Smart soldering irons have been around a while, so yes. It is now like a PC and specs matter a little.
One advantage smart irons have is being able to give you a readout of the exact temp of the tip of your soldering iron, something a traditional iron cannot do.
It also needs chips and sensors to do things like auto-off when it is set down.
So the quality and speed of chips affects performance.
It’s very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn’t include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don’t actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
It’s definitely priced significantly higher than a similar setup from Pine64.
…but it also has some significant advantages and features the Pinecil does indeed lack.
I definitely think the Pinecil is aimed more at hobbyists and this iFixit iron is aimed at people who solder all the time, in other words, not hobbyists.
Since the Pinecil is running IronOS, it’s just a matter of time for it to also get the fall detection. And apart from the LED ring gimmick, I don’t see any huge advantages over IronOS.
I personally see the PD for USB-C being 100W is a significant advantage as the Pinecil tops at 60W from USB-C and you have to search for a traditional barrel-plug power cord to get it to max out at 88W.
100W through USB-C and not even having a different power option seems pretty useful to me. *shrugs
I regularly power both my ts100 and Pinecil with a Milwaukee M18 battery and the barrel connector this is super convenient. The display is also convenient. The fact that you need the battery to set the temp seems numb and completely negates the USBC convenience because it means you can’t use any old USBC power source and still change the temperature. The 100w is also pointless because the other two options already heat incredibly fast and have a higher max temperature.
Firmware was always there in a soldering iron more sophisticated than an old, dumb Radio Shack wall plug iron. That’s how you get good temperature control. Pinecil is just letting you modify it officially.
I’m pretty sure you meant this as a joke, and I laughed at the thought of someone making something as stupid as an app for a soldering iron. But then I thought I’d check. Ugh.
Have they not heard of the TS100 or the Pinecil?
Both run an open-source firmware and work with any USB-C PD battery pack and still allow you to configure the temperature.
Those look pretty cool.
But I’m confused about the marketing around the cpu/ram, etc. Does that really matter for a soldering iron? (Serious question, not being snarky).
I get they’re using that tech to make it adjustible/smart, but it’s a soldering iron, not a pocket computer.
Is there some way those specs genuinely matter? Or is it just to say “we’re using the latest tech to provide controls”?
Smart soldering irons have been around a while, so yes. It is now like a PC and specs matter a little.
One advantage smart irons have is being able to give you a readout of the exact temp of the tip of your soldering iron, something a traditional iron cannot do.
It also needs chips and sensors to do things like auto-off when it is set down.
So the quality and speed of chips affects performance.
Sounds like marketing foo.
I have a 10+ year old Weller station with digital temp adjustment, and I don’t recall it having a cpu and ram.
So, what’s updating the display? Power supply imps?
Digital temp adjustment is different than a sensor that tells you the exact temp at the tip.
Pretty sure any 10+ year old unit is just setting a temp, not telling you the actual temp through a measurement.
Considering that they sell one of those, I’m going to assume they’ve heard of it. ;)
It’s very likely existing smart soldering pens were the inspiration.
iFixit even mentions they didn’t include a screen like the Pinecil because most people don’t actually mess with the settings that much when they are on the go.
What they probably meant is they didn’t include a screen because this way they can sell their overpriced battery pack.
It’s definitely priced significantly higher than a similar setup from Pine64.
…but it also has some significant advantages and features the Pinecil does indeed lack.
I definitely think the Pinecil is aimed more at hobbyists and this iFixit iron is aimed at people who solder all the time, in other words, not hobbyists.
Since the Pinecil is running IronOS, it’s just a matter of time for it to also get the fall detection. And apart from the LED ring gimmick, I don’t see any huge advantages over IronOS.
I personally see the PD for USB-C being 100W is a significant advantage as the Pinecil tops at 60W from USB-C and you have to search for a traditional barrel-plug power cord to get it to max out at 88W.
100W through USB-C and not even having a different power option seems pretty useful to me. *shrugs
I regularly power both my ts100 and Pinecil with a Milwaukee M18 battery and the barrel connector this is super convenient. The display is also convenient. The fact that you need the battery to set the temp seems numb and completely negates the USBC convenience because it means you can’t use any old USBC power source and still change the temperature. The 100w is also pointless because the other two options already heat incredibly fast and have a higher max temperature.
Apparently you can connect the thing to a PC and change the temperature that way
What a sentence. I really don’t like the idea of having to do a firmware update on my soldering iron.
Does it have Bluetooth and a companion app as well?
Firmware was always there in a soldering iron more sophisticated than an old, dumb Radio Shack wall plug iron. That’s how you get good temperature control. Pinecil is just letting you modify it officially.
I’m pretty sure you meant this as a joke, and I laughed at the thought of someone making something as stupid as an app for a soldering iron. But then I thought I’d check. Ugh.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.eduardom.ironos_companion
Oh, I was dead serious. You can get battery drills that come with a fucking app now, I’m not surprised at all it’s the same with solder irons.
Power and temp up and down is just too simple, I guess.