It might be worth to do cartridge tips video for the main channel. Sacrifice iFixit tip, TS80/100, JBC and Hakko one - Dremel them in half to find 1 where the thermocouple is located. 2 how thermocouple is constructed. 3 how far from the tip the heater is. This iFixit cartridge seems to be blind to external temp changes compared to JBC or Hakko. If thermocouple is somewhere deep inside the heater connected to a slug of thermal mass then no amount of firmware tweaks will be able to fix it. iFixit FixHub powerbrick is portable, but iFixit also sells corded soldering iron separately and then all the portable arguments go out the window.
See eevblog forum or google for some photos, but yes this is good to check. ifixit/ts80/ts100/t12 tip are going to all be inferior to JBC construction method. They should have a smaller point contact thermocouple pressed at the back of the copper tip slug. JBC the thermocouple is bonded via crimp or press fit and has a circular contact, so would consistently give better feedback. Still not perfect as JBC likes to overshoot.
Not sure why my comment was deleted, but anyway, you can find some sacrificial photos on eevblog forum. TS80/100/hakko are going to be similar. Its inferior to JBC but can still work well when manufactured properly.
Watch your video again. you dip it into water, it stops boiling, and then the temperature reading NEVER goes even close to below 100. and power fails to jump properly as well. Compare to my TS101(stock firmware, even old 65W version): when i smash it into wet sponge, the temp reading drops below 100 IMMEDIATELY as it stops boiling! this thing is just a joke, simply buy TS101 and decent 20V 100W PD3.0 power bank and you will be better in almost every aspect.
Yea the pinecil v2 with the Usb pd 3.1 28v supply keeps the tip boiling in a cup of water and pulls about 60w. If you submerge more of the heater it pulls 100w but keeps the water boiling even after the tip has been in the water for 20 seconds. I don't get how their iron has such poor thermal performance considering the pinecil tip I am using is a very similar profile. Yea maybe the tip itself isn't able to get the system to deliver more than 70w but it's a pretty tiny tip.
In fairness to ifixit, there's not many usb-c irons that draw 100W at all. I think the pinecil/ts100 has 8ohm tips so about 40-50W max at 20V, and only the pinecil v2 can get higher by running at 28V. If they did actually put effort into making a higher powered tip than most, although they did so at the price of cross-compatibility, then that's a step in the right direction, because then it's only a few software tweaks away from hitting the target. I think doing a measurement of the tip resistance would be a good thing to know if the hardware is capable of hitting the 100W number at all or not. Overall, I like ifixit for their tools and guides. I think it's great that they're acknowledging how essential soldering tools are to repairs nowadays, and that the tools themselves are built to be repairable too. However, it's a shame that the marketing is so far from the actual performance, at least for now, especially since the equipment is not cheap at all.
People are confusing "disagreeing with Dave's subjective recommendation" with bias, shilling, etc. Dave pointed out the flaws on both in an objective way. His ultimate recommendation is subjective and depends on his own preferences and use cases. People can disagree with that subjective recommendation but disagreeing with his preference doesn't make him biased in his technical review. Disagreeing with someones subjective recommendation does not denote anything more than you happen to disagree.
Such weird drama. I thought Dave's original video was perfectly clear as-is, but apparently people have some real problems with paying attention or comprehending what's being said.
pretty sure its attention span... youtube is trying to compete with other video sites that blast you with 10-30 second videos - in depth details?? NAHH RARRWW lol
Yes, which unfortunately means those idiots won't even watch this video. Or listen long enough. However, it's a filter, if you can make it through Dave waffling, you're the target audience.
There aint any drama..come on, I doubt the 3% thumbs down are that far fedge from the normal +/- ratio on Dave's videos I recon most valued users gave the video a big plus, as they do respect that Dave keep the transperant testing standard that his channel is synonym with and then highlight.. the issues with the product.. that seems far from its own specs. Ifixiti should stop play the spec race game.. 4 sec to 350 temp.. hmm come on, as its such bs that tends to indulge dishonest displays in products.. that simply ain't displaying the actual reported temp. Most users wouldn't care if its 8 or 12 sec.. its from a ducking powerrbank.. but they do care about having an honest display that is loyal and this clearly wasn't and hta is a problem at these prices.. - even when most of the tip and the rod was dipped into water.. you almost didnt see any change on the display, and no modern cartridge system is that slow . and certainly not one that is asking these prices for its tip-. Has nothing to do where the couple are, but a display that wont show the actual temp and tries to bamboozle the user on how fast it is and how steady it is to hold a given temp trying to indicate that its so strong and even heavy joints don't rattle me.
I understood the original video. I like the ifixit, but it's way too expensive for my circumstances. I'd like the iron itself at 80 US bucks, but the battery and controller aren't worth the retail price.
$80 for the iron is fine, but using it without the base is a PITA. + / - buttons and a simple display wouldn't have been too much of an ask. (Some of the irons do go a bit overboard in that area, I really don't need it to run Tetris as well.) For a company that spends all of it's time complaining about the dumb designs manufacturers do, this is an odd product. I'll stick with my TS100 & Hakko 936.
@@j.f.christ8421 I was shocked at how you needed to log in online using a computer! I was expecting it have a text file to edit by plugging it into a PC (where it shows up like a thumb drive) - wouldn’t that have been the most obvious & elegant solution?
@@j.f.christ8421 What good would the display do you? Only bad soldering irons need a display to tell you how much they are struggling :). Look at Metcal MX-500, no display, fantastic iron.
@@davadoff There is a reason to do web apps and it's sadly that the browser does the platform compatibility since there are browser api's for Serial and USB. The iron identifies itself a a COM (probably USB CDC) port on any browser that supports it, and the ui can just be a single simple interface.
@@davadoff Or, y'know, a couple of buttons. Too high tech or low-brow for iFixit apparently. What a dumb idea. Maybe the next version can store the temperature setting in the cloud and downloads it every time you power it up. I'll just add I don't mind devices that you can configure with a simple text file, rather than needing a bloody website or special app. On the other hand it's a frigging soldering iron - what exactly needs configuring? On my T80 I switched it to left-handed, I'm pretty sure I could survive without that. Maybe Apple need to make soldering irons.
I agree with the benefit of the format of the iFixit over the TS80/TS100/TS101. It is still portable enough, yet it places the controls and the screen separately and not in the handle, where they are in the way. My gripe with the iFixit is, that I don't want to add the headache of yet another (propriety) battery that may go bad in a year and needs replacement. Not sure if the USB-C input of the FixHub allows for pass-through or if it only is there to charge the battery. But if it is the latter, then it just becomes a $250 paper weight, when the battery goes belly up. I already have enough independent power sources (decent USB-C power banks, 3s or 4S LiPos, car battery etc.) and I rarely do a repair job, where there isn't mains input available. So I would prefer, if there was a version with a decent integrated power supply, in the same format or maybe even a bit smaller, that accepts a variety of external power sources.
I think the iron itself can be powered by a properly rated PD supply on it's own as it is. You just don't get the display or anything. I agree though, there should be another option just in case. In defense of ifixit though, they made the unit's battery relatively easy to replace. It's not like a drill battery where when it dies, you don't have an option unless you have spare lipo's and a spot welder.
In my opinion when I spend $405 CAD on anything it better meet or exceed its specs out of the box. I can not afford to spend that amount of money in the hopes it will be fixed sometime down the road. If the item was below $80 that would be a different story. Perhaps it is just me but I have to justify to myself why I am spending so much money on something that is not my main iron.
I think it's just a matter of preference. If you like the repairability, the neat features, and the good build quality, then there ya go. Dave's video proved that despite not meeting its power ratings, it did its job rather effectively. But yeah, the price isn't great, I would probably go with something cheaper myself.
