So basically a copy of the battery pack T12 devices from China. Well done. You fixed an already fixed problem.
Having used an expensive Metcal, I would like someone to develop that level of performance for less. I want the precise thermostat and high quality tips, but I don’t solder enough to justify the expense. I am happy to see iFixit driving innovation in this market though. Weller needs some real competition.
I have one of these https://webcat.cornwelltools.com/JP213123-Cornwell®-Cordless-Soldering-Iron-p371692246 as well as a traditional wired soldering iron. While I like the cordless soldering iron’s portability and it’s fine for solder cups or solder splicing wire, it’s not adaptable enough for me to use on a PCB or for micro solder and if I’m honest I’d want a micro solder setup for that anyway. I’ve owned expensive soldering irons and cheap ones (my current corded model I believe is one of ifixit’s), the general problem is that I have too many random tips lying around that I don’t know which iron they go to. Some are junk (because the iron broke etc). Some probably could be used interchangeably.
At least with the cordless one the tips are replaceable, and pretty unique in appearance so I know exactly which iron they go to.
The problem with the cordless one is the heat it can generate and the fact that it’s not adjustable. The problem with the corded one is that I have to lug a 50’ extension cord up to every plane to use it, and often there’s not a safe place to put it down while it’s hot so I have to prep every solder cup, joint, splice etc and then plug it in and turn it on. I’ve got stands galore and none of them is the safest.
I’d be willing to try this out just for the sake of the added protections it provides.
Why this instead of an industry-standard station like an entry level Weller? The Wellers got replacement parts, especially tips which are a consumable item. I have the pervious 50W model and it has worked well in any job that can be done with that power level.
In my experience with soldering, the quality of the tip is the most important part. Then the quality of the solder and flux. Then having a set of soldering tools like wick, pump, stripper, and most of all - a third hand. Then temp adjustability. I had a digital solder station before I had those tools and I did almost as shitty solder jobs as I did with the basic Weller soldering iron I had before it. Once I got the ability to keep the parts stable so I can hold the solder in one hand and the iron in the other, introduce the solder at the joing and melt it in-place with the iron, like the manuals say, the quality of the joints went way up. I could even do some functional SMD work using my phone’s macro cam as a microscope.
I love my ifixit precision screwdriver, so I’d be a fan and would try this out.
The thing is once I switched to a butane iron (portable, hot in 20 seconds, awesome fire) I don’t have any interest in anything with a wire coming off of the back of it. battery or no, the wire being in the way is ass and is also crap
edit: maybe it doesnt have a wire?
edit 2: maybe I shoulda read the article before typing? 5 second heat-up time, wow… seeing as I am a fucking idiot and am also very tired, can someone who is smart tell me if the iron has a battery itself? the pack is for recharging the small battery in the pen?
Electronics usually wants to control the temperature range more tightly than a butane soldering iron could do. Fine for plumbing work, though. Electronics soldering irons usually don’t have the thermal mass to handle plumbing work.
My biggest complaint about the ts100, Pinecil, and the iFixit station is that the tips are specialized and rather expensive.
It does not have an internal battery but can use any battery pack that can do 100W output.
I pre-ordered this for a few reasons. One, my experience with butane irons was very different than yours I guess. I hated how long they took and how finicky they were. Then I had to find a safe place to put it while it cooled. This has a cap that can handle the high temp with no issue.
When I need a portable iron it’s to do small quick soldering with long waits in between. This seems perfect for that.
This Antex is about 30 years old, has a heat resistant cap and is still going strong :) Don’t know what they’re like these days but I’d recommend on my experience.
fair enough, thanks for the response.
my ‘extra hands’ station w/ the two alligator clips to hold the subject, magnifying glass w/ led also has a holster for a hot iron, so I pop the hot iron in that after soldering.
the wire coming from the iron, whether it goes to a battery pack or the 250 eur smart battery is still the hangup for me. I build large things with nicrocobntrollers in them, so I need to soldier in super awkward places. a wire connecting the iron to anything is a massive liability.
Id be interested to hear how you get on with it though
Give it a replaceable battery and I might consider it.
It has one
[considering intensifies]
I’ll give it a shot. Seems interesting to have something USB powered that can solder.
Let us know how it works. It sounds pretty cool, but ive been disappointed with battery powered soldering irons.
pinecil can be battery powered too and I’ve had a good time with mine. granted the battery is either a laptop power bank or a drill battery, but it’s still portable enough for me
Tying a rechargeable battery to a single function device seems off-brand for iFixit.
It’s a multi-use battery.
The battery can be used to charge whatever you want. A phone, laptop, headphones, or anything else with USB. Also, the battery is user replaceable and the product repair diagrams are posted online.
IMHO, it looks like they’re practicing what they preach, and it’s all designed for longevity and right to repair.
I edited my original post. Thanks for bringing the pie!
What I want from a battery soldering iron is a field-replaceable 18650 in the handle, not Webserial.
I wonder if you can run it off any USB C PD that will do 100w+ without buying the battery pack. I know my MBP USB C power supply does at least 100, if not more on MagSafe.
USB C PD is a standard so yes, as long as the device you purchase to power it supports 100w PD via USB C then will work.
Ah any reason why Firefox decided not to include WebSerial?
Maybe you don’t want to buy the Station, or you left it at home. In either event, you can simply plug the iron into your computer and configure it via WebSerial.
You’ll need a browser based on Chrome to pull this trick off, as Mozilla has decided (at least, for now) to not include the capability in Firefox. In testing, it worked perfectly on both my Linux desktop and Chromebook.
Unfortunately, plugging the iron into your phone won’t work, as the mobile version of Chrome does not currently support WebSerial. But given the vertical layout of the interface and the big touch-friendly buttons, I can only assume that iFixit is either banking on this changing soon or has a workaround in mind. Being able to plug the iron into your phone for a quick settings tweak would be incredibly handy, so hopefully it will happen one way or another.
The WebSerial interface not only gives you access to all the same settings as plugging the iron into the Power Station does, but it also serves as the mechanism for updating the firmware on the iron.
What does a browser have to do with a soldering iron?
Just download exe
Or better yet, buy something that isn’t as over-engineered as this thing.
Good news, I guess?
https://github.com/kuba2k2/firefox-webserial
I’ve only used it to do some esp32 stuff with homeassistant, but it does work.
I believe this is one of those Google “F it I am going to make this protocol my own way without anyone else’s input” which results in security concerns and also Mozilla prioritizes it being a browser more.
Searching serial looks like this is still the case. There are security and privacy concerns over it.
That Pinecil has a 30 day warranty? Not a lot if confidence in the longevity of their product.
Here in Europe it is sold with a 2 year warranty, but it also cost nearly three times as much (65 euro vs 25,99)
Ts80 that runs on qc3 is also very good. It keeps up with my large soldering station in real world use
This
you’ll need to grab the FixHub Power Station, the company’s new 55Wh battery pack.
Why bother with that when I can use my personal power bank that uses standard easily swappable/replaceable 18650 batteries? (remember those?)
It very much sounds like ifixit are actively asking influencers/reviewers to compare it to at least one of those in the videos.
Which is a little odd to me, since I don’t think it compares favorably vs either. Maybe against the ts80p because it’s significantly lower wattage and more expensive than the other two.
Have they not heard of the TS100 or the Pinecil?
Of course they have.
An iFixit co-founder has been responding to questions over on Hacker News:
Considering that they sell one of those, I’m going to assume they’ve heard of it. ;)
