Parkside do appear to make surprisingly decent budget cordless tools. About 5 years ago a friend gave me his Parkside impact driver, general purpose drill, and their SDS drill, as he had bought some proper Dewalt kit, and I used them for a good 3 years for DIY stuff, before making a return to carpentry for work. I figured they might see me through a few months on the job, until I could afford to replace them with professional stuff... Well, they're all still going strong and I've since bought extra batteries and a number of other tools from their range, and I've also discovered that, with a little modification, you can even run the Draper Storm Forcce range, with the Parkside batteries (it looks suspiciously like Draper use the same manufacturer in China, or at least many of the same components). People are always laughing at me on site for using Lidl tools, but those who work regularly with me, have had to grudgingly admit that they're actually pretty good, dependable tools, and of course the batteries are less than a 3rd of the price of Dewalt ones 🙂 A while back I started to wonder why they were so well built for the price, and I found out that it's all down to regulations in Germany, where Lidl are based, as they have to ensure that their power tools comply with a set of semi professional standards over there. Anyway, great video mate, always a pleasure to watch your teardowns of stuff like this 👍

The main reason I don't like setting soldering irons to a very high temperature is that the flux tends to burn off before it makes it all the way around the joint. That makes the solder not flow all the way around even if there's plenty of heat. For soldering large terminals, I like to buy much larger tips with greater heat capacity instead of turning up the iron.

I'm still impressed by how much current those small MOSFET packages can switch.

I used to work at a telephone exchange, and we had two types of iron. A large slow heat iron and a 50 Watt quick heat. The slow one could be left on all day and be usable for a couple of terminations, as it slowly went to about 360 deg C. If we needed to do a few hundred terminations we had to use the quick heat, which was about 450 deg C, but needed the oxidation cleaned off every 10 minutes. Also the tips would only last a fortnight before being needed to be replaced.

Parkside tools are quite good for the price especially when on sale. Perfect for the powertool you use once or twice a year.

For labels that you dont mind showing they have been voided, just run a precision blade along the seam. Thus the clam shell opens to divide the label into 2 parts. Then you dont have to pry up the entire label.

As a challenge, you should attempt to replace the setpoint resistor using the iron itself. I.e. have it perform surgery on itself!

I bought mine in spring this year, mostly because it had ended up in the reduced price corner at my Lidl. I just couldn't resist and was also quite positively surprised by the build quality and the fact that it uses these standard (Hakko-rip-off) tips. I hadn't opened it yet, so a big thank you for saving med the trouble 😎

Always found Parkside to have good and reliable budget/entry level tools.

I love reviews like this, i bought a lot of parkside tools in past and they are priced well for DIY work, but sometimes it is good to have a review like this to see if quality holds up properly before buying it.

7:13 in situations like that, I typically just cut the label cleanly at the seam. Most of the time that gives a nicer appearance than pulling the label up and trying to stick it back down.

Hi Clive.. thanks for bring back memories with the Antex iron.. when I was a young lad getting into things electronics, I got 2 different birthday presents that I still remember… my mum, under my directions, got me an Antex iron and when I turned 21 my sisters got me a set of Stanley screwdrivers.. now 45 years and a bit more I still have both gifts.. apart from the “electrical” screwdriver, with the red plastic insulation, the set still has all the original screwdrivers.. I know were the original electrical driver is, but unfortunately it was in the roof space of a factory, that no longer exists.. A cordless soldering iron is a super “handy dandy” tool to have.. only yesterday I got a bit of kit up and running, situated several hundred metres from the nearest powerpoint, with a quick dab of solder!! Keep up the good work… cheers

Actually, you can set what temperature you need on this PARKSIDE soldering iron. You just need to switch it on and wait the light indicator to get green. Then press and hold the button until the indicator goes red, this is the state of lowing down the temperature. Every brief press of the button will change the maximum temperature of the iron for about 3 degrees C. If you press and hold button until the indicator goes green, this is the state of getting up the maximum temperature. To save the setting, just press and hold the button on more time. I have two of these irons and set them both to reach a maximum temperature for about 365 degrees C. To measure the temperature you may use some thermometer like the one in the video HAKKO 191.

