgdwiepp]

From the look of the insides, it actually is inductive heating; those inductors aren't just to take the edge off the switching, they form a resonant tank or similar with the film caps near by.

[@sdgelectronics]

Yes I think you're right actually

[@sfsilva1100]

I have one GT120 and I'm very glad with it. It works very well.

[@piconano]

I bought a Hakko clone for $60 about 2 years ago. Use it everyday. Still going strong. Changed tip twice in 2 years. Accurate temp too. The time that you paid more to get more, has been over for decades. Buy the cheapest that does the job, and when it breaks, buy another one.

[@roseelectronics4582]

This attitude of using and throwing away is disastrous to the repair industry and the environment.

[@piconano]

@@roseelectronics4582 I can repair what I have. There are thousands of seller selling parts like heater cores and such, on the cheap.

[@roseelectronics4582]

@@piconano Good to hear that. I thought you were talking about throwing away and buying a new iron every time.

[@1pcfred]

@@roseelectronics4582 if it is cheap enough we can afford to just toss stuff when it breaks down. My Chinese clone T12 station kit cost me $25 ($24.39 actually) to put together so when it dies I can just get another one. Was a fun build. I'm up for doing it again someday.

[@logik100.0]

I have a 25 old Metcal soldering station and it's still my go to soldering iorn

[@1pcfred]

As a Gran Turismo it has to be high performance. If Metcal isn't sending this guy Christmas cards it would be disappointing.

[@AndrewJones-tj6et]

I previously used the Metcal MX500 stations and then moved to the less expensive Thermaltronics TMT-9000S which also uses similar RF source with Curie heat technology.

[@ArthurTugwell]

Which is better in your opinion?

[@AndrewJones-tj6et]

@@ArthurTugwell It had been quite a few years between using the Metcal and then the Thermaltronics so its a bit hard to say. I can say I was not disappointed with Thermaltronics and the deal we got at the time was quite good.

[@jwrelectro]

Steve, a very nice video review of the Metcal GT120. I did a review of the Hakko FX-951 a few years ago and think even though it has a lower wattage it is a comparable unit to the GT120/90. I think you gave a very good balanced review of the station. I was also like you, surprised at the tack soldering on the PC Board. I noted in one of your other videos you were trying Kester solder and over the last few decades it is my favorite tin/lead solder. Again great presentation on the soldering station.

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

Personally I don't like to have the tip earthed. For ESD protection and personal safety the bench mat is earthed by about 1M and I keep this idea for the soldering iron. My tip is earthed via a 10K to limit any current to earth should the tip come in contact with any voltage that has a earth reference. Plus it stops static build up on the tip. My go to iron handle is the Weller WXMP 12V 55W but I use a home designed power controller for it, as I can't afford Weller's prices for a soldering station. I did a series of videos on the controller design. forgot to add nice review.

[@treadmillrepair754]

Years ago I was working for top noch electronics companies. In all these companies you can find Weller, Metcal, Pace or inclusive Hakko but never JBC. Best Regards.

[@rjordans]

In the past i found mostly Weller when visiting companies in the region here but last years there has been quite a shift towards JBC here

[@pa4tim]

I have 2 metcals from the other series. The MFR 1351. I think the former version of your new one. They are the biggest piece of crap I have ever used. (However, they solder very well, if they are not broken) The service was even worse. The cable of the soldering iron got so hot that I burned my wrist. Metcal: this is a known problem but your soldering iron is 1.5 years old so no warranty. I bought it less as a year ago from Farnell but after a few months they replaced one unit under under warranty and the replacement was older (accoording Metcal). I had to replace parts for the pumps several times in that period. The tips are expensive and wear out fast (desolder iron) As a reference, My number one station, Pace MBT250, is over 25 years old and I have never had pump problems, I did not even had to clean it. I replaced the handpiece a few years ago and replaced the SX-70 with the mighty SX100. There was no direct need to do that but they had a hard life and I now keep them as spares. My Weller WS80 is about 15 years old and still perfect. (I use them professional)

[@sdgelectronics]

I have had no problem with the MX5200 and MX500 (and also my older PS900). But I do hear many problems with the MFR series of stations.

[@matusekpetr7806]

That black box vith HAMLIN is not the DC/DC converter, its a reed relay.

