TS soldering irons are great. I've been giving them as gifts to techie friends, they're all now fans.
the YouTube personality Marco Reps suggested someone should try to tweak the firmware in order to be able to play music when he did a review on these irons long ago, i'm glad someone took up the task.
personally i'd just try to hack a JBC soldering cartridge together with a TS for a real-cheap 'ultimate' soldering iron.. bit then i'd be without tunes, I guess.
I have an iron that plugs directly into the mains, but I stopped using it as soon as I got a Hakko soldering station... Now I only use the old iron to remove hot glue. The advantage of a station is safety, better thermal performance, but more important - the iron is lightweight (as the circuitry is in the station, not the iron) and much easier to work with, especially for soldering or desoldering a difficult component.
I expect these USB irons to be lighter than a mains-powered iron, but I'm not sure.
I wish I could get shovel tips like that in the shorter TS100 form factor, but no luck. I've thought about picking up one of those knockoff stations that takes the T12 tips, specifically one with the FX9501 handle, specifically for the added versatility, but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify. But here's the one I've been looking at: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07PQ1GJZ5/
The native TS100 tips are all over the place. But the ecosystem thereof is still very small.
Comments
TS soldering irons are great. I've been giving them as gifts to techie friends, they're all now fans.
the YouTube personality Marco Reps suggested someone should try to tweak the firmware in order to be able to play music when he did a review on these irons long ago, i'm glad someone took up the task.
personally i'd just try to hack a JBC soldering cartridge together with a TS for a real-cheap 'ultimate' soldering iron.. bit then i'd be without tunes, I guess.
How heavy are these USB soldering irons?
I have an iron that plugs directly into the mains, but I stopped using it as soon as I got a Hakko soldering station... Now I only use the old iron to remove hot glue. The advantage of a station is safety, better thermal performance, but more important - the iron is lightweight (as the circuitry is in the station, not the iron) and much easier to work with, especially for soldering or desoldering a difficult component.
I expect these USB irons to be lighter than a mains-powered iron, but I'm not sure.
I have one, just weighed it 36g without cable, 52 with the entire cable. So real lift will be between the those two, probably closer to 40g
Are the tips more broadly available for purchase at this point?
Yeah, but realistically I only use the BC2 tip. I've also got a TS-I tip in a box somewhere but I've never bothered to get it out.
I picked up a T12 shovel tip, which extends comically far from the handle, but works just fine: https://www.flickr.com/photos/myself248/49284798441/ and https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07V7DY8YQ/
I wish I could get shovel tips like that in the shorter TS100 form factor, but no luck. I've thought about picking up one of those knockoff stations that takes the T12 tips, specifically one with the FX9501 handle, specifically for the added versatility, but I don't think I'd use it enough to justify. But here's the one I've been looking at: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07PQ1GJZ5/
The native TS100 tips are all over the place. But the ecosystem thereof is still very small.
Marco is incredibly knowledgeable and also very very funny. One of my top favorites on Youtube.