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I really don't understand how that can actually be a good iron in any way, shape or form. I've been doing hobby and production soldering for about 25 years. Wh

by cjsuk 9y ago

I really don't understand how that can actually be a good iron in any way, shape or form. I've been doing hobby and production soldering for about 25 years. What you need is an iron that will stay at 700oF whatever you throw at it tip or workpiece related. That means power, lots of it. That doesn't come from USB. Considering my current iron is a 50W Weller TCP, that can switch between soldering 0805 packages immediately followed by large tag terminal capacitors and ground planes without have to do anything, change any settings etc. You don't even have to change tip with the chisel. Soldering irons also take a heavy battering when you use them as well. The above Weller is 20 years old and looks and works good as new. I really can't see that working for very long. I just don't understand why the product exists really. If I was in the market you can pick up a whole Weller TCP station for less cash second hand. This is just a flashy toy.

oliwarner 9y ago
> That doesn't come from USB. No, it comes from the 12-24V power supply you plug into the back of it. It's a ~65W iron. No apologies for sounding snotty here. You don't know what it is, haven't seen one, haven't used one but you're already ready to crap all over it. Try one. It's full of silly novelties that I'm sure you'll hate but it doesn't take much to improve the usability of a dumb thermocontrolled soldering station and I —along with much of the internet— believe the TS100 does enough to be better. It's also dirt cheap to buy and run.
- cjsuk 9y ago
  Fair point about the power. Retracted. Reading reviews, the handle is slippery, a lot of them arrive with defective temperature control, the tip isn't grounded with Y2 leakage from mains on it. Its still junk.
  - oliwarner 9y ago
    I've had no issue with temperature or the handling. It's near-impossible for either of us to quantitatively assess how frequent these issues are so I won't dispute whether or not you've seen a "lot" of complaints. The power supply is junk. A nasty, unearthed, noisy switch-mode PSU, like every other low-output, low-cost PSU out there. There is a grounding pin on the iron itself but it's not ideal to rely on. But many remedies do exist. I suspect you have a grounded, linear bench power supply right next to your existing soldering station. That'll do. Even a cheap earthed PSU would do better. And many people use battery packs to great effect.
    - alexktz 9y ago
      i use mine the field to perform repairs on my racing drone. it is 100x's better than any normal soldering iron in this situation because i can 1) fit it in my bag at about the size of a pencil 2) power it off an existing lipo i already have with me. the best camera is the one that you have with you. same goes for irons. how this dweeb can rate something as junk without having ever used it is beyond me. i've been pleasantly surprised at how capable it is ever since purchase.
zsellera 9y ago
It's not an USB iron, but powered by a separate power jack, anywhere between 12-24V; at 24V it maxes out around 65W. As the heater block is integrated to the tip itself, you get better thermal characteristics (quicker heatup / less thermal runaway). Search youtube for comparisons to Weller/Hakko irons, there are a few.
emodendroket 9y ago
Probably better than the cheap Radio Shack iron I've used to do all my projects.
- moron4hire 9y ago
  Oh man, life got significantly better for me when I threw that one out and bought a Hakko with temperature control. I didn't realize just how much of the difficulty I was having with soldering was from using a junky iron. I think it's worth the price for even light users. Infrequent use means they're not getting very much practice to know what to expect with a cheapo iron and how to make do with it.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    I started to get flummoxed by some of the projects I was doing and find them impossible but I had no idea the type of iron I was using was junk at the time. lol

by cjsuk 9y ago

oliwarner 9y ago

> That doesn't come from USB. No, it comes from the 12-24V power supply you plug into the back of it. It's a ~65W iron. No apologies for sounding snotty here. You don't know what it is, haven't seen one, haven't used one but you're already ready to crap all over it. Try one. It's full of silly novelties that I'm sure you'll hate but it doesn't take much to improve the usability of a dumb thermocontrolled soldering station and I —along with much of the internet— believe the TS100 does enough to be better. It's also dirt cheap to buy and run.

cjsuk 9y ago
Fair point about the power. Retracted. Reading reviews, the handle is slippery, a lot of them arrive with defective temperature control, the tip isn't grounded with Y2 leakage from mains on it. Its still junk.
- oliwarner 9y ago
  I've had no issue with temperature or the handling. It's near-impossible for either of us to quantitatively assess how frequent these issues are so I won't dispute whether or not you've seen a "lot" of complaints. The power supply is junk. A nasty, unearthed, noisy switch-mode PSU, like every other low-output, low-cost PSU out there. There is a grounding pin on the iron itself but it's not ideal to rely on. But many remedies do exist. I suspect you have a grounded, linear bench power supply right next to your existing soldering station. That'll do. Even a cheap earthed PSU would do better. And many people use battery packs to great effect.
  - alexktz 9y ago
    i use mine the field to perform repairs on my racing drone. it is 100x's better than any normal soldering iron in this situation because i can 1) fit it in my bag at about the size of a pencil 2) power it off an existing lipo i already have with me. the best camera is the one that you have with you. same goes for irons. how this dweeb can rate something as junk without having ever used it is beyond me. i've been pleasantly surprised at how capable it is ever since purchase.

zsellera 9y ago

It's not an USB iron, but powered by a separate power jack, anywhere between 12-24V; at 24V it maxes out around 65W. As the heater block is integrated to the tip itself, you get better thermal characteristics (quicker heatup / less thermal runaway). Search youtube for comparisons to Weller/Hakko irons, there are a few.

emodendroket 9y ago

Probably better than the cheap Radio Shack iron I've used to do all my projects.

moron4hire 9y ago
Oh man, life got significantly better for me when I threw that one out and bought a Hakko with temperature control. I didn't realize just how much of the difficulty I was having with soldering was from using a junky iron. I think it's worth the price for even light users. Infrequent use means they're not getting very much practice to know what to expect with a cheapo iron and how to make do with it.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  I started to get flummoxed by some of the projects I was doing and find them impossible but I had no idea the type of iron I was using was junk at the time. lol