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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

#321

Post by lostlogin »

_pigpen__ wrote: post #283
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…

>a $40 roll of thin gauge solder (which will last the rest of your life) I dunno, I'm 56 and I'm about to finish the roll I bought as a teenager. (Albeit bought in pre-RoHS times.)

Hopefully your affairs are in order…

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

#322

Post by XorNot »

blahlabs wrote: post #312
pkolaczk wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hakko fx888 is a good quality iron but quite outdated tech. The biggest downside is it doesn’t measure the temperature at the tip, but at the heater.

When I first bought mine I tried to adjust the temperature in what felt like the natural way to do so, without rtfm first of course. Then I quickly learned that I had adjusted the temperature calibration. I reverted what I had done but now I am not confident about the temperature its operating at, at all. Seems a terrible interface design.

Yep I did that too.

I recalibrated by using the thermocouple on my multimeter.

That's not my biggest problem though - my biggest problem has just been keeping tips tinned properly. I've succeeded once, but it constantly feels like a struggle.

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

#323

Post by XorNot »

russdill wrote: post #291
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…

Flux, the secret is more flux.

I haven't found flux to make much a difference at all to the problems I have with soldering. It turns liquid, and nothing happens still - and I've gone through a bunch of fluxes at all brand levels.

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

#324

Post by XorNot »

withinboredom wrote: post #244
Animats wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's cheaper and easier to get a USB microscope and look at a laptop screen than to peer through a binocular microscope. I've used only lead-free solder for a decade. Get the good stuff with some silver in it and it's not difficult.

I usually use my phone zoomed in + flashlight in video recording, and an external macro lens. It probably isn't as good as a usb microscope, but it works really, really well. Looking at videos of people using microscopes, the quality seems to be on-par or worse than my phone.

I have a USB microscope and I'd say my phone on 5x soft-zoom is a pretty similar experience. The main thing is having enough screen size you can see, and a stable platform.

Plus USB scope things are like $80 on AliExpress and work fine.

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

#325

Post by Fwirt »

wvenable wrote: post #207
Fwirt wrote: post #100

Why overcomplicate a simple tool? If you're not soldering professionally and only need it a few times a month, I never see anyone recommend the Hakko FX-600. I couldn't be happier with mine. Heats up in seconds, adjustable temperature, uses standard Hakko tips, and very affordable. And takes up no bench space, you just shove it in your toolbox (with a tip cover) when you're done with it. The only downsides are that i…

I would recommend a TS100 or TS80 over the Hakko FX-600 for occasional hobbyists. Those are both closer in design to the iFixit iron. Digital display, standard (replacable) power connectors, safety features, etc. Even more compact.

Sure, but there’s also less to go wrong with an FX-600. It’s literally a wall jack and an analog switch. No pushbuttons, no displays, no power adapters. Safety features are worth considering but everything else seems unnecessary.

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

#326

Post by riversflow »

xxs wrote: post #304
riversflow wrote: post #190

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 h…

>Easily replaceable commodity batteries with spring terminals are massively superior to packs. Spring terminals would be sub optimal drawing 10A off them as they are made of steel - high resistance. Developing any oxidation would make matters worse. Personally I'd not want 18650/21700 not properly secured (aside the rare case of running a fan with a single cell).

In flashlights they use gold-plated phosphor bronze springs that seem to work well and last.

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

#327

Post by auxym »

BraverHeart wrote: post #318
pkolaczk wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hakko fx888 is a good quality iron but quite outdated tech. The biggest downside is it doesn’t measure the temperature at the tip, but at the heater.

Can you suggest an alternative please?

In the hakko line, fx-951 is the step-up which uses a heater and sensor in the tip (t15/t12 tips).

The alternative, for a hobbyist, would be something like this new iFixit iron, the Pinecil, Miniware TS80/TS100 or one of the variety of chinese irons from amazon and Aliexpress that take Hakko T12 tips (Quicko and similar).

On the high-end, professional side, it's JBC and Metcal. Expensive.

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

#329

Post by mauvehaus »

Kon-Peki wrote: post #299
mauvehaus wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

If you live in a reasonably large metro area that has a lot of good restaurants, there is going to be a small handful of cooking knife sharpeners. A large percentage of professional chefs can't afford/justify good quality sharpening equipment for something that they use a couple times per year. They'll take their knives to these services and pay $5 or $6 per knife, and it will get done to perfection in just a few min…

I live at the literal end of the internet: there are no more poles beyond our house. Surprisingly, one of the hardware stores in the area has a robot knife sharpener. I'm tempted to try it, but the only time I remember is when I'm already there without a knife!

When we were still in the Boston area, a lot of the hardware stores and farmers markets would have a knife sharpening service come one day a month.

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

#330

Post by epiccoleman »

talldayo wrote: post #309
epiccoleman wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh man, I don't need to hear this. When I got my FX-888 I was blown away by the difference between it and the cheapo Radio Shack style one I had muddled through with as a teen. And now, for only $200 or so, I can get something that's another step change? I don't even know when I last soldered and that's still tempting at a deep-seated nerd level.

I can't recommend a Pinecil enough. It's cheap as chips and basically has all the best features of other irons I've used. No complaints, I've half a mind to stockpile them and hand them out as gifts to nerd-inclined friends.

$30? $30?!

You got me. Pinecil is en route. Thanks for the recommendation!

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