What a rant bonanza over someone's comment 😂 I can't agree more: it's all about the purpose and expectations of the tool. One is targeting bench repairs, other is a mobile solution when you expect to get some sacrifices and good enough performance 😉 Dave, your review and this rant were spot on 👍
I think it would've been beneficial if you had measured the heating element resistance of the Ifixit tip. They specifically say the iron is "USB PD 3.0" and they market it as "100W". Ergo 20V only. If you want to dump 100W of heat to a tip and you only have 20V to play with, the resistance needs to be around 4 ohms. If you're seeing only around 50W, then it's closer to around 8 ohms. Therefore it will never be "100W" at just 20V: If the iron was USB PD EPR capable (28V or 36V or 48V), then there wouldn't be a problem as with an PD EPR 28V supply you could reach almost a peak of 100W if the tip is only 8 ohms.
I looked at the iron's schematics and the MP2329 and MAX77596 buck converters VIN max is 24V so there goes that theory. Edit: I should've read further. Tip is fed by V_BUCK and the schematic says "intended range 4.5-17V 0-6.3A". With just 17V going to the tip you'd need under around 3 ohm heater. Seeing a peak of around 50W would be under around 6 ohms.
@@Lagittaja Going further - recommended operational condition of mp2329 is Vout of 0.6-13V, so they are using it out of spec already. But the question is why have buck for heating element in the first place as it also seems they are using high side pwm switching. Guess because Vgs of mosfet is 20V, so they cant drive it directly?
@@Roodster12 Well they're just not guaranteeing it's performance outside that Vout range? But yeah, I have no idea what they're doing. Would've assumed you'd just chop your supply going to the heater, why complicate it? Well maybe that is it but if you can't drive your mosfet, wouldn't it be smarter to change the mosfet instead. Would be nice if Dave would look at the design and go through it and explain what they're doing. I can read schematics, I've made cute little circuits but I would have to spend so much more time to really understand the big picture.
I don't think that many people bitched about you dissing the TS11 over the iFixit one. Almost everyone agrees that TS11 is an overall bad soldering station. I've seen other youtubers reviewing TS11 passing it as "okay", but immediately they got a lot of comments saying that if you want a proper, critical review go watch the EEVblog one. And in any case, as you say, these two irons are not even comparable, completely different product category. In your previous video from what I skimmed in the comments (including my comment), was that overall the product has some nice points but it fails on the basics (which is performance) and that based on it's current performance to price ratio you should have been a bit more critical about it.
I think the problem is not the portable iron versus bench iron, it's that most people see it as an iron that could be portable. They just want an iron, with portability being a nice to have. So they may buy the cheap 30W iron you can buy, or a Hakko, or one of the others, the Quick, the iFixit, etc, as completely fungible irons that can do the job, with different features. Some plug into the wall, others can work off battery, but otherwise a soldering iron is a soldering iron. So to a lot of people they're the same fungible product. I'm sure a lot of people equipping their first bench might see they should get the iFixit one because Dave gave it a thumbs up. Even if the iron will never leave the bench and just stay plugged into the wall. That I think is where the controversy lies - all irons are the same, some are designed so you can power them from a battery but they are the same inside. Sure some people may have a need to solder away from civilization or easy power, but that is a tiny niche compared to those who solder. And those people see the iFixit advertising the iron as the one to rule them all.
Well, if someone considers a battery powered iron for bench work, they hate life, or solder veeeeery rarely and don't mind dealing with the annoyances. People need to do a little bit of research to know what type best suits their use case, THEN chose an iron, and not buy one based off some review without any consideration, then get disapointed.
Great job going into more detail and explaining the reasoning behind your opinion. After hearing your reasons for preferring the iFixit model, I get why you like it. For myself, I prefer my Pinecil but you made a good case for people who may be better served by the iFixit model.
I did the same test with putting the tip in the cup of water what dave did, but with my TS100 on my bench power supply, setting it to the 24V voltage, and the TS100 performed beautifully. The TS100 tip stays between 2,85A and 3,09A (modulating every second, probably due to monitoring temperature). So that means it stays continuously between 68,4W and 74.2W when putting the TS100 tip in water. The TS100 just delivers what it says. Actually even more, as it's sold as 65W@24V. Ifixit shouldn't have tried to re-invent the wheel for a hefty price (those tips are expensive at $20, compared to $5-10 for a TS-100 tip), selling a €270 portable station that doesn't deliver what it says.
It's a nice iron. I think what got people's backs up is the price tag. Not everybody can afford to spend premium prices on something that they don't feel lives up to its hype - the price biases the viewer immediately, so they will disagree when you are singing its praises. I am a big Dave fan and I disliked the video, not because I thought it was biased, there is clear fact and opinion, but because I had already made up my mind about the iron when I saw the price tag regardless of how good it actually is, it better make me breakfast in the morning for that price - for someone else in a different financial situation, it would evoke different opinions. For that video, your comments section serves as a very interesting case study in a viewer's ability to be objective when it comes to money. Thanks for the (inevitable) follow up video!:)
Loved the Retraction of the Battery terminal non-issue 👍 Dave. (in my original video I've also edited my comment to reflect this) LOVE the water, actual power delivery, tests. I've said this in the original video and I'm repeating it here. Great job on showing the BS on the box about "100W" and a comparison with irons that do "averaged out" their expected power when dunked. (averaged out because overshoots at contact and undershoots at equilibrium, aka as expected) I didn't care about the comparison to the Quick TS11, you compared it to worse and better irons, as to be expected from a review. What ground my gears, was and is the "100W". For a portable iron that you would take OUT at an RC race in, lets say... snow, not to be able to deliver the power written Even on the TIPS... A portable Iron doesn't have the grace to always be used in an Air conditioned warm home/shop. You could be elbow deep in a wiring harness on a quad/boat/RC car/ actual car/etc. in low ambient temps where you want the HEAT but not be able to use a gas (propane/butane) iron because you'd melt the surroundings with the exhaust. I keep seeing messages of 400CAD. For the Canadians out there that buy this expensive tool and be stuck out in the trails because they relied on it actually doing what is written on the box 😥, the above is even more relevant since cold weather is not just a hobby, frequent or seasonal, but actually climate. You don't go to the iron out on the trail for fun, but when bad got worse; and then you discover your hail marry doesn't heat up.
You were a lot more forgiving (and thankful to receive product) than your normal self. It was surprising. Maybe you just got in a really positive mood from the teardown: I was with you there. 1. You did say it was designed to be a portable iron with desktop performance, but later you said it wasn’t good enough to be your main soldering iron. 2. You didn’t throw the iron into the stand as a test - you always do that test. 3. You criticised the quick stand for not having a sponge but the iFixit wasn’t criticised for lack of sponge & brass curls. There’s three objective examples. If you think you have no biases then you’re likely to be more biased than you realise. I was one of the ‘negative commenters’ (but I didn’t thumb down). I said we like you to be your opinionated self. I thought you knew that.
Pick up truck A doesn't have as much cargo storage as I would expect and it doesn't have enough torque. Other advantages and distadvantages. I don't like this. Compact car B has cargo storage for your groceries and torque to zip around. Advantages and disadvantages. I like this. "But but but but but A has more storage and torque than B. You're biased!"
@@Lagittaja I don’t disagree with the Quick review. I could be wrong, but I think the vast majority were referring to it for examples because it was an extremely recent video and a soldering iron review.
I was going to comment exactly your last point, I had a negative comment but still thumbed up, why would I ever want to harm the video, I love this channel.
Tip electrical resistance as posted by the other commenters is important due to marketing "100 watts" apples to oranges comparisons. Also butane portable irons. Developing a protocol more consistant than water where volume and starting temperature is variable, but pure copper flat strip conducts watts per degrees celsius is fair between different products. Even a copper cube temperature raising up to a delta temperature change. Also perhaps iFixit uses more than 20v lines simultaneously whereas the meter is reporting current at 20v and multiply by current drawn at that voltage, simply because using iFixit numbers on the box as seen on your video, all currents at all voltages add up to 100watts. Appreciate your fine work. Testing the "supplied" tip for resistance as others mentioned, using a consistent heak sink to test electrical wattage pulled for overall system ability, and also clarifying the different current drawn per volt, as that's how I believe usb 3 delivers 100 watts safely because there are multiple cables in usb 3, and devices can bypass the standard and use transmit and receive lines to carry current (even though not authorized to, but if I was designing a soldering iron with both my own power supply and iron and tip, I would use 5v, 20v, etc like on the packaging, and as I see it, in your position, you were given a poor tip, and then inserted a meter between the iron and power supply, which, in my view, would only safely deliver one voltage at a time)
I appreciate those reviews as I would love to try a directly heated tip iron. i still run the Hakko 888 you recommended way back which still works flawlessly for what it is Where I’m harsh is when you don’t deliver what you promise on the box while selling at a price where you would expect a polished product, not a beta version that hopefully will be fixed. The portable iron expectations is interesting though as I thought the ifixit marketed it as a do it all iron. It makes sense the expectations would be different for a portable iron but this is a small market to target, most viewers here likely have a single iron.
