Soldering Station

HackSpace Magazine, Issue 13

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HackSpace Magazine Issue 13This month’s maker-focused HackSpace Magazine includes my relatively long-term review of an extremely clever, though far from perfect, temperature-controlled soldering ‘station’: the Miniware TS100.

First, some necessary definitions: brushing aside standard, fixed-power soldering irons, you’ll find adjustable-temperature and temperature-controlled irons on the market. The former are, typically, not much larger than a standard soldering iron and include a small knob on the body for adjusting the power and, thus, temperature of the tip. The latter go a step further, reading the temperature of the iron and using the feedback to dynamically adjust the power output to keep the tip as close to a chosen temperature as possible, and most often come with a bulky base station to which the iron is tethered.

The Miniware TS100, and its not-yet-available-in-the-UK successor the TS80, is different. While it’s a fully-fledged temperature-controlled iron, there’s no base station in sight: instead, the iron packs everything it needs into a surprisingly compact body, including a small OLED screen for live feedback and adjustment of its settings.

What’s most interesting about the design, though, is that the firmware that drives its internal microcontroller is open source. It’s entirely possible to download the source code, modify it, and flash it onto the iron with nothing more than a simple USB cable – and many have done that, producing alternative firmwares which either improve its performance or turn it into something else, including a Tetris-playing games console and a functional oscilloscope, entirely.

The TS100 is clever, then, but not perfect. A design which lacks any form of flaring to stop your fingers drifting forward onto the hot tip is one thing, but a larger problem is an ungrounded power design which leaves the tip floating at voltages more than enough to damage sensitive components. Thankfully, the reviewed unit came with a bundled grounding strap – but that leaves you with two wires rather than one, hampering the portability somewhat.

The full review can be read in the print and digital copies of HackSpace Magazine Issue 13, with the latter available for free download now under the Creative Commons licence from the official website.

The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book, Volume 2

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The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book Volume 2The Raspberry Pi Foundation has published the second in its Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book series, and as usually there’s a whole raft of my material to be found within its black-clad pages.

The book begins with practical guides and tutorials, including my guide to adding a physical reset switch to the RUN header on any modern Raspberry Pi Zero. It’s the review section where you’ll find the bulk of my work, however, beginning with a look at a couple of handy tools for makers: the Proster VC99 multimeter and the Tenma 60W Digital Soldering Station.

Further on you’ll find detailed reviews of two microcontroller-based products which can interface with the Raspberry Pi or operate entirely standalone: the Adafruit Gemma Starter Kit and the Bare Conductive Touch Board Starter Kit. The former acts as an introduction to the world of conductive thread, while the latter uses conductive ink to complete the circuits in its bundled guide.

Finally, my contributions to the Projects Book Volume 2 end with a review of the Pimoroni pHAT DAC, a compact add-on for the Raspberry Pi Zero – though mechanically compatible with any other modern Pi model bar the bare Compute Module family – which adds a high-quality digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) and 3.5mm jack. Those looking to wire a Pi into the stereo systems can also solder on optional stereo RCA jacks, which I thought was a particularly nice feature.

As with the previous book in the series, the Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book Volume 2 is available to download free under the Creative Commons licence from the official website.

Custom PC, Issue 149

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Custom PC Issue 149This month’s Hobby Tech has just two component parts: a long-term review of the Tenma 60W Digital Soldering Station, and a in-depth guide to building an ultrasonic distance sensor using a Spark Core for a somewhat novel application: shaming me into using my standing desk more.

Looking at the tutorial first, it all stemmed from an office move in which I bought a vast quantity of Ikea furniture. Among it all was a new desk, which for a small extra fee I was able to get with a simple hand-crank mechanism fitted to adjust its height. As I spend the vast majority of my life in front of a computer, I thought a little change like spending some of the day standing instead of sitting would do me the world of good – but, as could be expected, after an initial burst of enthusiasm I found myself using the desk in sitting mode more often than not.

