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Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

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Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#181

Post by Larrikin »

dpedu wrote: post #167
kwiens wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. It's kind of like a chef's knife: a better tool makes you a better chef. A sharp knife is also quite a bit safer than a dull knife. By heating to operating temperature in 5 seconds and rapidly pouring heat into the material, you don't have to hold the hot iron as long. As soon as you're done, pop on the safety cap and instantly shield the hot metal. Soldering isn't remotely mainstream, and part of that is the…

I am completely confused by your example. Buying a better knife doesn't make you a better chef. Buying a faster car doesn't make you a better driver. Buying a more powerful laptop doesn't make you a better developer.

Do you cook? There are dozens of obvious examples. A crappy knife will tear instead of cut. You'll ruin tomatoes, have uneven dices, crush and smear delicate herbs, have ripped apart meat and fish that you'll destroy more trying to get rid of the trim. That's not counting the downtime you'll have when the knife slips instead of cuts and you can't cook at all due to injury.

Giving an expensive knife to a new cook that has never cooked before will not make them a Michelin chef, but their progress will be faster when they don't have the knife working against them.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#182

Post by lelandfe »

dpedu wrote: post #175
lelandfe wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My dull chef's knife got caught when I chopping an onion and nearly lopped my fingertip off. I was not a very good chef that night.

I'm not sure what that has to do with better vs worse tools. Expensive knives get dull too. Good chefs, on the other hand, keep their equipment in working order regardless of its value.

A dull knife is a worse tool.

You’re getting awfully literal, though.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#183

Post by geerlingguy »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #179
samatman wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a Firefox problem, not an iFixit problem.

What feature is Firefox lacking? It would be nice if the error message was more specific, rather than referring you straight to Google or Microsoft for their latest spyware.

WebSerial in this instance, and it's also not on Safari on Mac.

It's a convenience but I'm happy using CoolTerm on my Mac or launching Chrome if I need some WebSerial feature like in-browser flashing of my Meshtastic nodes.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#184

Post by Kirby64 »

kube-system wrote: post #151
Zak wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The Sony VTC6, for example is rated to deliver up to 30A with temperature monitoring to ensure it doesn't exceed 80C. At 3.0V (partially discharged and with voltage sag from the load), that's 90W. I don't actually need 90W in the application I have in mind. I'd be more than happy with 60, and there are quite a few 18650 cells that can do 20A comfortably. Runtime at full power would be short of course, but I don'…

> Max. discharge current vs. time: 30A-40A > 44s I figure that might be workable for a few power cycles and a few big solder joints, but it would probably be a frustrating experience for anything more than quick fixes in the field.

If you're using full power for longer than 40 seconds, you're almost certainly doing something wrong (or, need to switch to a chunkier soldering iron). At a certain point, the limiting factor becomes how quickly you can transfer heat from the iron into the solder, and you won't pull 100W anymore.

I have a JBC iron capable of 130W. It never pulls 130W, even on extremely chunky power planes, besides when initially heating up (on startup). When trying to heat some super thick, I can watch the power meter max out at ~70W (and it pulses 70W, not continously). And this is on a thick tip, far chunkier than what I see from iFixit.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#185

Post by mauvehaus »

kwiens wrote: post #129
cruffle_duffle wrote: post #76

Soldering is one of those things where the tools you use have a direct impact on the quality and enjoyment of the work. Shitty $20 soldering irons from Home Depot not only produce awful results but they are incredibly frustrating. I’m pretty sure most people who think they suck at soldering and hate it only feel that way because their tool sucks. A good quality soldering iron and high quality, thin solder make a huge…

Agree. It's kind of like a chef's knife: a better tool makes you a better chef. A sharp knife is also quite a bit safer than a dull knife. By heating to operating temperature in 5 seconds and rapidly pouring heat into the material, you don't have to hold the hot iron as long. As soon as you're done, pop on the safety cap and instantly shield the hot metal. Soldering isn't remotely mainstream, and part of that is the…

For all edge tools be they for cooking, woodworking, forestry or something else: buy steel, not sharp. Henkels, Lie-Nielsen, Gransfors Bruk, Victorinox, or Stanley is only going to sharpen it for you once.

Corollary: learn to sharpen. The best steel in the world isn't going to cut anything if it's dull.