The portable soldering irons really do draw 100 Watts - the catch being they have to be cold. Once they heat up the power draw drops significantly. You can measure the resistance when cold and you should read around 4 Ohm (assuming they are powered by 20V). Then when warm it will be more like 16 Ohm - or 25 W at the same voltage. So very misleading, but not incorrect.
Spot on Dave, I watch good honest reviews for things like this that point out the bad issues as well as the good and make my own choice that suits me, it's not that hard😉
Old JBC HD-2B modified to take C245 tips for me as a bench station. I love the sleekness of the C245 tips (&shorter) and the 'heftiness' of the station. Never needed the -even higher capacity (of the) original C470 tips and I do lots of vacuum tubes/valves stuff, none of that micro soldering rubbish...🤭 I also have a inherited 100[W] Soldering Gun for on-the-go and misc, but would consider a iFixit style portable, especially if they'd develop a neater chisel tip, 100[W] should be plenty -Thank you very much! Else: I'd prefer to run an extension cord to my 'Old Trusty'😅 if not impossible so none for me. Never saw this one coming though, follow-up video I mean. ☺
watched the whole review video and didn't think once it was biased.... It had a bit more excitement that you have a good product on your bench.... I think the ground plane pcb demonstration speaks for itself. I did notice on the review video the battery pins were protruding from the aluminium case and said "Come Dave" don't be so harsh on them, look again :)
I think something I failed to mention in my own comment on the previous video is that there are obviously different expectations for a portable iron vs. a station, which is why a comparably priced soldering station isn't a direct comparison. This definitely has issues, and I have problems with the base station/battery bank part more than anything else, but I think it's a good product that needs a few fixes (hopefully most of which can be fixed with software). I do think for that price, you should be getting something like a 10,000mAh battery instead (since they appear to be charging about $200 for a fancy battery bank), or that it should be more like $225 overall.
As far as I'm aware, the Pinecil v2 still has PID issues even with IronOS (the custom OS indeed written to fix issues with the TS100). Mine certainly does, but then mine appears to be busted.
Great videos, I think you really did a great job, and I really don't agree on the criticism. Regarding the long battery pins: I personally think that this issue should still be addressed, as user error could lead to the pins shorting out, as you demonstrated.
I will wait a bit and see if they bring higher capacity tips to market and maybe release a firmware update. I will buy this one to replace my gas soldering iron, because you always have to be careful the hot exhaust of gas soldering irons does not melt anything you don't want to melt.
I think there was an obvious bias for the iFixit...and in my opinion, it's merited. The company itself does good work, and the overall design of this device is higher than average quality. Dave did not pull any punches describing the devices shortcomings; and based on the company's history, I would expect they would take Dave's criticisms into account in further revisions. And the money spent buying from iFixit is going to go toward the larger mission that iFixit bases their business model on. This company is good for the industry and the market in general. Just my two cents. :)
Your first video review was fine. I think it was the super happy voice that threw your regulars. You usually come across quite differently. You can't please all of the people...
I gave your original video a thumbs up. I thought your opinion of the soldering iron was bizarre. I thought the soldering iron was overpriced proprietary crap with many failings. BUT your video was great, and as always, very entertaining. I think it unwise to use the thumbs up/down as a metric to determine whether people agreed with your decision i.e. only 3% disagreed. ( almost the iFixit way of crunching numbers 😉)
have you ever tried Ersa soldering equipment? The 102 series tips are stupid fast for seperated heating element tip styles. maybe worth another review.
the dial on the hub is for setting temperature, indeed. But you can run the iron from any usb-c PD source, in which case you have to change the temperature via the PC connection. I'm honestly not a fan of that decision at all, but Dave seems to like it
@@danandrei96 Im 100% sure that this is a trivial matter and soon enough someone will port temp setting to something as cheap as pico or attiny85 based digispark. Its just low speed USB.
You probably missed the obvious fact that the PID is running on the iFixit iron itself, that makes the display on the "station" a simple client wich lags behind the actual state. In you last video it could be seen that the Iron started to draw significant power (>50W) long before the display started too show it. So there are for sure firmware issues that will be solved, but probably not as bad as they show on the display of the thing.
Dave, is there any chance of looking at some more soldering stations? I see Hakko has a new FX-888 revision (the DX), the FX-951 still seems to be better overall (but more expensive), and there are so many other options now too, so it's hard to know how an older style iron like the FX-888(D/X) compares to newer irons. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place but I haven't found much info with proper comparisons made in the past couple of years or so. Something around the FX-888 price with modern tips would be really nice.
I’m concerned about the tips lifespan Specially if the tip is sitting inside a closed cylinder when docking it probably going to burn up the tips a lot faster because they cannot cool maybe they should improvise a slit design inside the cylinder for the heat to dissipate that would be one of my concerns
If they can't cool, well.. the iron doesn't send power because it's already hot :) Actually, it may save you some battery power if the stand is sturdy enough.
@@ledoynier3694 yes I think they have a few different design flaws that I would point out if I was doing a review of the same device Honestly, I think they need to go to the drawing board and revamp it and make a version 2
Just to be clear, I wasn't in the "boo shill" camp. I thought that the review was perfectly clear, and I agree with your assesment, it seems like a great portable iron, with some minor teething issues iFixit can hopefully iron out (pun intended) with new tips and/or firmware. The premium for a fully open design I feel is warranted. (looking forward to the extra tests, mid video now...) (Just a correction, the slogan was "repair is noble".)
i have 2 axiun stations the t3a and t3b and when they die im not cheaping out and buying a real jbc setup with tweezers and such. the axiun is better than the metcal units at the local makerspace though. i have a fnrisi portable one that uses the mini t12 tips and it overheats constantly. i have a quick hot air station thats no better than the one i had before. they both have bldc fans and are repairable. im a big fan of ifixit. it's probably the tools i use the most and the lifetime warranty means they replace the bits and give you a bunch of free stuff. i've bought lots of their kits from the same seller in canada as gifts for people and such. i dont know if he's playing favorites or not. great company to deal with though.
I watched the original video and I have no comment on your review or how it differs from previous reviews. My issue is with the device itself. When I first saw it, I expected it to be reasonably priced considering the costs of the components. Had it been priced less than $100, I'd consider it to be a good deal. But at this price point, 99% of people can get a lot more out of their money. Sure, there may be some extremely niche applications where this would be better than other options. But at this price point, its nothing more than an overpriced battery backup with a logo stamped on top.
I don't understand why this video needs to exist ... Dave was very clear about the whys and hows. Dave you did an amazing review, just my head explodes when people don't pay attention :D
I believe it says “repair is noble,”not “repair is mobile.” It’s on a bunch of their tools. I couldn’t really tell from the video, but you might want to take a look. I could be wrong, but if I’m right, it would negate the point you made in the beginning of the video.
Dave, youtube audiences have become very sensitive to "Shilling", you may not have noticed the trend in your old age. Not saying you're doing it, but people perceive things that aren't there more these days.
Since youtube removed thumb down counter, I rarely press it (except the case wnen video is real b.s.) as it means nothing anymore. If I don't agree with a content, I will not press a thumb up in most cases. So, not sure if it is true only for me, but I wouldn't trust just a thumbs down statistics only.
all irons are different. I stick to basic powered unit ( Jacar ) and a Low end Portasol gas iron and a 240 ac 40w iron. I don't do enough work with them to get an expensive one. My friend had a simple transformer iron and it got hot.
