14 Sep
2011
14 Sep
'11
2:57 p.m.
I asssume there's some kind of tempearture control
loop, which didn't
seem to appear in the schematics in said patent.
The temp control loop is built
into the physics of the tip.? The tip alloy
decreases conductivity at lower temps.? A
constant RF current through a coil in the tip induces currents and
heating in the tip.? As the temp rises, conductivity decreases, heating
decreases.? This provides a negative feedback loop allowing a constant tip
temperature to be set at the time of manufacture.? This effect allows the tip to maintain
a constant low temperature, but dump in huge amounts of energy (without increasing temp)
when soldering a bigger joint.? That's also why the RF unit is pretty simple.? I, too,
was surprised that there was no official service manual.? But there is stuff floating
around the net.? I will see if I can dig something up, if there's any interest.
Dave
I am not really supprised, but I might have thought this sort of device
would come with schematics and repair instructions.
After all, I suspect
a large majority of them are bought by electronic engineers who are
quite capable of fixing it.
-tony