You do make an excellent point about using this soldering iron in auto repair. If you're soldering a few ground leads from the harness to one terminal connection, you need to blast multiple wires with heat quickly - especially since you're often holding several wires together in a tiny space with one hand contorted oddly to keep them all together. 🤣

The use of the P-MOSFET and N-MOSFET combination to allow the low voltage processor to control the high side (at higher voltage) of the load is exactly what I need for a Halloween decoration I need to get going on.

You answered my intrigue in the first 5 seconds. My first thought when setting the thumbnail was "that design looks like something you'd find at Aldi"

I was going to skip over this video, but the "(with schematic)" is like nerd cat nip to me and gets me every time. I love you Clive.

I bought one of these a couple of years ago and it worked for around a couple of months then next time I went to use it had failed. The LED does all the right things, flash and turn green, but the element does not get hot - so the "warm up" indications are time rather than temperature sensed! I tossed it in the bottom draw but now with the help of BC's excellent reverse engineering I'll go and check it out some more - it's probably the element that is broken. Like BC I actually bought it with the intention of using is as a battery connector for my TS100 - which I will still do by installing a connector from the unit.

Nice unit. Nice tear down. As someone who's used several of the TS-80 and TS-100 irons I can say with confidence that the tips' lifetime is shortened at temps above 400. I would mount a multi turn pot that has a long shaft and knob in such a way that I could adjust it from the outside.

Thanks for your videos about everything we didn't know we didn't wonder about. I also find it encouraging to see that you make some effort to make everyone understand that water boils at 100 degrees and freezes at 0 degrees (celcius, mostly, but centigrades if you're sufficiently old)

U really have the best voice for listening while I sleep. Good stuff

God bless this video. I've been searching for some time for a cheap, but not totally rubbish portable soldering iron. But I've never came across for those with adjustable regulation. The fact that this soldering iron is so easilly modifiable makes me happy. So I am instantly buying one of those and I just have to add 100ohm potenciometer. I just hope that the available model PLSA 20-Li B2 has the same PCB and they didn't removed the posibility to add potenciometer for regulation. Also in Czech Republic this product is available on online Lidl shop standalone without battery and charger for 500czk (about 18Ł) - without shiping. Extremely good value i think, if you have other parkside products with 20V batteries. Thanks BigClive for showing this product :D

I always found that soldering irons from Parkside and friends tend to fail pretty quickly. After going through a few I don't regret upgrading to a decent temp-controlled station. And I'm excited to see what Clive does with the battery connector. When the heatwave hit in July I printed a swivel mount for a noctua fan that plugs into their triangular 12V batteries. Now the seasons are changing I might see if I can use it to power some bike lights.

i love that there is an industry standard cordless tool battery (its called CAS) and that ONLY smaller brands use it. seems like literally none of the "major" brands use the standard battery :(

Glad to hear the XS25 get a mention 👍 I'm still using the one I bought many years ago. I did have an Antex gascat but unfortunately it didn't last 😞 but was great when it was working

Hello Clive, I’ve only recently stumbled upon your videos (probably due to you tubes algorithms from once watching something entirely unrelated) and just wanted to say they are superb, subscribed of course please keep up the good work.

A couple of years ago, after about 24 year’s service, my trusty Adcola t/c iron died. I tried a couple of generic Chinese irons: the first I sent back as it seemed useless for anything but the lightest tasks. Its replacement was equally bad and on examination I found the problem to be that the bit wasn’t actually in contact with the heating element. This meant it could only get as much power to the tip as could be radiated and conducted across this small air gap. So the tip would get hot while on the stand, but as soon as you tried to solder a wire to a 1/4” spade connector for example, it would exhaust the heat capacity of the bit before you could make a decent joint. Rather than send it back, I shimmed the bit with some copper foil to improve thermal conduction. This made a fair difference and I decided I could live with it. A year later the controller chip went faulty and the MOSFET turned to ash. I now have an Antex 660A. Like everything these days it’s made in China, but at least seems better designed from the thermal aspect.