This month’s project was my attempt to rectify that. Using a cheap ultrasonic distance sensor and a Spark Core microcontroller – now known as a Particle Photon, following a major rebranding exercise – I built a device which could track the distance between the surface of the desk and the ceiling and thus report whether it was in sitting or standing mode. When a mode change was detected, it would post a message to Twitter – thus publicly shaming me if I spent too long in sitting mode.

It’s a bit of a daft project, but one which demonstrates some useful techniques: it uses a resistor ladder to lower the 5V output from the ultrasonic sensor to a Spark Core-friendly 3.3V, it shows how a Wi-Fi-connected microcontroller can report readings to a remote system, and even uses If This Then That (IFTTT) to automatically post messages to Twitter based on those readings. As to whether it actually encouraged me to spend more time standing? Not so much.

As the tutorial’s complexity meant taking up a three-page spread, there was only room for one additional feature this month: a two-page long-term review of the Tenma 60W Digital Soldering Station, which I bought some time ago to replace my Maplin-branded variable-output soldering iron. Despite its surprisingly reasonable cost, purchased from the ever-reliable CPC, it’s proven a sturdy tool and is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an entry-level upgrade from fixed-output irons. It’s also a pleasure to be able to form a long-term opinion on something: all too frequently I review items on a short-term basis, which reveals nothing about their reliability over time. Having been using the Tenma for well over a year now, though, I can personally guarantee its longevity.

All this, plus a variety of interesting things written by people who aren’t me, can be yours at your local newsagent, supermarket, or electronically via Zinio and similar digital distribution services.

The MagPi, Issue 40

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The MagPi Issue 40This month’s MagPi, the official magazine of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is just a little bit special: it is, to my knowledge, the first magazine ever to include a cover-mounted computer. The release of the magazine today also represents the launch of a brand-new Raspberry Pi model: the Raspberry Pi Zero.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been playing with the Pi Zero for some time, having worked on three of the hardware projects you’ll find between the covers of this extra-special issue. After peeling the Pi Zero from the cover, readers will be shown how to solder general-purpose input/output (GPIO) headers onto its otherwise extremely flat face, connect its serial port to a computer for use as a true random number generator (TRNG), and use it with an existing HAT add-on to act as a mood lamp.

The three projects I created for this issue were chosen from a long, long list. The Pi Zero is an exciting device: it features the same specifications as the Raspberry Pi Model A, but in a brand-new form factor a fraction of the size of the original. Naturally, some features have been cut: just like the Model A there’s no Ethernet chip, but there are also no CSI or DSI connectors and no analogue audio or video ports – though composite video is broken out to a solder pad for the adventurous. The ports that do remain have also been modified: the full-size HDMI port is replaced by a mini-HDMI, and the full-size USB port is a micro-USB port which requires a USB On-The-Go (OTG) adapter before it can be connected to standard USB peripherals.

In doing this, the Foundation has created a device that excites me even more than the full-size models. With a production cost so low that it can be cover-mounted on a high-street magazine, it’s now possible to put a full Linux computer in more project than ever before – and with a simple low-cost USB OTG adapter and a Wi-Fi dongle, it can be networked for a total outlay of well below $10. It is, in short, a game-changer, and I look forward to working on many more Pi Zero-related projects in the near future.

If that wasn’t enough, you’ll also find my review of the Tenma 60W Digital Soldering Station which has been my trusty companion in various projects over the last couple of years. It’s always nice to be able to give a device a good, long-haul test before drawing your conclusions and I’ve certainly put the miles in on the Tenma. As I warn in the review a hobbyist doesn’t strictly need a soldering station, but it does make life easier – and the low cost of this unit, purchased from CPC, makes it easy to recommend for those who fancy an upgrade.

All this, plus more – and, remember the cover-mounted Pi Zero – is available in your nearest WH Smith. The magazine itself is also available as a DRM-free PDF download from the official website, licensed under Creative Commons terms, but obviously you’ll have to buy a Pi Zero separately if you want to follow along with any of my projects.