Here's something useful for people who do a lot of electronics on the road. This hack shows how to build a USB powered soldering iron from a battery powered iron by connecting a spare cable to the iron. Check out the directions at the link below.
via GetLoFi
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jan 5, 2009 04:00 AM
Computers, DIY Projects, Electronics |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email This |
| Digg this!
Oldest comments listed first.
Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!
Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.
$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)
Check out more videos from MAKE.
 |
MAKE on Facebook Visit our Facebook page and become a fan of MAKE! |
 |
MAKE on Twitter Follow our MAKE tweets! |
 |
MAKE on Flickr Join our MAKE Flickr Pool! |
Gareth Branwyn
Editor-in-Chief
Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
| Web | Twitter
Becky Stern
Associate Editor
| AIM | Twitter
Marc de Vinck
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
John Park
Contributing Writer
| Twitter
Sean Ragan
Contributing Writer
| Twitter
Matt Mets
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
Dale Dougherty
Editor & Publisher
| Twitter
Shawn Connally
Managing Editor
| Twitter
Goli Mohammadi
Associate Managing Editor
Kip Kay
Weekend Projects
| AIM | Twitter
Collin Cunningham
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
Adam Flaherty
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
John Baichtal
Contributing Writer
| AIM | Twitter
More contributors: Mark Frauenfelder (Editor-in-Chief, MAKE magazine), Kipp Bradford (Technical Consultant/Writer), Chris Connors (Education), Diana Eng (Guest Author), Peter Horvath (Intern), Brian Jepson (O'Reilly Media), Robert Bruce Thompson (Science Room)
Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!
Click here to advertise on MAKE!
Behind the Scenes at MAKE and CRAFT
In January, many of the remote MAKE/CRAFT team members (myself included) convened at the Maker Media headquarters at O'Reilly Media in Sebastopol, California. Take a look behind the scenes of your favorite DIY publications as Goli Mohammadi gives us...
More...
Help | Write for MAKE | Contact Us | Subscribe | Advertise with Us | Privacy Policy| About MAKE | FAQ
© 2010 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing on makezine.com are the property of their respective owners.
RSS
A USB port's maximum power is 0.5 amps at 5 volts which is 2.5 watts. That's not going to get you anywhere for a soldering iron. You're much better off with one of those butane soldering irons.
Not to mention the absolute stupidity of drawing that kind of power from your expensive notebook battery just to burn as heat. And if you have an outlet not to use the notebook battery, you have an outlet for a soldering iron.
Reply to this comment
I concur; this is stupid.
You need at least 25W for a soldering iron. I fail to see how USB's 2.5W would work. It must have been drawing a lot more than 500mA which is pretty risky.
Reply to this comment
Battery powered irons are not very good. Throwing out the battery in favor of USB power is going from bad to worse. This project would make much more sense if the USB port were used to recharge the battery in the iron.
Reply to this comment
The comments above about the available current through USB are completely on target, but not quite correct. A USB port will provide only 100 mA to an unconfigured port. To get the full 500 mA, the device must request more current during enumeration, and if the host (your computer) determines that it can supply more than 100 mA, it will do so. Otherwise, the device will be disconnected and it won't draw any current at all!
Of course, this "USB soldering iron" has no intelligence, so it won't ever enumerate, which means that the port will source only 100 mA. And 5 V at 100 mA is not a lot of power at all.
This "hack" is about as useful as those "USB coffee warmers" given away as trade-show tchochkies.
Reply to this comment