One trick I learned when building a computer kit in the 70s is to continuously feed solder while going down the pins of a DIP socket. The capillary (?) effect causes the solder to pull along and not leave bridges. Super fast. Any bridges can be removed in a quick second by running the soldering iron over the pins top to bottom and removing the excess on the iron's tip. My current irons are a SainSmart TS80P portable soldering iron with a usb-c battery brick, and on my bench, a Hakko FX888D-23BY Digital Soldering Station. Once you go temperature controlled, you never go back. They come up to temp like a 1000w iron but stop at the selected temperature. On a recent car stereo project, I soldered all the connections (no crimp/butt connectors) and the SainSmart worked wonderfully.

Your presentation of the circuitry is immaculate! Very inspiring! I want to get this and put a 3 or 4-way switch from sensible temperatures to full power on the side of the case.

My favourite part of most of your videos: "One moment, please" :)

Your videos have taught me so much about electronics. Thank you!

I bought an Antex in London, about 35 years ago, it seemed good because every part was replaceable. When I came home to Arbroath some years later, the element went... it seems Arbroath had an excellent Weller salesman, who'd chased the Antex guy outta town LOL 😆 thanks to Maplin, and their big book of dreams I ordered one by post. Most recently, I've been using gas irons; very useful, but a pain when the catalyst runs out. I bought one of these Lidl ones recently as a spare. I find Lidls tools quite good, hugely improved since their first offerings, and the versatile battery is a godsend. PS you can set the temperature, if you read the manual first 😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks for this analysis of a very useful and well-made soldering iron. I was wondering about trying to lower the bit temperature and you have now given me the answer. Re labels covering joints - I usually carefully slit the label along the joint with a very sharp blade, on reassembly the cut is barely noticeable and the adhesive is left uncompromised. This doesn't work where labels cover screws, of course.

See now knowing I could help prevent the oxidation of the tip is something I have not thought of. Thank you Clive

For removing some labels I use Isopropyl Alcohol, just put some drops down the edges and use the Spudger. Most times there is enough glue left on the label that, when dry it will just stick on again! Excellent video as always, also learning a lot through them as Electronics Engineer who also likes to take things apart, modify or repair them!

Bought a year ago. Not my main iron.Great for working on the car.I think I will add a 10k pot thanks to uncle Clive 👍🏻.great bit of kit though

This was the best review of a soldering iron ever made.

You do a great impersonation of the safety officers Clive... Be careful though - its a slippery slope towards becoming one! 🙂 Thank you for a great video!

Just bought me a YIHUA 938D TWEEZERS soldering station for smd components. It makes stripping down a PCB a 2 minute job. I spent ages the other day trying to take the resistor off an Asda led bulb a la Clive's hack. The pigging thing was cooling faster than I could move my tip and there just wasn't room to get an ordinary tip at he right angle. About £50, I' be been toying for ages but finally snapped and paid up. Only took two weeks on Ali express and it is brilliant, you just grasp and lift and off comes the component no matter how nice the PCB there is enough heat to do the job. I think I'll get my money back pretty soon at this rate

I have a number of soldering irons including two Antex TCS (the older analogue version). The first one has seen thousands of hours of use and was used as my normal iron for many years. It dates to the late 1980s. And that’s what I still use whenever I’m away from my normal workbench. Before stocks of this Antex iron ran out, I bought another one just in case… I have a Chinese made soldering station that I now use on my workbench. It’s fine for normal PCB and connector tasks, but if I need to solder or desolder any large joints, it’s the Antex TCS that does the job.