Why not compare the thermal effect with mobile alternatives.? As highlighted.. its likely around 40 to 50 watt iron the one you received, so yeah.. not the best for Ifixit of all sizes to bambozzle the consumers with their 100W claims, and even highlighted it on the tip' when it ain't. (that's sketchy) And there you likely also got some of the reasoning why the display is so manipulated, to camulflage the lackluster thermal performance, and why it wont show the actual temp and also in an attempt for Ifixit to ride the "spec race" of 4sec to 350 which it clearly didn't do in practise, even though you try to explain that the sensor are likely very far way from the tip..hmm * it has to be in Paris for that lack of response... its a cartridge system after all. But it is merits.. that many endusers wont be able to validate, as you need tot he tools to check these things.. also why many CN brands..lie a lot of on the merits that ain't easily to be validated by the common end user.
0:58 I don't think thumbs down ratio it's a valid metric. I don't bother to give thumbs down to videos as it doesn't matter anymore when no one can see it. Actually I did like the review, tear-down and all the experiments, even if I totally don't agree with your conclusions. For me it's totally overpriced and overhyped piece of junk.
2 seater car (laggy 40W to the tip) shaped like a SUV and advertised as a Lamborghini Urus competitor capable of >180mph while sitting 5 grown passengers (100W)
@@rasz yeah, you gained all that info about the iron from Dave's review, just because his personal opinion doesn't match yours doesn't mean the facts weren't clearly shown for you to make your own decision on
I don't know why this needed to be explained. Quick has 2990W out of the wall at its disposal, while IFixIt is working with USB C standard and lithium cells. I think while bit over priced the iron by it self, it is perfect for the market of someone who needs an iron to fix something once in a while. Replace a drifting joystick or fix a non detachable USB Cable. Which is what I fix it basically is, giving the tools and guides so that anyone can fix their own stuff. I think the no screen just preset and go is also well designed for such person, without the battery bank it also takes up almost no space in the junk drawer. The only disappointment is that despite near perfectly fitting TS80 tips they aren't compatible, and i don't think that's something they can fix in firmware. As for me I just prefer my bench top Chinese JBC compatible soldering iron as i get access to a wide selection of tips. I don't feel guilty buying a JBC 'clone' as JBC still gets my money from the tips and otherwise I wouldn't of been their customer due to their bench top soldering irons being out of my price range.
Personally, I didn't think much of the ifixit. It's kind of a halfway device that's very expensive. It's triple the price of TS80/TS100, not as portable. I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes, because iFixit is the Apple of repair. People will buy it for the name alone.
I really hate arguments of "it will get better with software updates". No it won't. Historically, only times that happened was an outlier. You know what it's doing now, if you want to review/buy/advertise, do it based on current performance, not some future vapourware software updates. That's just lying to customers. Also, my problem is not with the power display but the temp display - it's supposed to show current tip temp, but it doesn't move after putting it in water? Wtf? Is it any wonder it's not putting the juice in if it thinks the temp is ok...
Dave when you showed you IFixit driver set, and stated that you love their products*, you acknowledged you were a shill, and bias. Rather than being transparent, like what you were doing. It is the new Willfull Ignorance Troll. For example, YT'r states " i dont like a thing because reasons" = Audience interprets "i dont like it, therefore bad" . Its currently going around. *Paraphrasing
I wish someone would compare the kasyan analog t12 diy iron to the others to see how much the chinese firmware and pid actually do compared to a jellybean opamp
Portable or not, the iFixit iron claims that it can deliver 100 watts, it couldn't barely deliver half of that claim, that's automatically a thumbs down. No amount of handwaving changes that it's being falsely marketed.
"It has live display". Yeah, which tells lies. You dipped the whole tip into water, display still reads 370. It's not a PID issue, it should just be showing the value from the sensor. The power bar is also full of shit, full on display yet a separate meter doesn't even show 50% of rated power. It's not really a feature to have a display that lies to you, is it? Really reminded me of a cheap 3D printing pen Big Clive tore down recently. The display had a life of its own, reading temperatures even with the sensor disconnected.
My main problem with this iron is that it's an ifixit product. Their mission, as I see it, is to popularize repairing in general. But their iron is an expensive tool, with very specific use-cases, where it's price may be justified. They should've just slapped their logo on a Pinecil, to be honest. It's cheap, reliable, versatile tool that's more than enough for an average person.
Bit of a bullshit argument. If you want to compare it to a mobile iron, then only compare the handle solo vs any other handle like the pinecil/ts100. That is also a more equal battle compared to price. If you add the base station then compare it to any other base station solder station
What a nonsensical comparison. The requirements are not different for portable versus bench multimeters, in terms of sccuracy. They are different for portable soldering irons where you know you have to make power compromises
It might be worth to do cartridge tips video for the main channel. Sacrifice iFixit tip, TS80/100, JBC and Hakko one - Dremel them in half to find
1 where the thermocouple is located.
2 how thermocouple is constructed.
3 how far from the tip the heater is.
This iFixit cartridge seems to be blind to external temp changes compared to JBC or Hakko. If thermocouple is somewhere deep inside the heater connected to a slug of thermal mass then no amount of firmware tweaks will be able to fix it.
iFixit FixHub powerbrick is portable, but iFixit also sells corded soldering iron separately and then all the portable arguments go out the window.
See eevblog forum or google for some photos, but yes this is good to check. ifixit/ts80/ts100/t12 tip are going to all be inferior to JBC construction method. They should have a smaller point contact thermocouple pressed at the back of the copper tip slug. JBC the thermocouple is bonded via crimp or press fit and has a circular contact, so would consistently give better feedback. Still not perfect as JBC likes to overshoot.
new tips might be able to fix that. It will suck on early adopters though.
Not sure why my comment was deleted, but anyway, you can find some sacrificial photos on eevblog forum.
TS80/100/hakko are going to be similar. Its inferior to JBC but can still work well when manufactured properly.
Watch your video again. you dip it into water, it stops boiling, and then the temperature reading NEVER goes even close to below 100. and power fails to jump properly as well.
Compare to my TS101(stock firmware, even old 65W version): when i smash it into wet sponge, the temp reading drops below 100 IMMEDIATELY as it stops boiling!
this thing is just a joke, simply buy TS101 and decent 20V 100W PD3.0 power bank and you will be better in almost every aspect.
Yea the pinecil v2 with the Usb pd 3.1 28v supply keeps the tip boiling in a cup of water and pulls about 60w. If you submerge more of the heater it pulls 100w but keeps the water boiling even after the tip has been in the water for 20 seconds. I don't get how their iron has such poor thermal performance considering the pinecil tip I am using is a very similar profile. Yea maybe the tip itself isn't able to get the system to deliver more than 70w but it's a pretty tiny tip.
💯 TS101 or Pinecil V2 will be better than the ifixit one in like every scenario.
In fairness to ifixit, there's not many usb-c irons that draw 100W at all. I think the pinecil/ts100 has 8ohm tips so about 40-50W max at 20V, and only the pinecil v2 can get higher by running at 28V.
If they did actually put effort into making a higher powered tip than most, although they did so at the price of cross-compatibility, then that's a step in the right direction, because then it's only a few software tweaks away from hitting the target.
I think doing a measurement of the tip resistance would be a good thing to know if the hardware is capable of hitting the 100W number at all or not.
Overall, I like ifixit for their tools and guides. I think it's great that they're acknowledging how essential soldering tools are to repairs nowadays, and that the tools themselves are built to be repairable too. However, it's a shame that the marketing is so far from the actual performance, at least for now, especially since the equipment is not cheap at all.
Then they shouldn't have rated it at 100W. That's the issue.
People are confusing "disagreeing with Dave's subjective recommendation" with bias, shilling, etc.
Dave pointed out the flaws on both in an objective way. His ultimate recommendation is subjective and depends on his own preferences and use cases. People can disagree with that subjective recommendation but disagreeing with his preference doesn't make him biased in his technical review.