[@74HC04]

I just checked to see if anyone had mentioned this. Something in the back of my mind reminded me that Hamlin make relays. A quick Google and sure enough, it's a reed relay.

[@sdgelectronics]

Ah you're right. I wonder what for

[@matusekpetr7806]

​@@sdgelectronics i´m just guessing, probably to protect opamp from surge, if theyre using K type it needs quite high gain sensitive opamp. But maybe i´m completely wrong :)

[@ats89117]

According to the royal mint, recent Two Pence "coins have a mild steel core and are electroplated with copper". This combination will wick away a lot less heat than the earlier bronze Two Pence coin (97% copper, 2.5% zinc, 0.5% tin) which was minted until September 1992.

[@rdp8545]

Love my JBC combo station.

[@mikeselectricstuff]

That bodge looks like a reed relay, not a DC-DC

[@sdgelectronics]

Absolutely right. I missed the part number

[@andymouse]

Blimey ! I can't imagine spending that sort of money for a cast case with some jellybean parts bodged together with a display that was meant for cheap HIFI from 'Argos' I accept that the tech is probally in the heating element (cartridge) but it's way overpriced, my first iron was heated in the fire in our front room and it cost sixpence, I had no problems ! great review....cheers.

[@calpilot7]

Great and complete test video. I am a total Metcal fanboy. Metcal just always works reliably and results in effortless solder connections regardless of what I’m working. Their stations are brilliant pieces of kit. Great review…..cartridges are definitely the way to go for obvious reasons with the possible exception of cost but cost shouldn’t be high on one’s agenda if they own this station. Cheers.

[@turboslag]

Just a pedantic point, British 'copper' coins are no longer copper, they are copper plated steel. I'll be staying with my MX500, that GT120 is over priced for what it is. Although the diecast case is nice. And that bodge is apalling!!

[@GenerationXT]

It would be interesting to see the Thermaltronics TMT-9000S station, and how it compares to the others in this video.

[@essambadreddin1799]

A question immediately jumped in my mind … what makes the Metcal GT-90better than other induction soldering stations like the xytronic LF-3200 or Quick 3202?

[@meherhjb7170]

Great complete review

[@mikeselectricstuff]

External PSU and crappy mini-DIN is a bit of a fail. LCD looks pretty poor as well.

[@sdgelectronics]

I'm in two minds about the external power supply. On one hand it's a very simple replacement if it fails, but it's quite bulky and the DC lead isn't very flexible. I have a follow up tomorrow with the combined tip cartridges.

[@romanstingler435]

Quite a considerable difference in tip size and shape to compare the penny test. MX-5200 had probably double the tip width from the GT120 and the JBC had probably 75% of the width of the GT120. Nice review, for me the GT120 has way too many downsides based on my preferences.

[@69uremum]

Not really impressed with the inductors (as Dave would say ) floating in the breeze:) You think they could use a bit of silicone to secure them, they sure used enough on that bodge!

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

At 19:13 strange to see they had to glue a relay on the the PCB, was U12 man enought?

[@Tr1p93]

I have used that mx5200 at my school once for surface mount soldering. I was wondering why you could not adjust the temperature on it now I know. What makes these stations so much better than for example a ts100 soldering iron. I used a jbc station and that mx5200 at my school but I feel like my TS100 does surface mount soldering just as well. I soldered 0.5mm qfp's and 0.5mm FPC connectors with it. Will these devices solder those kinds of packages any better, my impression is that it is mostly technique a preheater and plenty of flux. The mx5200 looks interesting with the special heating element the other two not so much honestly.

[@Gengh13]

You should probably review the pinecil (if it's back in stock) I bought one to have on the field and I think it's the best bang for the buck. It uses TS100 tips, it has a barrel jack and usb-c power delivery and QC, the only disadvantage is that it only supports 19v max, because of the power delivery IC used, so you can't officially use the 24v the tips are designed to handle.

[@TheDefpom]

I really don’t like the display, blue is one of the hardest colours to see contrast on.

[@andreiciora2765]

True

[@hoggif]

Cartridges would be nice test to see. If they are shorter they could be a game changer. I have long tips and the control I get from far a way from the tip.

[@sdgelectronics]

Just waiting to get some and I'll re-test

[@585585MC]

21:10 That is a reed relay. For me it's not acceptable to have that kind of bodge in a so expensive station. Metcal my arse. Thanks a lot to expose the quality.

