Cool inespensive soldering iron

[C855B]

The "convenience" of remote access is a necessity in my case. Accordingly, I replaced the Nest with an ecobee, after a back-and-forth with their tech support specifically about firmware pushes. They are a Canadian company, so they have firsthand experience with "the heat must work", and not the "...whatever..." of a bunch of overpaid coder/slackers based in balmy Silicon Valley.

Obviously I haven't completely written-off IoT, but that thermostat is now the only such device. I learned about "mothership" issues from the Phillips Hue lightbulb system; I was briefly a developer. I do have a couple of those round-dial mercury-bulb 'stats in my electrical jump kit and was prepared to wire one up in lieu of the Nest. I still have them in case the ecobee thermostat OR the company OR their mothership support goes tits-up. Are they going to be there 10, 15 or 20 years from now? Will they be acquired by, say, Amazon or Google, with their vested interests in commodifying every microscopic detail of your life?

Hacking possibility was in fact an issue with the Hue bulbs. The mesh network they used was surprisingly non-secure, and there were instances of screwing around from the mesh side and back into the local hub, then into the firewalled side of an intranet.

But... point taken. If I wanted to take on another project, I could relatively easily build my own smart thermostat around a Raspberry Pi or Arduino, give it its own IP behind the already-existing security at the layout studio, and have the same degree of remote control without external dependencies. I can already control the layout and the over-the-top lighting system from home via remote desktop, all I lack (at the moment!) is a remote camera view of the layout. Besides, the best cybersecurity is a one-off custom system that just anybody from the outside is very unlikely to know exists. "Security through obscurity" is a legitimate firewall.

[If I were the entrepreneurial type - I'm not - my dream would be to build a product and company around disconnecting from the various motherships. It would be some sort of black-box server that lives on your side of your internet connection and provides services that normally live in "the cloud", including external access. Google, et al, would fight this tooth and nail and cite DMCA at every turn, so 90% of the budget would be the legal department. Doesn't sound like fun, unless "gotcha!" to the big tech companies is your idea of fun.    ]

[CNscale]

Is 'cool' an attribute you want your soldering iron to have?
Although I suppose that's what you would expect from one that's inexpensive.

[nkalanaga]

I can see where a "cool" soldering iron could be handy.  How about distressing hoppers and gons without melting big globs of plastic?  Or "soldering" plastic parts?

But, no, a "cool" soldering iron should be "hot", which further illustrates the oddities of the English language.

[peteski]

I can see where a "cool" soldering iron could be handy.  How about distressing hoppers and gons without melting big globs of plastic?  Or "soldering" plastic parts?

But, no, a "cool" soldering iron should be "hot", which further illustrates the oddities of the English language.

"Cool" being used to describe something nice or exciting is slang.  Not sure of the origins - probably sometime in the '50s or '60s.  Other words could be substituted, like "neat" or "pfat" (and probably others), depending on the time period.  Heck, something "coo" can be "hot", as in "Hey dude, this new iron is hot".  As a non-native English speaker I have noticed that English is a strange language, but so is Polish, the language I grew up with.

Most adjustable-temperature soldering irons can be adjusted down to a temperature that will just soften plastic. There is nothing "hot" 'about that. 

[Iain]

Compared with my previous iron experience, which was a standard plug into the wall and you get the temperature you get, this thing is pretty nifty.  It's temperature controlled, and does the thing where it shuts off if you leave it in the stand for a bit, but comes back up to temp between the time I pick it up and the moment I am actually ready to use it.

No, it does not need an internent connect to function.

I had always wanted one of those shiny pro high end soldering stations.  This gives you the same features but under $100.

One thing I've always liked doing is using different solders for different steps in the assembly process.  With my old iron, since it had one temp, that was rather more tricky.  Now I can set to the melting point of the solder I'm using and not have to worry about melting solder I've already applied elsewhere on the project.

[MK]

This is a pretty "cool" ( ) iron.  It's actually been around for a few months if not more than a year.  The RC airplane guys have raved about it and keep it in their field toolbox.  They power it with their same flight battery packs.

I don't own one as I try to get my electrical correct before bringing my planes to the flying field.   

[reinhardtjh]

This is a pretty "cool" ( ) iron.  It's actually been around for a few months if not more than a year.  The RC airplane guys have raved about it and keep it in their field toolbox.  They power it with their same flight battery packs.

I don't own one as I try to get my electrical correct before bringing my planes to the flying field.   

Googling, I see references going back to 2017 so it's been around a while.

It's pretty popular with the R/C crowd as it can be powered by a DC battery supply between 12 and 24v.  If I didn't already have a PACE ST50 or if the hand piece wasn't already pretty light and maneuverable, then it would be an interesting item for the workbench.  If all I had was the old pencil type plug in then it would be a possible step up for DCC and electronics work.  It might still be a good fit for doing delicate soldering on the layout since a small P/S is available.

[mmagliaro]

Compared with my previous iron experience, which was a standard plug into the wall and you get the temperature you get, this thing is pretty nifty.  It's temperature controlled, and does the thing where it shuts off if you leave it in the stand for a bit, but comes back up to temp between the time I pick it up and the moment I am actually ready to use it.

No, it does not need an internent connect to function.

I had always wanted one of those shiny pro high end soldering stations.  This gives you the same features but under $100.

One thing I've always liked doing is using different solders for different steps in the assembly process.  With my old iron, since it had one temp, that was rather more tricky.  Now I can set to the melting point of the solder I'm using and not have to worry about melting solder I've already applied elsewhere on the project.

I don't mean to "bash" your tool.  I am glad if it works well for you.  I just want to stress that stations with these features were always around for about 100 bucks.   The WES51 that I (and few others) posted photos of, does all those things: temp control, shuts off if you leave it in the stand and comes right back up when you pick it up and start using it again.  It cost me about $75 when I bought it.  The digital read-out version they sell now, the WE1010NA, is about $110.   It isn't necessary to spend $300 or $500 on a high-end soldering station to get accurate temperatures and good on/off control.