Disagreeing with someones subjective recommendation does not denote anything more than you happen to disagree.
Such weird drama. I thought Dave's original video was perfectly clear as-is, but apparently people have some real problems with paying attention or comprehending what's being said.
I agree with you.
pretty sure its attention span... youtube is trying to compete with other video sites that blast you with 10-30 second videos - in depth details?? NAHH RARRWW lol
Yes, which unfortunately means those idiots won't even watch this video. Or listen long enough. However, it's a filter, if you can make it through Dave waffling, you're the target audience.
@@ncot_tech I, for one, openly admit to being one of those crazy whackjobs who love watching Dave waffle on for 30+ minutes.
There aint any drama..come on, I doubt the 3% thumbs down are that far fedge from the normal +/- ratio on Dave's videos
I recon most valued users gave the video a big plus, as they do respect that Dave keep the transperant testing standard that his channel is synonym with and then highlight.. the issues with the product.. that seems far from its own specs.
Ifixiti should stop play the spec race game.. 4 sec to 350 temp.. hmm come on, as its such bs that tends to indulge dishonest displays in products.. that simply ain't displaying the actual reported temp.
Most users wouldn't care if its 8 or 12 sec.. its from a ducking powerrbank.. but they do care about having an honest display that is loyal and this clearly wasn't and hta is a problem at these prices..
- even when most of the tip and the rod was dipped into water.. you almost didnt see any change on the display, and no modern cartridge system is that slow . and certainly not one that is asking these prices for its tip-.
Has nothing to do where the couple are, but a display that wont show the actual temp and tries to bamboozle the user on how fast it is and how steady it is to hold a given temp trying to indicate that its so strong and even heavy joints don't rattle me.
I understood the original video. I like the ifixit, but it's way too expensive for my circumstances. I'd like the iron itself at 80 US bucks, but the battery and controller aren't worth the retail price.
$80 for the iron is fine, but using it without the base is a PITA. + / - buttons and a simple display wouldn't have been too much of an ask. (Some of the irons do go a bit overboard in that area, I really don't need it to run Tetris as well.)
For a company that spends all of it's time complaining about the dumb designs manufacturers do, this is an odd product. I'll stick with my TS100 & Hakko 936.
@@j.f.christ8421 I was shocked at how you needed to log in online using a computer! I was expecting it have a text file to edit by plugging it into a PC (where it shows up like a thumb drive) - wouldn’t that have been the most obvious & elegant solution?
@@j.f.christ8421 What good would the display do you? Only bad soldering irons need a display to tell you how much they are struggling :). Look at Metcal MX-500, no display, fantastic iron.
@@davadoff There is a reason to do web apps and it's sadly that the browser does the platform compatibility since there are browser api's for Serial and USB. The iron identifies itself a a COM (probably USB CDC) port on any browser that supports it, and the ui can just be a single simple interface.
@@davadoff Or, y'know, a couple of buttons. Too high tech or low-brow for iFixit apparently. What a dumb idea. Maybe the next version can store the temperature setting in the cloud and downloads it every time you power it up.
I'll just add I don't mind devices that you can configure with a simple text file, rather than needing a bloody website or special app. On the other hand it's a frigging soldering iron - what exactly needs configuring? On my T80 I switched it to left-handed, I'm pretty sure I could survive without that. Maybe Apple need to make soldering irons.
I agree with the benefit of the format of the iFixit over the TS80/TS100/TS101. It is still portable enough, yet it places the controls and the screen separately and not in the handle, where they are in the way.
My gripe with the iFixit is, that I don't want to add the headache of yet another (propriety) battery that may go bad in a year and needs replacement. Not sure if the USB-C input of the FixHub allows for pass-through or if it only is there to charge the battery. But if it is the latter, then it just becomes a $250 paper weight, when the battery goes belly up.
I already have enough independent power sources (decent USB-C power banks, 3s or 4S LiPos, car battery etc.) and I rarely do a repair job, where there isn't mains input available. So I would prefer, if there was a version with a decent integrated power supply, in the same format or maybe even a bit smaller, that accepts a variety of external power sources.
I think the iron itself can be powered by a properly rated PD supply on it's own as it is. You just don't get the display or anything. I agree though, there should be another option just in case. In defense of ifixit though, they made the unit's battery relatively easy to replace. It's not like a drill battery where when it dies, you don't have an option unless you have spare lipo's and a spot welder.
In my opinion when I spend $405 CAD on anything it better meet or exceed its specs out of the box. I can not afford to spend that amount of money in the hopes it will be fixed sometime down the road. If the item was below $80 that would be a different story. Perhaps it is just me but I have to justify to myself why I am spending so much money on something that is not my main iron.
I think it's just a matter of preference. If you like the repairability, the neat features, and the good build quality, then there ya go. Dave's video proved that despite not meeting its power ratings, it did its job rather effectively.
But yeah, the price isn't great, I would probably go with something cheaper myself.
What a rant bonanza over someone's comment 😂
I can't agree more: it's all about the purpose and expectations of the tool. One is targeting bench repairs, other is a mobile solution when you expect to get some sacrifices and good enough performance 😉
Dave, your review and this rant were spot on 👍
You can buy it without the FixHub and then its an $80 corded 40W soldering iron.
I think it would've been beneficial if you had measured the heating element resistance of the Ifixit tip.
They specifically say the iron is "USB PD 3.0" and they market it as "100W". Ergo 20V only.
If you want to dump 100W of heat to a tip and you only have 20V to play with, the resistance needs to be around 4 ohms.
If you're seeing only around 50W, then it's closer to around 8 ohms. Therefore it will never be "100W" at just 20V:
If the iron was USB PD EPR capable (28V or 36V or 48V), then there wouldn't be a problem as with an PD EPR 28V supply you could reach almost a peak of 100W if the tip is only 8 ohms.
I looked at the iron's schematics and the MP2329 and MAX77596 buck converters VIN max is 24V so there goes that theory.
Edit: I should've read further. Tip is fed by V_BUCK and the schematic says "intended range 4.5-17V 0-6.3A". With just 17V going to the tip you'd need under around 3 ohm heater. Seeing a peak of around 50W would be under around 6 ohms.
@@Lagittaja Going further - recommended operational condition of mp2329 is Vout of 0.6-13V, so they are using it out of spec already. But the question is why have buck for heating element in the first place as it also seems they are using high side pwm switching. Guess because Vgs of mosfet is 20V, so they cant drive it directly?
@@Roodster12 Well they're just not guaranteeing it's performance outside that Vout range?
But yeah, I have no idea what they're doing. Would've assumed you'd just chop your supply going to the heater, why complicate it? Well maybe that is it but if you can't drive your mosfet, wouldn't it be smarter to change the mosfet instead. Would be nice if Dave would look at the design and go through it and explain what they're doing. I can read schematics, I've made cute little circuits but I would have to spend so much more time to really understand the big picture.
@@Lagittaja Huh, and here I was expecting an actual Boost converter in the handle to deliver advertised 100W :|
I don't think that many people bitched about you dissing the TS11 over the iFixit one. Almost everyone agrees that TS11 is an overall bad soldering station. I've seen other youtubers reviewing TS11 passing it as "okay", but immediately they got a lot of comments saying that if you want a proper, critical review go watch the EEVblog one. And in any case, as you say, these two irons are not even comparable, completely different product category.
In your previous video from what I skimmed in the comments (including my comment), was that overall the product has some nice points but it fails on the basics (which is performance) and that based on it's current performance to price ratio you should have been a bit more critical about it.
I think the problem is not the portable iron versus bench iron, it's that most people see it as an iron that could be portable. They just want an iron, with portability being a nice to have. So they may buy the cheap 30W iron you can buy, or a Hakko, or one of the others, the Quick, the iFixit, etc, as completely fungible irons that can do the job, with different features. Some plug into the wall, others can work off battery, but otherwise a soldering iron is a soldering iron. So to a lot of people they're the same fungible product. I'm sure a lot of people equipping their first bench might see they should get the iFixit one because Dave gave it a thumbs up. Even if the iron will never leave the bench and just stay plugged into the wall. That I think is where the controversy lies - all irons are the same, some are designed so you can power them from a battery but they are the same inside. Sure some people may have a need to solder away from civilization or easy power, but that is a tiny niche compared to those who solder. And those people see the iFixit advertising the iron as the one to rule them all.
