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iFixit wants to fix the soldering iron
(www.engadget.com)
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this post was submitted on 12 Sep 2024
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Have they not heard of the TS100 or the Pinecil?
Both run an open-source firmware and work with any USB-C PD battery pack and still allow you to configure the temperature.
Considering that they sell one of those, I’m going to assume they’ve heard of it. ;)
It's very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn't include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don't actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
What they probably meant is they didn’t include a screen because this way they can sell their overpriced battery pack.
It's definitely priced significantly higher than a similar setup from Pine64.
...but it also has some significant advantages and features the Pinecil does indeed lack.
I definitely think the Pinecil is aimed more at hobbyists and this iFixit iron is aimed at people who solder all the time, in other words, not hobbyists.
Since the Pinecil is running IronOS, it’s just a matter of time for it to also get the fall detection. And apart from the LED ring gimmick, I don’t see any huge advantages over IronOS.
I personally see the PD for USB-C being 100W is a significant advantage as the Pinecil tops at 60W from USB-C and you have to search for a traditional barrel-plug power cord to get it to max out at 88W.
100W through USB-C and not even having a different power option seems pretty useful to me. *shrugs
I regularly power both my ts100 and Pinecil with a Milwaukee M18 battery and the barrel connector this is super convenient. The display is also convenient. The fact that you need the battery to set the temp seems numb and completely negates the USBC convenience because it means you can't use any old USBC power source and still change the temperature. The 100w is also pointless because the other two options already heat incredibly fast and have a higher max temperature.
I have a ts100, and the barrel plug is loose enough that it sometimes disconnects in the middle of working and loses its temperature setting. Got a Pinecil to replace it, but haven't used it much yet.
Apparently you can connect the thing to a PC and change the temperature that way
What's wrong with buttons on the device?
You can do that with a Pinecil too, there is a web-bluetooth frontend available for the V2 (the V1 doesn't have Bluetooth).
What a sentence. I really don't like the idea of having to do a firmware update on my soldering iron.
Does it have Bluetooth and a companion app as well?
You do realize that the ifixit solderimg iron also has firmware and that you need to connect it to a computer or their very expensive battery pack to adjust its settings, right?
Yep. I don't think I'll be buying one of those, either.
I'm pretty sure you meant this as a joke, and I laughed at the thought of someone making something as stupid as an app for a soldering iron. But then I thought I'd check. Ugh.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.eduardom.ironos_companion
Oh, I was dead serious. You can get battery drills that come with a fucking app now, I'm not surprised at all it's the same with solder irons.
Power and temp up and down is just too simple, I guess.
Owner of 2 pinecils here, there are buttons and a display that shows the current temperature and other stuff. I only just learned that there's an app, it works more than fine on its own, out of the box.
I got that specific iron because I needed to power it from 12v, and it works very well on the USB PD power supply I already have for my laptop.
That's good to know. I'd quite like to have a soldering iron that I can run from an 18v power tool battery actually.
https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil_Power_Supplies#Tool_Batteries_18V-21V
You don't. It works perfectly fine OOTB. Can't speak for the Pinecil v2 with Bluetooth and the companion app but I have v1 and the software been stable and bug-free enough I've never even given a thought to updating the firmware on it
Firmware was always there in a soldering iron more sophisticated than an old, dumb Radio Shack wall plug iron. That's how you get good temperature control. Pinecil is just letting you modify it officially.
My guess is that the motivation was user feedback and keeping things simple so they’re easier to repair.
Those look pretty cool.
But I'm confused about the marketing around the cpu/ram, etc. Does that really matter for a soldering iron? (Serious question, not being snarky).
I get they're using that tech to make it adjustible/smart, but it's a soldering iron, not a pocket computer.
Is there some way those specs genuinely matter? Or is it just to say "we're using the latest tech to provide controls"?
Smart soldering irons have been around a while, so yes. It is now like a PC and specs matter a little.
One advantage smart irons have is being able to give you a readout of the exact temp of the tip of your soldering iron, something a traditional iron cannot do.
It also needs chips and sensors to do things like auto-off when it is set down.
So the quality and speed of chips affects performance.
Sounds like marketing foo.
I have a 10+ year old Weller station with digital temp adjustment, and I don't recall it having a cpu and ram.
If it has digital temperature control then it has something resembling a CPU and memory. If it's analog then it's probably just not that accurate and will drift over time without manual calibration.
I have a pinecil and direct heat soldering irons blow away non direct heat irons like your weller (and I think this ifixit one). Once you switch you never want to go back. Which is really disappointing because I don't think this new ifix it one is.
So, what's updating the display? Power supply imps?
Digital temp adjustment is different than a sensor that tells you the exact temp at the tip.
Pretty sure any 10+ year old unit is just setting a temp, not telling you the actual temp through a measurement.
The Weller WESD51 sets the temp at the tip and mine has done that since I bought it in 2016. A look at a datasheet dates it back to 2006 but it could be older. By definition that means it has to know what the tip temp is. As it heats up the digital display tracks the temp going up.
Of course they have.
An iFixit co-founder has been responding to questions over on Hacker News:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41521919
I love my Pinecil V2. It was cheaper than my 40W entry level Weller station and heats up way faster. I run it off my Anker USB power supply and also my Anker USB power bank. The power bank only outputs 30 or 40 watts though so I might upgrade that in the future. High wattage power banks are expensive though :/
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)
My pinecil has lasted for years.
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.
The TS80P is lower wattage, technically, but the heating element is right up at the very tip, instead of having a heating element inside the handle with a long metal piece transmitting the heat. It gets hot way faster than you’d expect, it doesn’t feel like 30W at all.
It punches way, way above its weight. Unless you’re soldering pipes, comparing the wattage to traditional irons is misleading. Love that tiny thing.
Only problem is that this design necessitates proprietary tips that are relatively expensive. Not a fan of that, coming from the no name Global South Especiale 2$ firestarter irons that are the norm where I am. Not the end of the world, but worth keeping in mind.
The one I bought came with a USB-C cable that couldn’t handle the current though. That was the only real red flag. Shame too, that cable seemed like it was silicone coated and would have been ideal.
Yeah I have a ts80p but it struggles with what I usually solder so I've replaced it with a pinecilV2 for mobile soldering which I've been happier with.
Ts80 that runs on qc3 is also very good. It keeps up with my large soldering station in real world use