Tools
Here is a list of tools I use often, which I thought might be useful to share with others, primarily in the interest of keeping them running and collecting information about them, as some of them are quite old.
Precision Gold Soldering Station: A55KJ
Back in the 00's I bought this 60W temperature controlled "ESD Safe" (Galvanic isolation of tip) soldering station from Maplin Electronics. It been serving me well to this day without any problems. However after over a decade of service general wear and tear is becoming an issue. Problem is that in the meantime Maplin went bust, and when the new owners bought the brand they changed the items they sell. This means this soldering station is no longer available to buy and neither are its spare parts. Therefore I wrote this section deals to documents what non-original parts are compatible with this soldering station.
Turns out the AK55KJ looks very similar to other Chinese branded products, specifically the Atten AT938D. This forum post specifically lists the "CSI Deluxe 60W Digital Soldering Station", the "CSI 3DLF", the "Hakko 936" and the "Atten AT938D" as being the same system just re-branded.
After more research it seems they all look exactly the same and have the same specifications, of which (as mentioned in the forum) the AT938D seems to be the original, while others are re-branded. To confirm that the device is the same as the Atten, I found the Atten manual, and I tried the mode settings and options in there on my AK55J. To my delight everything worked, including the tip temperature calibration (which I did not even know my device had!). It seems the items not only look the same, but the firmware acts the same, so I am feeling confident that spare parts for these devices should be interchangeable.
Looking online, you can still buy the AT938D and spare parts are numerous (both OEM and third-party), so I will concentrate on Atten replacement parts.
Known part numbers
This table shows what I currently know of OEM part numbers, and compatible ones (confirmed and unconfirmed). Confirmed ones are parts I have bought and use with my solder station without issue, unconfirmed ones are the opposite, where I believe they should work, but I can't be sure. If anyone out there has used any non OEM parts with their A55KJ please get in touch and I can add them to the table.
| OEM part | OEM part number | Atten part number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soldering station | A55KJ | AT938D (unconfirmed) | Short of buying a complete AT938D and seeing if parts from the A55KJ work with it, this will most likely remain unconfirmed. There are so few parts available for the A55KJ that it makes no sense to use them with an Atten station. |
| Soldering Iron | A40KX | AP-60/AP-938/907 (confirmed) | The A40KX uses a 2-wire ceramic heater core, which is the same as the Atten equivalent. The A40KX also has a 5-pin connector, while Atten models come in 5-pin and 7-pin versions (7-pin is most likely for the 4-wire core, logically as it needs 2 more wires). The PDF Manual for the Atten has a page on the soldering handles, their heaters and replacement instructions. |
| Soldering Iron tips | A19KK | T900 series (confirmed) | Tested with the Atten T900-0.5C/0.8D/SK, initial results are good |
December 2023:
As of now I've ordered replacement Atten Soldering Iron tips, a replacement soldering Iron (Atten calls it a "handle"), model AP-60/AP-938/907 (I presume the three model numbers relate to the stations they are compatible with) and a replacement heater for my current iron. My tips are very worn out, and the ceramic core of my handle cracked years ago. I suspect that as a result of this the temperature control is not as good as it was when new, I generally have to set it to >250°C to even start melting my solder (which is 60/40 Sr/Pb split, with a melting point ~190°C).
As I discovered that I can calibrate the display temperature, I also bought a digital thermometer so I can measure the actual tip temperature, which I will use for calibration. This should mean that the temperature displayed on the unit should match what the actual tip temperature is.Parts have been ordered and ETA for arrival is the end of February, and if I can confirm compatibility of the handle, I can use that to replace the heater on my current one.
January 2024:
The Atten AP-60 soldering iron has arrived. I've tested it and can confirm that it works with the A55KJ. So have updated the table above. Once the temp sensor arrives I can see if the calibration works on the A55KJ as it says on the manual for the AT938D.
February 2024:
The Atten T900 series of soldering tips have also arrived. I can confirm that these fit and work as expected with the A55KJ. Table above updated. Now I am just waiting for the digital thermometer so I can try calibrating the solder station.
March 2024:
The temperature probe has arrived as well! Now I can see about calibrating my iron to match what the station thinks the temperature is. The first step involved me setting a known temperature (200°C in my case) on the A55KJ and then measuring what the temperature is at the actual tip of my soldering iron is.
It was easy to calibrate the A55KJ. In fact there was not much need to calibrate. Off the bat with the Atten tips the variance between reported and measured temperature was about 15°C. I also found that it varies based on ambient conditions and what tip I use. The Atten tips all cluster within 2-3°C of each other, but my older tips show more variance.
As such I decided to target the Atten tips, and set my calibration to "-15", which puts the difference between indicated and measured temperature at around 3°C, given an ambient temperature of 24.4°C
I also set the presets as recommended in the manual, with #1 being below 200°C (195°C) as an "idle" setting. I then set #2 to 220°C for when I use leaded solder, and #3 is set to 350°C for lead free solder.