Nice product 👌. I recently purchased some Whia SlimFix VDE screwdrivers, having flush insulation with driver bit, I didn't know these were available, but just my regular change/replacement routine. Great video, thanks for sharing

Winter is slowly ariving on the island, Clive has his gingham lumber jacket on. ❤ Great video 2x👍

I was a Weller man from my apprenticeship days but £200+ for a soldering iron is a bit steep so tried some alternatives for around £70 and was pleasantly surprised at the excellent results. I still believe in good quality kit - even for amateurs.

Quite a lot more circuitry than i expected! Looks neat!

That looks like a better product than I got many years ago. I had once a mains powered one from LIDL and the solder literally ate through the tip within a couple of month.

as much as I've been watching your videos especially on your video you show your examples of how to do soldiering and the difference in a good soldiering as to bad. also different types of soldiering irons and temperature adjustments and it help me as do all your clear videos you make. ty

I've bought some Hakko clone soldering handles on EBay. Always wanted to make a portable setup like these. Now I can thanks to your teardown. Im going to use a 4.6 volt supervisor chip and a voltage divider for control, hope it works.

Funny How this Popped up. I have the Ryobi 18V with Variable temp control, Works a treat... Thanks Mike M.

I saw this video a long ago and today I was able to buy one. Immediatelly added the 33 ohm resistor hack because the temperature was way too high for electonic soldering. Many thanks for finding this easy solution. This unit will replace my old butane powered solder iron when I need a mobile solder station.

Having the capability to go to high temperatures is definitely nice but as you mention can be really hard on the tip over time. I think a good solution is to have a more sensible standard temperature and then have some kind of easy to use "high-power" mode, especially if it the element has decent heat output (say 40+W). The IronOS firmware for Pinecil/TS100/MHP30/TS80 for example has a single-button 450C boost mode for example and I can definitely attest that it works great on my Pinecil (V1) when you have something that needs a bit of extra help.

Thanks Clive the circuit breakdown was really interesting

The screwdriver insulated tip is not for your finger's safety, it's for when it's on top of one terminal, the body doesn't "touch" another terminal and connect them together. Especially common in cruddy wiring or the back of outlets. The idea is that only ~1cm of metal is exposed, which should be about the same size as most compliant clearances between terminals.

Time to write a book on how to master electronics, if you already haven’t, a natural genius x

Great device. I'll have to go to Lidl and see if they sell it here in Germany. I think the high soldering tip temperature is especially useful for larger solder joints and cable cross-sections. I usually repair / solder fine electronics at home, so I use my soldering station. This unit is, as you said, intended for outdoor use. Soldering wires in model making, on vehicles and so on. I already have the battery pack and the quick charger here, in the case of my Lidl cordless drill. I've just had a look, unfortunately it's currently sold out in the Lidl online shop.

I am an old school solderer. Factory soldering. I have several Irons. I use one of these for when I am working on site where there is no mains available, its quicker than having to run an extension. Yes it gets very hot, but as long as you are quick and use extra Flux EVERY JOINT. Its fine. Not really very suitable for fine circuit boards though. I run multiple Parkside tools, so have more than enough batteries. BTW, Clive could have just slit the label at the seam.!!

Cool video! The multi-page schematic was very nice.

Hi. I fixed this one. It's pretty useful. I replaced R8 with 18 Ohm resistor and it works perfectly. The temperature for 18 Ohm for mine is about 330 to 350 deg C. I guess the sensing wire's resistance value varies a lot from product to product

It is interesting that vaping devices with temperature stabilization actually use the same two terminals on the 510 connector to measure the temperature: knowing the thermal curve of wire resistance (in case of a homogenous coil) allows for finding out the temperature of the coil by measuring its resistance. This is why at some point they switched from nickel-chromium wire to alloys with higher thermal resistance dependence coefficient - like stainless steel and others.