Well, if someone considers a battery powered iron for bench work, they hate life, or solder veeeeery rarely and don't mind dealing with the annoyances. People need to do a little bit of research to know what type best suits their use case, THEN chose an iron, and not buy one based off some review without any consideration, then get disapointed.
Great job going into more detail and explaining the reasoning behind your opinion. After hearing your reasons for preferring the iFixit model, I get why you like it. For myself, I prefer my Pinecil but you made a good case for people who may be better served by the iFixit model.
Same, I like my 80 and a normal power bank.
I did the same test with putting the tip in the cup of water what dave did, but with my TS100 on my bench power supply, setting it to the 24V voltage, and the TS100 performed beautifully.
The TS100 tip stays between 2,85A and 3,09A (modulating every second, probably due to monitoring temperature).
So that means it stays continuously between 68,4W and 74.2W when putting the TS100 tip in water. The TS100 just delivers what it says. Actually even more, as it's sold as 65W@24V.
Ifixit shouldn't have tried to re-invent the wheel for a hefty price (those tips are expensive at $20, compared to $5-10 for a TS-100 tip), selling a €270 portable station that doesn't deliver what it says.
It's a nice iron. I think what got people's backs up is the price tag. Not everybody can afford to spend premium prices on something that they don't feel lives up to its hype - the price biases the viewer immediately, so they will disagree when you are singing its praises.
I am a big Dave fan and I disliked the video, not because I thought it was biased, there is clear fact and opinion, but because I had already made up my mind about the iron when I saw the price tag regardless of how good it actually is, it better make me breakfast in the morning for that price - for someone else in a different financial situation, it would evoke different opinions. For that video, your comments section serves as a very interesting case study in a viewer's ability to be objective when it comes to money.
Thanks for the (inevitable) follow up video!:)
Loved the Retraction of the Battery terminal non-issue 👍 Dave. (in my original video I've also edited my comment to reflect this)
LOVE the water, actual power delivery, tests. I've said this in the original video and I'm repeating it here. Great job on showing the BS on the box about "100W" and a comparison with irons that do "averaged out" their expected power when dunked. (averaged out because overshoots at contact and undershoots at equilibrium, aka as expected)
I didn't care about the comparison to the Quick TS11, you compared it to worse and better irons, as to be expected from a review.
What ground my gears, was and is the "100W". For a portable iron that you would take OUT at an RC race in, lets say... snow, not to be able to deliver the power written Even on the TIPS... A portable Iron doesn't have the grace to always be used in an Air conditioned warm home/shop. You could be elbow deep in a wiring harness on a quad/boat/RC car/ actual car/etc. in low ambient temps where you want the HEAT but not be able to use a gas (propane/butane) iron because you'd melt the surroundings with the exhaust.
I keep seeing messages of 400CAD. For the Canadians out there that buy this expensive tool and be stuck out in the trails because they relied on it actually doing what is written on the box 😥, the above is even more relevant since cold weather is not just a hobby, frequent or seasonal, but actually climate. You don't go to the iron out on the trail for fun, but when bad got worse; and then you discover your hail marry doesn't heat up.
You were a lot more forgiving (and thankful to receive product) than your normal self. It was surprising. Maybe you just got in a really positive mood from the teardown: I was with you there.
1. You did say it was designed to be a portable iron with desktop performance, but later you said it wasn’t good enough to be your main soldering iron. 2. You didn’t throw the iron into the stand as a test - you always do that test. 3. You criticised the quick stand for not having a sponge but the iFixit wasn’t criticised for lack of sponge & brass curls. There’s three objective examples.
If you think you have no biases then you’re likely to be more biased than you realise.
I was one of the ‘negative commenters’ (but I didn’t thumb down). I said we like you to be your opinionated self. I thought you knew that.
Pick up truck A doesn't have as much cargo storage as I would expect and it doesn't have enough torque. Other advantages and distadvantages. I don't like this.
Compact car B has cargo storage for your groceries and torque to zip around. Advantages and disadvantages. I like this.
"But but but but but A has more storage and torque than B. You're biased!"
@@Lagittaja I don’t disagree with the Quick review. I could be wrong, but I think the vast majority were referring to it for examples because it was an extremely recent video and a soldering iron review.
I was going to comment exactly your last point, I had a negative comment but still thumbed up, why would I ever want to harm the video, I love this channel.
Excellent followup video, I really like the iFixit as a portable, however I''ll always stick with Weller as a bench iron.
Tip electrical resistance as posted by the other commenters is important due to marketing "100 watts" apples to oranges comparisons. Also butane portable irons. Developing a protocol more consistant than water where volume and starting temperature is variable, but pure copper flat strip conducts watts per degrees celsius is fair between different products. Even a copper cube temperature raising up to a delta temperature change. Also perhaps iFixit uses more than 20v lines simultaneously whereas the meter is reporting current at 20v and multiply by current drawn at that voltage, simply because using iFixit numbers on the box as seen on your video, all currents at all voltages add up to 100watts. Appreciate your fine work. Testing the "supplied" tip for resistance as others mentioned, using a consistent heak sink to test electrical wattage pulled for overall system ability, and also clarifying the different current drawn per volt, as that's how I believe usb 3 delivers 100 watts safely because there are multiple cables in usb 3, and devices can bypass the standard and use transmit and receive lines to carry current (even though not authorized to, but if I was designing a soldering iron with both my own power supply and iron and tip, I would use 5v, 20v, etc like on the packaging, and as I see it, in your position, you were given a poor tip, and then inserted a meter between the iron and power supply, which, in my view, would only safely deliver one voltage at a time)
I appreciate those reviews as I would love to try a directly heated tip iron. i still run the Hakko 888 you recommended way back which still works flawlessly for what it is
Where I’m harsh is when you don’t deliver what you promise on the box while selling at a price where you would expect a polished product, not a beta version that hopefully will be fixed.
The portable iron expectations is interesting though as I thought the ifixit marketed it as a do it all iron. It makes sense the expectations would be different for a portable iron but this is a small market to target, most viewers here likely have a single iron.
If you want to try one go find a pinecil and a powerbank if you prefer to make things easy, almost impossible to beat the value that provides.
The portable soldering irons really do draw 100 Watts - the catch being they have to be cold. Once they heat up the power draw drops significantly. You can measure the resistance when cold and you should read around 4 Ohm (assuming they are powered by 20V). Then when warm it will be more like 16 Ohm - or 25 W at the same voltage. So very misleading, but not incorrect.
Spot on Dave, I watch good honest reviews for things like this that point out the bad issues as well as the good and make my own choice that suits me, it's not that hard😉
Great review! BTW 3:47 it didn't say "Repair is Mobile" it said "Repair is Noble"
iFixit is not telling the truth, in my world that is called lying. Good video Dave.
Old JBC HD-2B modified to take C245 tips for me as a bench station. I love the sleekness of the C245 tips (&shorter) and the 'heftiness' of the station. Never needed the -even higher capacity (of the) original C470 tips and I do lots of vacuum tubes/valves stuff, none of that micro soldering rubbish...🤭 I also have a inherited 100[W] Soldering Gun for on-the-go and misc, but would consider a iFixit style portable, especially if they'd develop a neater chisel tip, 100[W] should be plenty -Thank you very much! Else: I'd prefer to run an extension cord to my 'Old Trusty'😅 if not impossible so none for me. Never saw this one coming though, follow-up video I mean. ☺
How do you make it take C245 tips ? Is there a guide anywhere on the mod ?
Brilliant! Any way, I am happy to watch another video. Cheers.
watched the whole review video and didn't think once it was biased....
It had a bit more excitement that you have a good product on your bench....
I think the ground plane pcb demonstration speaks for itself.