[@sdgelectronics]

Definitely not what you'd expect for the money.

[@poorchava]

I'm using a PACE ADS200. Much cheaper than this and there literally is not a single thing that I'd like to be different or better. I use it professionally, daily. I don't really like the temperatures. 353 °C seems a bit low, while 413 is really high. At this temperature the solder on the top oxidizes much faster and Flix burns off much faster too. I mostly use 370. 400 when dealing with enameled wire.

[@userPrehistoricman]

You use lead-free soldering? 350 is high for leader solder imo

[@tookitogo]

@@userPrehistoricman Heck, I do most of my lead-free soldering at around 320C.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@tookitogo Somewhere around 320 to 340 on the readout for me, but I don't look at the specific numbers - it's how the solder flows.

[@tookitogo]

@@sdgelectronics absolutely agree! Given how much the joint and tip choice affect heat transfer, close observation is the final arbiter, so to speak!

[@rwils6333]

PACE ADS200 is even cheaper, its one I've been thinking about. Not sure is anyone here has experience with it.

[@richiec7700]

Have used both. Own the ADS200. (I'm in the USA so price is cheaper for PACE than what I've seen overseas). They're comparable. Both are very good to excellent stations. Metcal is a touch better on over-undershoot temps. But it isn't much of a difference. Maybe 2-3C. Pace is cheaper if you need a variety of tips. Used Metcal vs new Pace...cost is close. Tip to work distance is excellent on the Pace.

[@Duglum666]

Been using the ADS200 for about a year now.. from tiny smd and drag soldering to beefy ground traces. With different tips/cartridges obviously. It's a dream to work with, highly recommend it.

[@zomaardan]

EVEN cheaper. Even makes it sound like you think this is cheap. You rich people are lose from reality.

[@andreiciora2765]

I used just once is a very good product .

[@ingenierocristian]

I’m interested in the QUICK T1200A, but I haven’t found a complete review yet, that is a $200 USD 120W station, but is not very very well known yet

[@Ratchet_effect]

Steve as you know, we both have a love for Metcal & me a user off Pace amongst, other named brands I own. I'd love to see you do a video: Metcal vs Pace. I think that would be a real 'Clash of the Titans' True they are not for everyone's budget, but for us that do own them, it'd make a interesting test, for science! 🖖👍

[@sdgelectronics]

I'm sorting out some more soldering iron tests within the next few months.

[@roseelectronics4582]

Thank you SDG Electronics ❤️! For how long have I been waiting for this station to be reviewed by its legitimate hands? Just checked the notification and my heart raced its beats. Will be back after watching. **************************************** Looks like the review is not done yet. But I don't think it can beat MX-5200 even with the integrated tips. GT-120 is definitely not for micro-soldering with that girth and tip to grip distance of the iron. All in all, a neat device that's elegant to the eyes. Looking forward to future reviews You've managed to enrage some of the JBC fans by that comparison. I too was shocked to see a 120w JBC station lag behind both of the Metcals. Any specific reason behind that?

[@sdgelectronics]

Not really sure on the situation with the JBC. I used a genuine C245 JBC cartridge and the Jabe station behaves exactly the same as the genuine JBC station from my experience using JBC stations at work. I've personally never been impressed with them and don't understand the popularity.

[@Mr.Laidukas]

@@sdgelectronics Pointy tip that you used on JBC (seems similar to C245-937) is not meant to heat big cooper areas it has very small tined working are for heat transfer. To be fair you had to use tip similar to C245-741. GT120 in this comparison looked good just by the fact that you used tip that is bigger in mass then the coin it self. That GT120 handle and the tip selected is just mammoth.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@Mr.Laidukas I swapped the tip for the C245-407 later in the video.

[@israelalvarezfernandez6532]

Maybe u never have a original JBC station in your hands and this is the reason u never impressed wiht JBC jajajaja u think habe the same performance the jabe piece of shit wiht one catridge original jbc Thais the original JBC station?? If you say the handle jbc get hot u never have one in your hands...

[@sdgelectronics]

@@israelalvarezfernandez6532 I use JBC stations daily at work

[@tubeDude48]

That's to crazy a price!!!!!