If you removed the link and connected a 100 ohm potentiometer to the pads would you then have a variable temperature soldering iron? There wouldn't be a display of the temperature but then my old Maplin soldering station didn't have one but I got to know where to turn the knob depending on what I was soldering.

This is actually really cool, and I might actually look into how to get ahold of one of these in the US. I think I might be inclined to, instead of having a fixed resistor or a trimmer pot, etc, actually add an external switch to allow switching between "high" (480-ish C) or "medium" (350-ish C) settings, which would probably cover most of my own needs pretty well (I do often want to solder things for which 450+ C would probably be just too hot, but it would be nice to have the option when working on things like (as you mentioned) automotive or house wiring type stuff)... And I think the reason it's got such a complicated switching design, and it's got a separate "power on indicator" line and "shutdown" line is that it's actually carefully designed so that if _any_ component fails in any way, the MCU will be able to detect it and prevent any possible configuration where such a fault would cause the iron to be live when it's not supposed to be. If either of the initial "voltage converter" transistors fails in the "on" state somehow, for example, it will be able to detect that they have turned on the iron even though it didn't tell them to, and the separate shutdown signal can be applied to halt everything even if the normal power control line doesn't work as normal due to component failures. By my reading, the only possible way for the iron to be hot when the MCU doesn't intend it to be is if the main switching MOSFET actually fails shorted somehow (which is hard to protect against). Anything short of that is detectable/preventable due to the design, though...

1:15 Extraordinary timing, Big Clive.

Looking again at this well made review, made me look around recently for something similar. A T12 type iron that mounts on a Makita/ type battery. Never had an iron that reaches my selected heat in 4 seconds. For those small and quick jobs, a pain waiting for an iron to heat up, this has been a revelation. You probably have, but why not take a look at one.

Finding an ebay listing, its a German designer which explains why the architecture is so thoughtful.

Have build mine myself for the Milwaukee battery platform. Its basically a chinese 12-24V kit and a 3D printed Housing with an Adapter plate and Low Voltage Cutoff and a Switch. Its heating very quick(300C° in 13s) and has an LCD and a smal knob to adjust the temperature. We just needed a nice soldering iron for soldering on the construction site with LED stripes getting more common every year.

English in a nutshell: Horrific - Bad. Terrific - Good! Otherwise of my personal language barrier nice video as always! Parkside tools are available at aldi over here in ole germany and some of them do tend to have a suprisingly good quality for their low price!

Well I certainly don't need one of these but I'm going to buy one! 🙂

Lidl also sells a slide-on light/USB-charger type thing for those batteries. I replaced the led with a 5v relais to switch a direct battery connection. Now I can use the full 20v with the built in discharge protection and soft switch.

Interesting one, I like the battery system approach. What I don't like is the lack of temperature adjustment or even temperature indication. Nice PCB though, and fortunately it looks hackable with that shunted pads for the potentiometer. PS. same heater as in my cheap-ass Repro 936 station I got from a local electronics service. These heaters are easy to get and cost a little, making them practical to replace if one fails.

I had multiple of the USB irons reviewed, and it's good to see more in these styles. I've seen a ~12-24V adjustable iron, and I never though of hooking it up to a cordless tool battery! Someone put 2 and 2 together and had a clever idea. It'd be interesting to see a "joule thief" design, because the iron would not need to be voltage regulated. Could use a much larger range of supplies, and only need a little bit for a regulator. Edit: You don't have to take the whole label off! Use an exacto / box cutter!!

Looks a good bit of kit for getting heat sinks etc thanks Clive

Commenting just to drive engagement numbers for my favorite channels

I used to use Ungar for everything, and I have several of their desoldering stations, some of the best ever made. Their old 115 V irons had easily changed tips, where they had a female thread, and they were hot, which, like you said, allows one to fly when soldering. I carried those in my service and tube caddies. Weller bought them out in the end.

Well done Clive. I saw one of these last week and wondered why I needed one. Apparently it is because, with your hack, I can mod one to use as a pvc fabric welder. 😁

So great when you have a product that the big guy puts his stamp of approval on.

