USB Soldering Iron?  For real??? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: dbillings
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 08, 2016, 06:01:33 pm
content: Anyone used on of these? I have a hard time believing you can solder anything with something with so little power.http://hackaday.com/2016/04/25/usb-soldering-iron-is-surprisingly-capable/

author: Chalcogenide
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2016, 06:12:14 pm
content: I bought one after watching thie same video from bigclive. I only did a very quick test on a protoboard, and it does melt solder fairly quickly. I had no problem soldering a couple of resistors.I will definitely put it in the "emergency" kit from when I am away from home. A note: it really draws 8W (measured) so I wouldn't plug it into a computer and 1A power supplies do not work at all - a 2A supply is needed.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 08, 2016, 07:53:27 pm
content: I think Mike has a video of some of these here:If you have a power bank with you, it could be a reasonable field tool.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2016, 12:19:26 am
content: Weller makes a small iron powered from 3x AA cells. It also runs at 8W. The heater element is actually right inside the tip, and the iron "shaft" is simply a hollow tube to minimize heat transfer away from the tip.It's powerful enough for protoboard or pcb work, but no way it will work to solder heatsinks or thick ground planes or large gauge copper wire. It can probably splice up to 22 gauge wire with good technique, before it will start to struggle.As you struggle to make larger joints, what you do is let the tiny tip get up to insanely high temps (per instructions, it gets up to 950F), then quickly reflow your joint. Or half of it... then do it again to finish the rest.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2016, 11:00:43 pm
content: Well, these irons are not made for a day to day soldering. More like an emergency field repair tool - solder a broken wire back in place or fix a connector on a stage somewhere. So that it is unable to solder a heatsink or a large groundplane is not necessarily an issue in such environments.

author: System Error Message
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2016, 12:46:15 am
content: i ordered something like this that was on kickstarter but it is a multi tool that is actually focused to being a manual 3D printer pen rather.Heres the linkhttp://3dsimo.com/. Mine still hasnt arrived or shipped yet but i hope they ship it out soon. Lots of useful tools i need from it and the portability of it with the battery pack. At least this one is adjustable so you can change tips and adjust temperature unlike many of the other usb soldering irons out there. It is the 3d simo mini that is the highlight rather than the bulky pen they already have.

author: KL27x
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 10, 2016, 09:30:38 pm
content: Hmmm..... Since USB only guarantees 2.5W, I dunno how the iron is supposed to work from a regular USB port.

author: System Error Message
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2016, 12:10:19 am
content: Quote from: KL27x on July 10, 2016, 09:30:38 pmUSB isnt necessarily 2.5W, it varies based on version and implementation.The standards are:USB1 - 100mA i think.USB2 - 500mAUSB3 - 1500mACustom implementations however are different and they usually have either some sort of chip to negotiate power or just shorting out the data pins so the device know its a charger. These can provide many amps as they only use the USB as a form factor and mainly just to provide 5V DC. This means that devices can work with lots of power and still be able to communicate using USB. There are even cables that connect to multiple USB ports to draw more amps.The other thing about soldering irons is that wattage doesnt always tell the whole story. In order to melt solder you first need A) a minimum temperature and B) enough energy flow that the energy transfer between soldering iron to solder and environment isnt more than the wattage rating of the soldering iron itself. So some soldering irons have high wattages not to always be using that wattage but as a way to heat up quick to a set temperature. Only a few watts is used to keep the soldering iron at that temperature.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2016, 09:00:45 am
content: Quote from: KL27x on July 10, 2016, 09:30:38 pmSo you plug it into a 2A charger. It is not 2.5W BTW, worst case if everyone would follow specification, it would be 100mA without communication, and 4.5V worst case.

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 12, 2016, 08:04:33 pm
content: Quote from: System Error Message on July 11, 2016, 12:10:19 amNope, that's not really correct.USB1.x ports allow 500mA, however, you are supposed to negotiate anything above 100mA. In most cases nothing bad will happen and you can draw up to 500mA even without negotiation. In the worst case, e.g. when connected through bus-powered hub, the device will not work. Higher current draw will also likely trip the over-current protection on the port.USB 2.x is the same as 1.x by default. There are ways to obtain higher current, but you must negotiate it first, otherwise the upstream hub/host will shut the port off due to overloading. USB 2.0 has "Battery charging specification" part that allows 1.5A draw for unconfigured devices (aka not talking to the host, only using some resistors to tell the host to about the charging spec compatibility) and up to 5A after negotiation.USB 3.x allows also 1.5A but only when no communication is going on (USB 2.0 allows communication) and drops the 5A possibility of USB 2.x, even though the connectors must be able to handle 5A. On the other hand, low and high power devices get 150mA and 900mA instead of 100 and 500mA defaults.There are also differences for the USB-C spec (the C type connector).

author: ulix
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 08:41:43 am
content: Well,has anyone tested this ebay butane soldering irons? I wanted one as small kid, but a lot of people said they are not so good and the are expensive.Now I found one on ebay...http://www.ebay.com/itm/1300-C-Butane-Gas-Blow-Torch-Solder-Iron-Gun-Cordless-Woolelding-Pen-Burner-New-/121580790255?hash=item1c4ec7a1ef:g:qKwAAOSwq7JT3yqC

author: Cyberdragon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2016, 05:09:36 pm
content: I would prefer an Iso-Tip portable iron, I just wish they would switch over to lithium instead of Ni-Cads (or Ni-MH).