For the record, I sharpen chisels almost daily and I hate sharpening kitchen knives. The carbides set at the right angle in the handle you pull down the length of the blade will keep your knives a lot sharper than a set of Japanese water stones you never use.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#186

Post by crote »

kwiens wrote: post #102
thesh4d0w wrote: post #62

The 100w and heat resistant storage caps are nice, but that battery pack pricing and the lack of on-device controls makes this not an option for me. $110 cad for the soldering iron is semi-reasonable, if a bit high compared to their competitors. $342 for the iron + battery means that's a $230 battery pack, which is absolutely insane. Requiring the battery pack to be able to easily change controls means anyone doing m…

We designed the system to work for people at a variety of price points. If you just buy the iron, you have access to all the settings in our web console: https://www.ifixit.com/fixhub/console The iron persists settings when you unplug it. You can change the sleep timer and timeout, set target temperatures, calibrate the accelerometer, and more. The Power Station is nice to have, but you don't lose any functionality w…

> If you just buy the iron, you have access to all the settings in our web console: https://www.ifixit.com/fixhub/console

So how are you supposed to actually use that? I don't think there are any computers out there which can provide 100W out of their USB ports.

Am I supposed to unplug the iron from its power supply, plug it into a computer, change the temperature, unplug it, plug the power supply back in, wait for it to heat up, and finally continue soldering? That's awkward enough that even a crappy proprietary smartphone app would've been better!

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#187

Post by NoNotTheDuo »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #179
samatman wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a Firefox problem, not an iFixit problem.

What feature is Firefox lacking? It would be nice if the error message was more specific, rather than referring you straight to Google or Microsoft for their latest spyware.

> We used Web Serial https://caniuse.com/web-serial for the interface, which is only supported in Chromium browsers.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#188

Post by schmidtleonard »

arcanemachiner wrote: post #168
luqtas wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

dunno. my first ever soldering project was a handwired keyboard. i was popcorning when i finished. it was my first time using a mechanical switch keyboard too. not bad... 2° project, right after finishing the keyboard was soldering a PMW3360 sensor to someone's board from Github. it was a freaking blast on my 40W, 40 BRL (~ 8 USD) solder i still have it & i'm selling handwired keyboards at a very cheap price (made wi…

Popcorning: "the happy little jump that guinea pigs give when they are full of joy" In case anyone else was wondering.

Oh good. In the context of soldering "popcorning" typically means explosive steam formation that puffs up the package a part, often an expensive part because bigger / more complicated packaging is a risk factor. I was having trouble making that fit with the rest of the post.

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#189

Post by 0x1ch »

talldayo wrote: post #131
cruffle_duffle wrote: post #76

Soldering is one of those things where the tools you use have a direct impact on the quality and enjoyment of the work. Shitty $20 soldering irons from Home Depot not only produce awful results but they are incredibly frustrating. I’m pretty sure most people who think they suck at soldering and hate it only feel that way because their tool sucks. A good quality soldering iron and high quality, thin solder make a huge…

You're correct that some soldering irons (especially uber-cheap ones) are shit, but Pinecil proves cheap can also be good. Past a certain point, soldering becomes a hobby about how dangerous you're willing to get to make things easier on yourself. You can swap out non-toxic solder for lead trace if you want a cleaner board; then there are high-wattage irons, board reflow/fluxing, and even all sorts of scale-specific…

You seen knowledgeable. I've used leaded solder in my bedroom / apartments since community college, usually with a fan in the room or a window open. What damage could have or has happened?

Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system

#190

Post by riversflow »

I'm going to go ahead and sling mud at iFixit for using a Battery pack instead of individual cells and springs. It also doesn't seem that this expensive power supply supports power pass-through. A soldering iron shouldn't have a shelf life. Easily replaceable commodity batteries with spring terminals are massively superior to packs. What a gross product that makes me think significantly less of iFixit.

They seem to have gotten so caught up in the "things should be repairable" that they've forgotten the true thing most people care about is, "I shouldn't have to replace my stuff". They are acting like parts salesmen, not consumer advocates.

$200(? looks like you get the iron when you buy the power supply) would be a fair price for the base if it allowed me to charge and use any 6 18650s(bonus points if it can accept a variety of cell sizes) as a power bank and had circuitry to do pass through as well as charging. It would also be nice if you could use it charge batteries to a specified amount, and use custom charge patterns. Considering this is iFixit, it should also have a way to use it as a DC power supply as well. $250 for a glorified power brick is pathetic.

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