[ramg]

Pinecil: Would you recommend this if the soldering job were more than just a few wires (e.g. circuit assembly)? I've had a couple of cordless soldering irons in the past and they were a bust - took too long to heat up, didn't hold their temp very well.

[johnwalkr]

Yes, for any basic PCB assembly it works as well as, if not better than my Hakko 888 (70W) and TS100 (60W). It also works as well as the $2000 soldering station I have access at work (admittedly that has a lot more features such as desoldering).

It's not cordless/battery power but rather uses usb-c power delivery directly. It's up to 60W on "normal" usb-c, but supports up to 88W with newer usb-c standards your charger probably doesn't support. I think even higher if you really want to push it. Even using it at 45W with a usb-c battery pack, it heats up in a few seconds. And since it has an OLED screen, you can understand what power it's getting with your battery pack and change settings like temperature and idle temperature easily.

It's also based on RISC-V and you can get a $4 breakout board to turn it into a dev kit.

Finally, it's $26. Don't forget to add a high-temp silicon cable ($3.50) and extra tips (4 for $25). I'm so excited just writing about this I think I am going to buy 5 or so as go-to gifts for nerdy people.

[ramg]

John, thanks for the detailed write-up. Much appreciated. Unfortunately, they are out of stock now. I have the tab pinned and will refresh it daily until it's available. Did you order the last 5? :-)

I have a Hakko 888 as well and while I like it, there's a bit of a set up as I'm limited on space. So when you said it's as good as your Hakko, you sold me on it.

[johnwalkr]

It wasn’t me! Also noticed they are out of stock.