I did notice on the review video the battery pins were protruding from the aluminium case and said "Come Dave" don't be so harsh on them, look again :)
Yeah, I really goofed that one.
Hello! Tell me, what are the differences and which of these stations is better: QUICK TS1200A, Quick TS11 Smart, QUICK Q8?
I think something I failed to mention in my own comment on the previous video is that there are obviously different expectations for a portable iron vs. a station, which is why a comparably priced soldering station isn't a direct comparison. This definitely has issues, and I have problems with the base station/battery bank part more than anything else, but I think it's a good product that needs a few fixes (hopefully most of which can be fixed with software). I do think for that price, you should be getting something like a 10,000mAh battery instead (since they appear to be charging about $200 for a fancy battery bank), or that it should be more like $225 overall.
The $75 soldering iron on its own cant deliver more than 50W.
I have a Hako 926 also, had that sucker since 1999 lol
As far as I'm aware, the Pinecil v2 still has PID issues even with IronOS (the custom OS indeed written to fix issues with the TS100). Mine certainly does, but then mine appears to be busted.
Great videos, I think you really did a great job, and I really don't agree on the criticism.
Regarding the long battery pins: I personally think that this issue should still be addressed, as user error could lead to the pins shorting out, as you demonstrated.
Do you plan to make another review when product is ready for release?
Some of us don't have a problem getting the tip into the silicone hole.
Surprise quiet a number of people did not know how to judge between different nature of usage, portable vs bench is an important point.
Can't believe you had to make this video. It seemed ultra clear to me.
I will wait a bit and see if they bring higher capacity tips to market and maybe release a firmware update. I will buy this one to replace my gas soldering iron, because you always have to be careful the hot exhaust of gas soldering irons does not melt anything you don't want to melt.
I think there was an obvious bias for the iFixit...and in my opinion, it's merited. The company itself does good work, and the overall design of this device is higher than average quality. Dave did not pull any punches describing the devices shortcomings; and based on the company's history, I would expect they would take Dave's criticisms into account in further revisions. And the money spent buying from iFixit is going to go toward the larger mission that iFixit bases their business model on. This company is good for the industry and the market in general. Just my two cents. :)
Your first video review was fine. I think it was the super happy voice that threw your regulars. You usually come across quite differently. You can't please all of the people...
I gave your original video a thumbs up. I thought your opinion of the soldering iron was bizarre. I thought the soldering iron was overpriced proprietary crap with many failings. BUT your video was great, and as always, very entertaining. I think it unwise to use the thumbs up/down as a metric to determine whether people agreed with your decision i.e. only 3% disagreed. ( almost the iFixit way of crunching numbers 😉)
Thanks for clarification.
have you ever tried Ersa soldering equipment? The 102 series tips are stupid fast for seperated heating element tip styles. maybe worth another review.
Ersa make very nice irons, haven't used them much though.
I'll give this video a thumbs up 😎
I'm still unclear about changing temperature on the FixHub, can it only be done via a PC connection? What is the dial on the battery for? 11:51
the dial on the hub is for setting temperature, indeed. But you can run the iron from any usb-c PD source, in which case you have to change the temperature via the PC connection. I'm honestly not a fan of that decision at all, but Dave seems to like it
@@danandrei96 Cheers !
Me too, good questtion.
@@danandrei96 Im 100% sure that this is a trivial matter and soon enough someone will port temp setting to something as cheap as pico or attiny85 based digispark. Its just low speed USB.
You probably missed the obvious fact that the PID is running on the iFixit iron itself, that makes the display on the "station" a simple client wich lags behind the actual state. In you last video it could be seen that the Iron started to draw significant power (>50W) long before the display started too show it. So there are for sure firmware issues that will be solved, but probably not as bad as they show on the display of the thing.
Doesn't really matter where the loop is physically, the display not working properly remains the issue either way.
Dave, is there any chance of looking at some more soldering stations? I see Hakko has a new FX-888 revision (the DX), the FX-951 still seems to be better overall (but more expensive), and there are so many other options now too, so it's hard to know how an older style iron like the FX-888(D/X) compares to newer irons. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place but I haven't found much info with proper comparisons made in the past couple of years or so. Something around the FX-888 price with modern tips would be really nice.
There are so many I could become a full time soldering review channel...
At the FX888 price point you can buy a JBC clone that has decent build quality and good performance. FX888 is inferior but fine for a beginner.
I’m concerned about the tips lifespan
Specially if the tip is sitting inside a closed cylinder when docking it probably going to burn up the tips a lot faster because they cannot cool maybe they should improvise a slit design inside the cylinder for the heat to dissipate that would be one of my concerns
If they can't cool, well.. the iron doesn't send power because it's already hot :) Actually, it may save you some battery power if the stand is sturdy enough.
@@ledoynier3694 yes I think they have a few different design flaws that I would point out if I was doing a review of the same device
Honestly, I think they need to go to the drawing board and revamp it and make a version 2
Its temperature controlled, doesn't matter if its insulated or not.
You can set the idle timer on the iron. When it’s in the cap and not moving the iron will automatically cool off until you move the iron.
Just to be clear, I wasn't in the "boo shill" camp. I thought that the review was perfectly clear, and I agree with your assesment, it seems like a great portable iron, with some minor teething issues iFixit can hopefully iron out (pun intended) with new tips and/or firmware. The premium for a fully open design I feel is warranted.
(looking forward to the extra tests, mid video now...)
(Just a correction, the slogan was "repair is noble".)
I need to catch up. I’m having trouble with tips not holding solder at the tip for the 115’s
The power probably bounces around a lot when dunked in water due to the Leidenfrost effect.
No
The original video seemed pretty clear to me, but I always appreciate more testing.
do you recommend this as an investment for students?
No. Students usually don't have much money so much spend their dollars wisely. Bang-per-buck becomes the mains driver in this scenario.
The thing is who needs a portable soldering iron ever? How many times in your carreer you are like let's go on a picnic and lets go soldering!
You’ve obviously never done soldering on car wiring or car audio
@@mitchc2531 yeah ok but i have done it once with a 10$ iron. How many times in your life are you going to do that...
i have 2 axiun stations the t3a and t3b and when they die im not cheaping out and buying a real jbc setup with tweezers and such. the axiun is better than the metcal units at the local makerspace though. i have a fnrisi portable one that uses the mini t12 tips and it overheats constantly.
i have a quick hot air station thats no better than the one i had before. they both have bldc fans and are repairable.
im a big fan of ifixit. it's probably the tools i use the most and the lifetime warranty means they replace the bits and give you a bunch of free stuff. i've bought lots of their kits from the same seller in canada as gifts for people and such. i dont know if he's playing favorites or not. great company to deal with though.
I watched the original video and I have no comment on your review or how it differs from previous reviews. My issue is with the device itself. When I first saw it, I expected it to be reasonably priced considering the costs of the components. Had it been priced less than $100, I'd consider it to be a good deal. But at this price point, 99% of people can get a lot more out of their money. Sure, there may be some extremely niche applications where this would be better than other options. But at this price point, its nothing more than an overpriced battery backup with a logo stamped on top.
OMG! Sounds like the difference of a 3G Shoephone and a 3 1/2G Bootphone where the signal remains to low worn down there?
the ifixit station reminds me of the amplifier i use for my hifi headphones when i travel hahaha
I would like to see how good is a taiyo goot products i don't see much reviews about them
I don't understand why this video needs to exist ... Dave was very clear about the whys and hows.
Dave you did an amazing review, just my head explodes when people don't pay attention :D
1:54 800 Watts?
800 Gigawatts great Scott. 😁🤣
things are bigger in 'strailia
Didn't he say "a 100 Watt"??😊
@@eruton Even subtitles thinks he said 800. 😉😊
I believe it says “repair is noble,”not “repair is mobile.” It’s on a bunch of their tools. I couldn’t really tell from the video, but you might want to take a look. I could be wrong, but if I’m right, it would negate the point you made in the beginning of the video.
I could swear I read "Repair is noble" in the last video
it is 😄
Can't believe I risread that!
