| Author |
Message |
k wallace
Guest
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 Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:50 am Post subject:
soldering tool question |
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Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
TIA,
karinne W
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Pooh Bear
Guest
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| Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:07 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
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k wallace wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
|
They're rubbish.
Graham |
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John Popelish
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:17 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
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k wallace wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
TIA,
karinne W
|
I haven't used one yet, but they work by making two electrical
contacts with a conductor, which causes the surface of the resistive
tip to become a heating element. I am doubtful that it is easy to
make two good connections, in the presence of solder flux and odd
surfaces, like component leads sticking through a foil trace pad.
But I might be wrong.
I really like my thermostatically controlled iron.
(one of these)
http://www.web-tronics.com/lesostc.html
The heating element is recessed inside the hollow tip, so the iron
heats up fast, but the handle stays nice and cool.
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JeffM
Guest
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ehsjr
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 9:35 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
|
k wallace wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
TIA,
karinne W
|
Avoid it - it's almost useless.
Ed |
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Rich Grise
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:35 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
|
On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:50:29 -0800, k wallace wrote:
| Quote: | Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
|
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :-)
Those "cold heat" soldering tools are just a hand-held resistance solderer.
What they do is, instead of a tip that heats up, the tip comprises two
electrodes that you press up against the item to be soldered, and it
passes some insane amount of current through the object itself, so that
the component lead (or pad) becomes the heating element.
I wouldn't buy one, and if my Dad (RIP) had offered me one, I'd have said,
"Ah, gee, Dad, I really, really appreciate it, but it seems to me that
it'd make much more sense for you to spend that money on something _you_
need, and then I won't have to buy _you_ a present! :-)"
(AAMOF, my entire family made that agreement some years ago, and it makes
for much, much pleasanter Xmases. :-) Still gotta get trinkets for the
SPMs, though. >:-(
<close paren><new paren>how exactly _are_ you supposed to enclose a smiley
or frowney inside parens, expecially[SIC] at the end of the quip?<close
new paren> ;-)
Cheers!
Rich |
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Rich Grise
Guest
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| Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 1:35 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
|
On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 03:07:44 +0000, Pooh Bear wrote:
| Quote: | k wallace wrote:
Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
They're rubbish.
|
Geez, this is succinct! It took me almost three paragraphs to say the same
thing. What a pedant I am!
Cheers!
Rich |
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k wallace
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:29 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
|
Rich Grise wrote:
| Quote: | On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 17:50:29 -0800, k wallace wrote:
Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for fun
and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty much
limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or broken
stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for Xmas.
Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an "as seen
on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to watch TV, so
hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to think
about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved, but I
don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. :-)
Those "cold heat" soldering tools are just a hand-held resistance solderer.
What they do is, instead of a tip that heats up, the tip comprises two
electrodes that you press up against the item to be soldered, and it
passes some insane amount of current through the object itself, so that
the component lead (or pad) becomes the heating element.
I wouldn't buy one, and if my Dad (RIP) had offered me one, I'd have said,
"Ah, gee, Dad, I really, really appreciate it, but it seems to me that
it'd make much more sense for you to spend that money on something _you_
need, and then I won't have to buy _you_ a present! :-)"
now THAT's a good idea. I suck at shopping. I never know what to get |
anyone, so end up deliberating for hours and coming home with a gift
certificate anyway.
Dunno about smiley/paren interactions. I have found (OT,I know) that in
a word doc, I can't enclose an "R" in parentheses, as it turns itself
into a "registered tm" sign, an R in a circle. Same with "(C)" in a
..doc. Odd 'feature', that.
-thanks for all the feedback re 'coldheat' btw. I won't be trading in my
old tool. It's not hi-tek but it works just fine.
-karinne
| Quote: | (AAMOF, my entire family made that agreement some years ago, and it makes
for much, much pleasanter Xmases. :-) Still gotta get trinkets for the
SPMs, though. >:-(
close paren><new paren>how exactly _are_ you supposed to enclose a smiley
or frowney inside parens, expecially[SIC] at the end of the quip?<close
new paren> ;-)
Cheers!
Rich
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Puckdropper
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:35 am Post subject:
Re: soldering tool question |
|
|
k wallace <wallace.k@engr.orst.edNOSPAMu> wrote in
news:vM-dnakYRZn7qQfenZ2dnUVZ_tadnZ2d@comcast.com:
| Quote: | Hi,
I'm an ME who does occasional RC and robotics projects at home, for
fun and/or with my kids, so my electrical work/experience is pretty
much limited to wiring RC control circuits or rewiring the odd lamp or
broken stereo.
My dad just asked me if I'd like a "cold heat" soldering tool for
Xmas. Never having heard of this, I googled it. I understand it's an
"as seen on TV " type thing, and I never have time/inclination to
watch TV, so hadn't seen any informational commercials re. this thing.
Does it work as advertised? If so, that's darn cool, but I need to
think about this to figure out how. Material properties are involved,
but I don't know what it's made of (yet), so i'm not sure.
bottom line, should I stick w/my old "tried and true" with the
interchangeable tips that i've had for years and suffer the occasional
solder burn, or get one of these jobbies?
any advice/suggestions or inside knowledge?
TIA,
karinne W
|
I've got one... It's good for the first 2-3 connections on fresh
batteries, but after that it's quite bad. I've been considering upping
the voltage (to 9V) and seeing if that works better.
Take the $20 they want for it to Walmart or Radio Shack and get yourself
a butane powered soldering iron if you want wireless.
Puckdropper
--
www.uncreativelabs.net
Old computers are getting to be a lost art. Here at Uncreative Labs, we
still enjoy using the old computers. Sometimes we want to see how far a
particular system can go, other times we use a stock system to remind
ourselves of what we once had.
To email me directly, send a message to puckdropper (at) fastmail.fm |
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neon
Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 580
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| Posted:
Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:45 pm Post subject:
|
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| my added experience is that it lasted 5 min. those tips are ferite or carbon and just like carbon hard but brittle totaly waste of my money for 5 min. i trew mine away. |
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