Interesting that new products are shipping 'relying' Web Serial, given it's tenuous position as a web standard.
Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
71–80 of 415 posts
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#72Every time I see a soldering iron use a 3.5mm headphone jack for the tips, some dark dumb part of my brain wants to plug a pair of headphones into it to see what happens.
Results vary depending on the phone.
EDIT: I take the following back. The actual cable is USB-USB. The P2 connector links directly to the heated head, what is perfectly equivalent to "labeled".
But yeah, people that design products, please if you make a non-standard use of a standard connector, label it.
I would absolutely not buy this because that USB-P2 cable will mix with every other thing that thought was a good idea to use an unlabeled USB-P2 cable that only God knows whether they are compatible or not. (Common sense would imply they are, but common sense already flew out of the window long ago when you see a cable like that.)
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#73WebSerial is indeed a bummer. I hate having to switch browsers to configure QMK keyboards or doing some ESP32 stuff, and need something that will work in Safari and Firefox (or a cross-platform app that doesn't suck).
Eh, I'm mostly just sad Firefox hasn't implemented it yet. I daily drive Firefox, but switching browsers temporarily still beats installing single-use applications with full local machine permissions by a huge margin. So I've been opting for building web serial companion apps on my own projects as well and it's great (besides Firefox)!
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#74Thanks for using real buck converter, unlike many other type-c soldering irons. Hope this helps achieve full USB PD power range.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#75i literally just bought a pinecil and usb-c battery pack (with carry case) to make basically a DIY version of this three weeks ago, but would have gotten this one instead if it existed back then after a few days trying to turn that into a daily driver however, i've had to go back to my weller desktop station, for one weird reason: i dont have anywhere to put the hot iron in between uses! i dont know if it's just me,…
Yes! You need a way to pull the iron out and put it away quickly.
Our cap is just a game changer there. You handle it more like a Sharpie than a soldering iron. Put the cap on and stick it back in your bag. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GXR8kMVbgAEeRgd?format=jpg&name=...
I set the motion timer on mine to 5 seconds. It heats up so quickly when you pick it back up that there's no reason to bother with the power switch. By the time I have it back at the joint, it's at temperature ready to go.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#76Soldering 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, huge difference in output.
If your experience with soldering is one of those cheap flimsy $30 dollar things from Amazon paired with fat, chunky solder… yeah you will hate soldering and you’ll never get even remotely good results. You don’t need to spend $500 dollar or anything but something like what is in this post and a $40 roll of thin gauge solder (which will last the rest of your life) will make soldering actually fun and enjoyable.
…I should also mention a solid, heavy parts holder factors into this as well.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#77i literally just bought a pinecil and usb-c battery pack (with carry case) to make basically a DIY version of this three weeks ago, but would have gotten this one instead if it existed back then after a few days trying to turn that into a daily driver however, i've had to go back to my weller desktop station, for one weird reason: i dont have anywhere to put the hot iron in between uses! i dont know if it's just me,…
I've been using a small glass jar and just sticking it into the jar while it's hot.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
We'll have a range of tips. Hitting the high performance we wanted, with 100 Watt output in a small iron, required really optimizing the entire system. The heating element and temperature sensor are in the tip itself. We really see JBC as our competition here. Performance and responsiveness should be comparable or better, at a fraction of the price.
I was gonna point out the same thing as the parent about the tips but figured that what you said must be true. Those existing tips were meant for specific power and whatnot… y’all needed to do your own thing to meet your higher, different specifications.
I would be surprised if TS100 style tips couldn't do that power output. Folks have gotten the Pinceil to 140W with the right power supply.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#79Looks much like the pinecil [0] (which I love btw if I have no acess to decent equipment) but with Webinterface ?!? Love the look though. [0] https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-solde...
Pinecil can not deliver actual 100w, and most chinese type-c handles can neither. This one uses real buck converter which can help with this problem.
Re: Show HN: iFixit created a new USB-C, repairable soldering system
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was gonna point out the same thing as the parent about the tips but figured that what you said must be true. Those existing tips were meant for specific power and whatnot… y’all needed to do your own thing to meet your higher, different specifications.
I would be surprised if TS100 style tips couldn't do that power output. Folks have gotten the Pinceil to 140W with the right power supply.
These 140w are peak power, only in specific cases. To have useful power at all times you need to perfectly match supply voltage to i-v curve of your tip. Which pinecil (due to its schematic) cannot do.