A lot of circuitry! Nice looking device

Not sure if it is same design... but here in US we have RYOBI rechargeable products. I have a RYOBI soldering station with variable temperature. It operates same as this one you tested (LED) and has multi-turn pot to adjust tip temperature. I like it a LOT more than my butane-gas powered mini-torch for soldering without extension cord.

I went to the local Lidl today to buy dinner, saw the iron and had to have one!

I have one and for outdoor work especially in wind and it still gets the jobs done that I need it too. Would definitely replace it if it broke but most my Parkside electrical tools seem incredibly reliable.

Hi Clive, great video as always. I'd just like to tell you about my ALDI soldering iron which is a FERREX which is ALDIS version of tools. It is mains powered and cost me £9 it comes with two tips, a stand and a small tub of flux.The tips are ready available from ebay/amazon for pennies. Its a 30w with the tip that's held in with a screw ( if you know what I mean) don't know what temp it gets to but it's fine for me and seems to do the job nicely for what I use it for. ( mainly repairing and building my own through hole circuit boards) anyway the main reason I'm messaging you is that I have had this iron now for about 2 years and no issues at all I have only put two tips in it over that time and believe me it's done a lot of work so far ( I do keep the tip very clean and well tinned after every use) sorry I'm digressing 🤣 . I last used this iron last Saturday it is now Friday ( 6 days later) and have just come into my shed (which is my little workshop) to grab a beer out of the fridge after what seems a very long week at work. ( beer fridge in the shed is essential 🍺🤣) and realised that I left the iron switched on, I thought well that's it that heating element must be burnt out by now and the tip completely cooked to death, but to my absolute surprise it was still hot and running but the tip looked a bit sorry for itself, anyway I re tinned the tip and gave it a quick clean and it's like I never left it switched on. For a very cheap iron I'm absolutely gob smacked that it's still running and as for the tip that's surprised me too. Sorry for the essay but I'm so surprised by this if it had of burnt out I would have just bought another one for less than a tenner who cares anyway 🤣 . I did mean to add that this iron is not temperature controlled, just wondering why it didn't burn out any ideas or have I just been lucky.

FYI the isolation on the screwdriver is not essentially aimed at avoiding you an electrical shock if you handle it by its metal part while it touch one live element, but protect you from making an accidental short circuit between 2 different live elements and getting blasted and severely burned in the process if the current and/or the voltage delivered by this short circuit is important, like when working in industrial machines panel command boxes, where you might have to act without cutting the main switches if you are an electrician. Where I live, by regulation, those boxes - well the recently installed ones - should only contain equipment that cannot be short circuited with such a tiny length of metal (IP2X standard). I've learned that just today from the instructor of one of those mandatory courses you need to take if you work in a place where anything electrical is done - not that it applies to me as a software engineer, but I started working in an electrical test labs environment recently (on electric vehicles charging stations firmware).

I bought a Weller iron which too was very hot. Tips lasted 3 days ! so went back to my trusty Antex ER30 where tips last for years.

I have the Ryobi version and it is awesome! I keep it in my RC flying supplies!👌🏻

I do like how the stand fits the soldering iron handle so solidly. I bought a pine pencil -based soldering iron and it didn't come with a stand, so I've been using my old FX-888D soldering iron stand. It kind-of works, but it's not really a great fit. They do sell a stand for it, but it's the shitty kind that you're meant to just lean the iron on. I'm not going to carefully place it down on the stand, I want to use muscle memory and shove it back into the hole without looking, but it's just not satisfying when it's not a good fit.

I've had an Antex XS25 since I first bought myself a soldering iron, probably 25years ago, I had no idea what was good or bad, but I remember using the yellow Antex in school so knew they'd be robust, I control the tip temp with the wet soapy sponge, did away with the all plastic holder I bought and made my own solder/glue gun station which I prefer.. I also am lucky enough to still have a enough leaded solder to keep me going and have not had to struggle with lead free yet, I dread the day..

