Surface Mount – VoltLog

Voltlog #256 – Best BST-863 Hot Air Rework Station (Alternative to Quick 861DW)

Inside the box of the BST-863 we have the station, a really nice and heavy stand for the tool piece, a total of 3 nozzles, a grounding strap and a power cord. The first thing I notice is the hose which pretty thick, certainly thicker than what I had on my old Gordak station but seems to be softer material. The way it’s designed with the tool standing vertically in the stand makes the air hose forms this loop which depending on your bench setup might or might not bother you but it’s something to consider. But I like the quality of the stand, it’s heavy and feels very sturdy, you get this accessory here which allows you to remove the nozzles while hot and the station has a sensor to detect when the handle is in the stand.

Adjustment of temperature and air level is made through this touch screen control. I’m a bit anti touch screen control on test gear so I would’ve preferred some switches on the front panel but don’t get me wrong, the touch screen works well on this unit, it has nice big touch keys and after setting up your presets you are likely not going to need to adjust the temperature you will just be using the presets like leaded, lead free and another one for heatshrink maybe.

Is this cheaper station a good alternative to the Quick 861DW? This video review should provide you with enough info to decide which one to buy.

Here are some high resolution images from the teardown:

Voltlog #251 – InTheMail

Welcome to a new InTheMail, the series that will touch both your passion for electronics and your bank account at the same time. We’re going to start with this pocket multimeter, it’s the MUSTOOL MT77, let’s get it out of the box. As you can see quite a small form factor, the multimeter is very thin and has this large screen to body ratio, let’s see if they included the batteries and yes the meter turns on, it runs on two CR2032 batteries but it seems they are included.

Voltlog #161 – How To Assemble SMD Parts

In this video I’m gonna show you 3 methods to solder SMD parts but before we get to the actual methods I think it’s best to talk about the type of solder to be used. And there are two main types of solder that you can use, that is leaded or lead free solder. If you are doing prototype work it’s best to stick with leaded solder or solder paste because it’s easier to get right, it has a lower melting temperature. If you are doing production work, you plan to sell those boards, than you might be forced to use lead free solder to be compliant with the regulation.

Here are links to the items shown in this video:

Voltlog #71 – Electronic Touch Musical Keyboard Kit

A while ago I saw this touch musical keyboard kit on banggood and it seemed interesting enough to order one. It turns out the kit is using a single atmega8 to do all the touch sensing (8 ch) and play the tunes accordingly. Although not very useful for me it sure was fun to assemble and play with.