@@EEVblog2 I’ve noticed symptoms on you being dyslexic (like me). Have you ever been diagnosed?
What about V2 of iFixit Soldering station, but this time with type-c EPR mode for 240 watts?????
How about iFixit recalling this dud and apologizing for lyi^^^misleading 100W claim?
@@rasz I agree.
In fact Ill skip this one and wait for v2
I'm sure those people didn't even watch the entire video before leaving a comment.
That's because you are an..........
That's just slip of toungue 1:52 folks! It's not going to deliver 800 watts so don't take that word for granted.
Dave, youtube audiences have become very sensitive to "Shilling", you may not have noticed the trend in your old age. Not saying you're doing it, but people perceive things that aren't there more these days.
It's "noble", not "mobile"! :)
Repair is noble.
it just have t12 performance?
Since youtube removed thumb down counter, I rarely press it (except the case wnen video is real b.s.) as it means nothing anymore. If I don't agree with a content, I will not press a thumb up in most cases.
So, not sure if it is true only for me, but I wouldn't trust just a thumbs down statistics only.
Creators still see the thumbs down, it's right there on our main video summary page, impossible to ignore.
I think the text inside says repair is noble not "mobile" 😅
all irons are different. I stick to basic powered unit ( Jacar ) and a Low end Portasol gas iron and a 240 ac 40w iron. I don't do enough work with them to get an expensive one. My friend had a simple transformer iron and it got hot.
Other reviewers, that did the Quick station, did not have the thermal capacity issues like you did. It seems that you got a dud.
I just saw another review, and he only got 40W power peaks out, not the expected 80W.
@@EEVblog2 Watch the "SDG Electronics" review he was getting around 70W.
How are they going to stick a higher capacity tip into that holder? It seems like a snug fit
Reduce the heater coil resistance. The mass of the tip is not critical. But they could make it fatter on the end if they wanted to.
@@jaro6985 What I meant was fatter tips won't fit to standard holder
Why not compare the thermal effect with mobile alternatives.?
As highlighted.. its likely around 40 to 50 watt iron the one you received, so yeah.. not the best for Ifixit of all sizes to bambozzle the consumers with their 100W claims, and even highlighted it on the tip' when it ain't. (that's sketchy)
And there you likely also got some of the reasoning why the display is so manipulated, to camulflage the lackluster thermal performance, and why it wont show the actual temp and also in an attempt for Ifixit to ride the "spec race" of 4sec to 350 which it clearly didn't do in practise, even though you try to explain that the sensor are likely very far way from the tip..hmm * it has to be in Paris for that lack of response... its a cartridge system after all.
But it is merits.. that many endusers wont be able to validate, as you need tot he tools to check these things.. also why many CN brands..lie a lot of on the merits that ain't easily to be validated by the common end user.
Because that's an entirely different video, called a shootout.
The POWER of the thumbs up.🙄
Fue claro la revisión de ambos bichos XD 😀
0:58 I don't think thumbs down ratio it's a valid metric. I don't bother to give thumbs down to videos as it doesn't matter anymore when no one can see it.
Actually I did like the review, tear-down and all the experiments, even if I totally don't agree with your conclusions. For me it's totally overpriced and overhyped piece of junk.
It's like watching a car review on a 2 seater car and winging that the reviewer mislead you by not mentioning you can't put baby seats in the back.
2 seater car (laggy 40W to the tip) shaped like a SUV and advertised as a Lamborghini Urus competitor capable of >180mph while sitting 5 grown passengers (100W)
@@rasz yeah, you gained all that info about the iron from Dave's review, just because his personal opinion doesn't match yours doesn't mean the facts weren't clearly shown for you to make your own decision on
"Soldergate" :)
The video name should be changed to: Dave teaches comprehension and critical thinking
Dave, check your footage again of you taking the battery put. Noble != Mobile!
Did I really misread that? LOL
@@EEVblog2 yes, you did. 😅
edit: gosh darn. i spelled out wrong... put == out.
Never argue with an idiot. They pull you down to their level and beat you with experience!
You won't get an argument from me.
I don't know why this needed to be explained. Quick has 2990W out of the wall at its disposal, while IFixIt is working with USB C standard and lithium cells. I think while bit over priced the iron by it self, it is perfect for the market of someone who needs an iron to fix something once in a while. Replace a drifting joystick or fix a non detachable USB Cable. Which is what I fix it basically is, giving the tools and guides so that anyone can fix their own stuff. I think the no screen just preset and go is also well designed for such person, without the battery bank it also takes up almost no space in the junk drawer. The only disappointment is that despite near perfectly fitting TS80 tips they aren't compatible, and i don't think that's something they can fix in firmware.
As for me I just prefer my bench top Chinese JBC compatible soldering iron as i get access to a wide selection of tips. I don't feel guilty buying a JBC 'clone' as JBC still gets my money from the tips and otherwise I wouldn't of been their customer due to their bench top soldering irons being out of my price range.
Personally, I didn't think much of the ifixit. It's kind of a halfway device that's very expensive. It's triple the price of TS80/TS100, not as portable. I'm sure it will sell like hotcakes, because iFixit is the Apple of repair. People will buy it for the name alone.
I really hate arguments of "it will get better with software updates". No it won't. Historically, only times that happened was an outlier. You know what it's doing now, if you want to review/buy/advertise, do it based on current performance, not some future vapourware software updates. That's just lying to customers.
Also, my problem is not with the power display but the temp display - it's supposed to show current tip temp, but it doesn't move after putting it in water? Wtf? Is it any wonder it's not putting the juice in if it thinks the temp is ok...
the only no-no for me on the fixit is just the terrible price. 270€ is just about too damn high.
Dave when you showed you IFixit driver set, and stated that you love their products*, you acknowledged you were a shill, and bias. Rather than being transparent, like what you were doing.
It is the new Willfull Ignorance Troll. For example, YT'r states " i dont like a thing because reasons" = Audience interprets "i dont like it, therefore bad" .
Its currently going around.
*Paraphrasing
Almost forgot my favorite.
You can conpare apples to oranges, why. They are both round and you can eat them.
It's called setting up the expectation.
I can't afford either of them. Long live my cheap a$$ YiHua 936.
I wish someone would compare the kasyan analog t12 diy iron to the others to see how much the chinese firmware and pid actually do compared to a jellybean opamp
Portable or not, the iFixit iron claims that it can deliver 100 watts, it couldn't barely deliver half of that claim, that's automatically a thumbs down. No amount of handwaving changes that it's being falsely marketed.
Lmao people are so whiney and stupid 😂 great content as always.
No problem with either review. But I guess one more time for the dummies lol
"It has live display". Yeah, which tells lies. You dipped the whole tip into water, display still reads 370. It's not a PID issue, it should just be showing the value from the sensor. The power bar is also full of shit, full on display yet a separate meter doesn't even show 50% of rated power. It's not really a feature to have a display that lies to you, is it?
Really reminded me of a cheap 3D printing pen Big Clive tore down recently. The display had a life of its own, reading temperatures even with the sensor disconnected.
Yes, they need to fix it.
It says "REPAIR IS NOBLE" not "mobile". lol
My main problem with this iron is that it's an ifixit product. Their mission, as I see it, is to popularize repairing in general. But their iron is an expensive tool, with very specific use-cases, where it's price may be justified. They should've just slapped their logo on a Pinecil, to be honest. It's cheap, reliable, versatile tool that's more than enough for an average person.
Over priced but nice. got the ts 101.
Trolls got ratio'd
Bit of a bullshit argument. If you want to compare it to a mobile iron, then only compare the handle solo vs any other handle like the pinecil/ts100. That is also a more equal battle compared to price. If you add the base station then compare it to any other base station solder station
A fail is a fail, bench or portable, if it was a multimeter you wouldn't accept different reading just because it is a mobile dmm. Trash is trash.
What a nonsensical comparison. The requirements are not different for portable versus bench multimeters, in terms of sccuracy.
They are different for portable soldering irons where you know you have to make power compromises
Noble not mobile.