[@richardmagnorstenbro3234]

I will Keep mine Metcal CV5200 and CV500

[@astrazenica7783]

Think I'll stick to my £20 'Katsu' Although I do like the solid case it's in

[@razer192]

What do you think about the atten GT-6200 you can get it on Ali express for just under £350 including postage

[@sdgelectronics]

I've never used anything made by Atten, however the integrated heater+tip should always give good performance. The Pace ADS220 is supposed to be pretty decent too. I'll see if I can get hold of any of these.

[@3madeamps]

iv had mine for next to 2 years now ..i love mine. i got mine as a demo love it but metcal won't stand behind it ..

[@SebastiaanSwinkels]

Was that an actual JBC station that you were using in the comparison or was that that Best / Jabe station?

[@marsma18]

Does not really matter, I think that tip makes a lot of difference. Even it was mantion in that clip when soldering the square copper pads and changing tip change a lot in output.

[@SebastiaanSwinkels]

@@marsma18 The tip in this video looked indeed significantly smaller than the other two on the Metcal stations. That said, the Jabe / Best stations are not as fast or good at dumping energy into copper as genuine JBC hardware. There are a few vids out there comparing the knockoffs to the genuine stations and there is a visible difference.

[@sdgelectronics]

It's a Jabe power supply with genuine JBC C245 high power cartridge.

[@SebastiaanSwinkels]

@@sdgelectronics Gotcha. IIRC the Jabe runs 75W right?

[@marsma18]

@@SebastiaanSwinkels I have JBC station and know how TIP makes a difference. Small tips heat up in like 1,5s while bigger tip take to 4s to get to 350. It is just one of indicators waht a proper heat mass mean.

[@Mr.Laidukas]

15:54 This was so unfair from you to take such a different tips and compare those stations 1:1. Pointy tip that you used on JBC (seems similar to C245-937) is not meant to heat big cooper areas it has very small tined working are for heat transfer. To be fair you had to use tip similar to C245-741. If you don't have similar, at least mention in a video that you used tip that puts JBC in disadvantage. I use different soldering stations for 20+ years (China brands, Weller, Ersa, JBC) and for last 8-10 years I am lucky to have opportunity to work with original JBC stations at work. You also keept JBC starving on a solder , while for Metcal constantly feeding additional solder with flux to make better heat transfer. I do not have opportunity to work with Metcal production, so I'm not saying anything about Metacal capabilities, but JBC in your video was made to look in disadvantage. GT120 in this comparison looked good just by the fact that you used tip that is bigger in mass then the coin it self. In general hard to imagine how they came up with the idea to release new product in 21firs century with that old technology where tip slides on heating element with all that heat barrier in between.... Enyone that considers buying this soldering station should wait for tips with integrated heater or if they do not need that performance then they likely do not need hi end soldering station and can save some money.

[@sdgelectronics]

C245-407 used, not the pointy tip.

[@Mr.Leeroy]

In my experience power delivered varies the most with size of the chisel tip, while same controller, temps, device under rework and all that.. E.g., you simply won't be able to solder some things with T12-D16, that you would with ease using T12-D4. So this was not even close to fair comparison. It is more due to the heat conducting surface not being a bottleneck for heat transfer then heat mass of each tip.

[@marsma18]

That's what i want to write. Comparing chunky MX580 tip with medium size gt120 and small size JBC is not a fair comaprison. When you would use similar tips with recommended temp i think all of that station would have similar performance. But tips can be expensive so i understand why you do taht not apple to apple comparison.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@marsma18 I swapped the JBC tip for the C245-407 which has higher thermal capacity for testing later on.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@marsma18 Don't worry I have some new tips on the way,

[@electrodacus]

Seems like all this big brand soldering manufacturers are stuck in the past. I can not seem how this can compete against PACE ADS200 especially considering the price difference. I like the idea of separate power brick as it can reduce the space needed on desk but not sure why they went with 48V.

[@sdgelectronics]

48V I think because of the power levels and possibly a requirement of the induction heating. I've not used the Pace station, so I will definitely be getting one to compare with.

[@electrodacus]

@@sdgelectronics I do have a PACE ADS200 and I like it. If it was not for some high thermal connectors that I need to solder it will have been my only station but I also needed to get a much higher power JBC HDE to be able to properly solder those large connectors in a decent amount of time. The JBC HDE is the most modern looking soldering station and performance is great. The only thing I dislike about it is the fact that they decided to use a fan to cool the station. Not only the fan works all the time and is noisy but I hate getting all the dust inside the station :)

[@andreiciora2765]

But I think this is the jabe not the jbc .