If you're really adventurous, you might try Zinc wire welding. Zinc melts around 420C and you could solder aluminum wires or thin strips of different meatls. They sell low temp aluminum brazing rods like "Blue demon" @ 387°C, which are mostly Zinc with a flux core.

I've had my XS25 soldering iron for 15 years, its only had one tip replacement and I still use it.

I'm reporting you to the King for violating the that screwdrivers shock hazard protection LOL You violated it !

I recently got myself the Hakko FX-901 to replace a Analog stick on my Xbox Controller, worked like a treat!

The “force off” could be a pwm signal to control the temperature. Also, the programming header reminds me of a standard PIC micro. Was there any part numbers on the chip?

I bought a, to all appearances, brand new vacuum sealer in a charity shop. Since it was getting a bit too hot I took it apart to see if there was any solution inside. I was quite surprised by the complexity. It might be worth a look.

Lidl are currently selling a different model with battery integrated into the iron (bulky pen style). The specs say it has a 30s heat up, 60 minute run time, and Max temp of 470°C. it's priced at £14.99 and available now (mid April 2023). It appears to come with a handy stand including a sponge, plus a usb A to usb c charging cable. Doesn't look to have temperature or output power control either, looks to be single button operation and work the same as those instant/cold heat soldering iron guns. Looks to come with a single needle tip which I think is the same type as on the model Clive has his way with here.

I think I would fit a wee switch to the side to be able to flick it between the full 500C and, say, 375C, which is my favorite bit temperature. Also looks like you could drill a small hole under the sponge tray to allow a trimmer tool to reach a small multiturn trimmer fitted on the PCB.

That looks nice and is a decent price ino. I've been using my TS100 plugged into a m18 or 2 m12 batteries when I need to travel. There's 3d printed battery connectors that go nice with 3d printed stands that are nice, a plus so you can stay with your chosen ecosystem of tools

I bought a corded one. Tip lasted a week before it ate through the nickel plate. Made a solid nickel tip from a chunk used for plating . Hard stuff to machine!

Gadget Engineering did a similar video a while back on this iron (kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rsWRpZxjscmlimg.html) and one of the comments mentioned that these actually have a calibration mode (which may explain why it has on detect/force off at the MCU). Original comment by dsfasdfSDSF: 1) power it on, let it turn solid green 2.a) to reduce the temperature press and hold power until it turn solid red 2.b) to increase the temperature press and hold power until it turn blinking green 3) short press power to increase or decrease the temperature (3 clicks around 10 degrees change) 4) to end the calibration press and hold power button until it turns solid green I have one of these irons, but I couldn't get a good reading on my TIS multimeter temperature wire to do the calibration with (I use it very rarely, and for "less fine" work)

Maybe this PCB is used in a product where you can adjust the temperature. That's why the connector is there. Nice video once again. Edit: not the connector itself but the place where you can actually solder a connector. :)

That circuit looks dead handy as a general-use temperature controller: Tinning-pot, hot-plate for PCB work, crystal oven or whatever. Built into a nice box with a rotary switch, bigger FET's, it looks well-worth the £12. I'll buy one to put in the cupboard for when I get around to the project, or it gets thrown out after I kick the bucket. 🙃

To your point I could see a lot of mechanics using this. Most mechanics use butane soldering irons anyway. You don't always have an electrical outlet so you either have to run an extension cable set up your soldering iron inside the car because you can't really take the wiring harness out

Very interesting iron. I love my Hakko FX600, which is a fantastic iron with enough power to solder to a steel chassis. It and a 5 pack of genuine Hakko tips is under $75. Much, much higher quality than the cheap eBay stuff.

Cheers for the temp hack Clive, got a lot of low value resistors gathering dust and a mini toggle switch to flip between high 500C and 360C :)