[@kubaxd25]

Original jbc t245-A handle does't get hot when soldering, also there is a big difference between original and chineese cardridges. I think if the jbc had bigger, original cardridge it would perform closer to metcal mx.

[@andreiciora2765]

@@kubaxd25 finaly a person wath now that and the handle is hot if you worck at temperature of 400-450 c .

[@marsma18]

@@andreiciora2765 Why would you work on temp like 400-450? Soldeirng pipes to pipes? With proper tip you can solder everything on 330C.

[@andreiciora2765]

@@marsma18 I worck just with 270-300 for me Is inof . .

[@andreiciora2765]

@@marsma18 just onces I use 370

[@kuro68000]

Why do they always come with useless conical tips? Hakko's range of tips is unbeatable I think.

[@sdgelectronics]

This one comes with no tips, you have to buy them separately. Luckily no conical tip to go to waste on this occasion

[@sunuk1915]

GT 120 , tip good quality materials?

[@sdgelectronics]

Seems to be

[@FixDaily]

Wondering: what do you do with those "soldering test" coins? :D

[@kuro68000]

The crystal is a long way from the MCU as well. Seems like a bit of a noob PCB!

[@585585MC]

Maybe they have outsourced the design/production for that particular product line!

[@kuro68000]

@@585585MC it's a bit much to have an iffy design and hefty bodge on a product costing that much. It's a very simple PCB, they could have just replaced it and still made plenty of profit.

[@brianwood5220]

Sorry, but i think it looks rather "Kit form", DIY type build. I wouldn't be happy if i had paid that much for a soldering station. I'll stick with my Hakko FX951

[@andreiciora2765]

This is a very good iron

[@razer192]

Looks like something from the 70s

[@dannyperry8070]

Great review. I don't think it is worth the money. In your Aixun review, I think the unit performed better. I am surprised they used a switch mode power supply at such a high end unit.

[@sdgelectronics]

Most of the Metcal systems are fully universal input voltage (hence the SMPSU) so there's no need to hold lots of different SKUs. There's always a trade-off between integrating a power supply and using an external unit.

[@winsrrow8125]

Are those better than a JBC ones?

[@sdgelectronics]

Difficult one to answer. I prefer the handpiece over the T-245 and I also like the form factor a bit better than the JBC CD compact stations. Performance-wise it's there's not a lot in it, but I get through a lot of JBC cartridges so they either drive them hard or they aren't made so well.

[@TheSmyrnali]

İzmir 'den merhaba verdiğiniz bilgiler için teşekkür ederim. Alt yazı çeviriciyi açarsanız memnon olurum

[@IanScottJohnston]

He wants the subtitles turned on.

[@tony359]

I would not be impressed if I paid £500 for a unit which has a bodge job like that on the main PCB to be honest.

[@sdgelectronics]

It got rectified. I did a video recently on the new pcb revision

[@gacherumburu9958]

👍👍

[@andreiciora2765]

Finaly

[@korytnacka7english]

Soldering tip range for Metcal GT120 is rather poor.

[@MrOrangeman18]

You can’t compare the 2p test. Very very different tip types. So pretty pointless really

[@sdgelectronics]

How do you mean?

[@userPrehistoricman]

@@sdgelectronics The Metcal (true Metcal) tip is much larger than the others. It would be a fairer comparison if all stations had similarly sized tips. The JBC has the smallest tip in that demo.

[@sdgelectronics]

@@userPrehistoricman I'd swapped the tip in the test for a C245-407. I have some new tips on their way though.

[@tanishqbhaiji103]

Looks very cheap, only 85c rated electrolytic. Botch job sub par thermal performance and design and feel for 500 dollars?

[@chuckvoss9344]

The GT120 sure has a poor looking display. Looks like they cut a lot of corners to make this version. Sad really.

[@tanishqbhaiji103]

Looks like crap, specially for an Inductive station.

[@WallStreet749]

1200 dollar Soldering station I have to laugh maybe if you was working on a Hydrogen bomb or the Hubble telescope but for the most part you'r working projects most likely cost a lot less than that station. That is what a I call a dollar chasing a dime. You have more money than you know what to do with or your just desperate to find a way to make a video.

[@sdgelectronics]

The RRP is $545 not $1200, but when you use something daily, the quality and consistent results matter.