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Miniware TS100

11owners with an opinion
100%of verdicts positive
0/0positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for value and portability; criticized for ease of use.

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What people wrote

NeutralOwned 10 years
Honestly, just practice with a thing that does not cost a lot of money. Once you desolder and resolder a full size keyboard multiple times (this is before hot-swap was available), most normal through hole PCB soldering jobs becomes easy. 300C on my TS100 for 63/37 lead (from a cheap brand) for any solder in the past 10 years. No extra flux, clamps or anything, just a wet sponge and an open window (or soldering outside), it sounds very basic but once you know how to solder you can do it anywhere. For desoldering, a good solder pump will do. If a joint is hard to desolder, add solder and pump it again. You can use solder wick to clean up the hole, or you can just pump it again. Sure, once you have an actual paying job with disposable income you can get all the nice tools, solder, and all that jazz, but it does not make you better, it just makes it easier. Though saying that, a Hakko desoldering gun is well worth it - I am still good at using a pump and solder wick, but what a time saver the Hakko is. I have bought some spare Kester leaded spools in case it gets banned for average the consumer, but nowadays I use lead-free SAC305 solder. It's safer clean-up, the only downside is that it does not look as cool. Also, definitely use an extractor fan for lead-free, the fumes are from lead-free are meant to be way more toxic than leaded - I get a headache from some whiffs compared to many more from leaded soldering (obviously try not to inhale any in the first place!).
Neutral
I do have a TS100 which I use either with a battery pack or a wall charger. For storing it, I am using a metal casing that is used for a single cigar. There's also room for a tiny metal cleaning brush which protects the tip during storage. Given that all of this is metal and that the soldering iron doesn't have that much thermal capacity, I can pack it up while the tip is still hot and the casing will only get mildly warm, but not to the point where it'd cause damage.
Likes it
> interestingly the sensation of heat comes with enough delay to cause burns before you register the temperature. As someone who solders pretty regularly: don't I know it! > Also I could avoid smooching the thing for the most part, because the heat radiating from it was already noticeable from a few millimeters Totally works with your fingertips too. If it's "too cold" to feel without touching, it's cold enough to give a quick tap, which'll inform you about it's temperature some more. But I guess everyone has their own tricks! I've switched to a TS-100 a while back, and having a temperature readout right on your soldering iron is really quite nice.
Recommends it
I was expecting to grouch all over this, but I really like it. A lot of thought went into this, and the choices are mostly very good. A few notes from someone who's been doing this 30+ years and 10 of those years as a volunteer in a community makerspace: * 10" shelves aren't nearly deep enough for vintage test equipment. If all you need is a DS1054Z, that's fine, but as you move up and your needs expand, you'll find that more advanced test equipment is astonishingly expensive new. Some older stuff is obsolete junk, but some is still relevant and performant, and wonderfully affordable, albeit bulky. A cart can be a good way to accommodate the larger infrequent-use items without corrupting the elegance of the shallow shelves. * The FX888D was indeed an inflection point in hobbyist-priced soldering stations, but the UI/UX is so terrible it's easier to blow away the calibration than to adjust the active temperature, and more than half the ones I've found in the wild have suffered exactly that. (I carry a calibrator.) The result is that someone either doesn't know why their solder behaves terribly when they set "the right temperature", or they've found a setting that works and the display is just showing a completely insane number that has nothing to do with anything. Either way it completely negates the benefit of a display in the first place! The old analog FX888 is a gem, but the D is so terrible I'd love to just yeet them all into the sun. As soon as the TS100 and Pinecil came…
Likes it
I have both a hakko and a ts-100, and honestly I end up just using the ts-100 most of the time as I can run it off a small battery pack. Its kinda like having a dyson battery vacuum vs a proper AC one - the AC vacuum has way better suction, but the dyson is so light and convenient to use and good enough for most things.
Neutral
I did have issues with 2 Pinecils breaking on me. The first one they replaced under warranty. I still use a 3rd I have, so I don't mind recommending it because I can get a Pinecil for cheaper than a TS100, and I doubt you'll get better support for a TS100 if something does come up within the warranty period. Oh I should mention I have both the TS100 and Pinecil, and the Pinecil does everything the TS100 does.
Recommends it
Oh boy, nice idea, but this looks complicated and time consuming. I recommend to get some good equipment first: - solder fume extractor (see below) - extra thin high quality tin - a desoldering pump AND desoldering wire - high quality flux - a TS 100 soldering Iron with KU tip from ali express for 50 bucks - optional: USB-C Power Adapter for your existing power supply (so you don't have to buy one) - optional: a soldering mat (normaly blue colored) and you have a near professional equipment for about $120. Now flash IronOS[1] on your soldering Iron, and it works even better. Instructions: - turn on solder fume extractor - heat iron to 370° Celsius (but be careful depending on your workpiece) - Tin both ends beforhand - better slightly more flux to put on (but not for small works) - if flux has been applied, cleaning up with e.g. toothbrush & isopropyl alcohol after you're done maybe a good idea However, the most important peace of hardware is a solder fume extractor... I'm surprised that so many youtube "professionals" don't put a hint on this - never play with your health. This can even be done DIY (see youtube tutorials). High quality flux is also important because of your health. Chinese sellers often don't care about ingredients... High quality tin is much easier to work with and costs 5 bucks more than low quality tin. It is worth. [1]: https://github.com/Ralim/IronOS
Likes it
I never knew about the Pinecil before this post. Thanks for that. Personally own the TS100 and absolutely adore it for mostly building keyboards. Yes you are absolutely spoiled by both of these. Before them were super terrible irons or the expensive brick sized ones with minimal optionality. Having come from the 'dark ages' it's night and day.
Doesn’t like itDoesn’t say they own it
Toys like the TS100 are not what people think they are, and tend to cause more harm than good. Thermal mass is important, please have a look at my other post for a recommended tutorial set. Silver based solders like SAC305 will also stick to most plated pin types. Sometimes people are given a BS fools errand, and convince themselves there is some hidden secret to workmanship. You would have been better off with a $25 30W Weller iron and $7 flux+Wick kit off Amazon for through-hole style PCB kits. =3
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
Wow, it's cool to see how things have changes. Back in 2017 a portable hacking station was not that easy to pull off. Now, you just need a TS100/Pinecil/etc, probably any kind of USB-PD iron will do. We have very nice 30 in 1 ultra small screwdriver sets. And we have Owon's multimeter/scope/signal generators. You might even be able to fit it all in the carry case that comes with those Owons! So many repairs can easily be done with just a backpack these days, even if you're also carrying things for more physical fixes.
Recommends itDoesn’t say they own it
All you need for simple SMD soldering is a TS100 soldering iron, good solder and good flux. And that's what I would recommend to any beginner, even if they wanted to solder together THT kits. The only extra tool needed is if you need to replace a chip (or solder some QFNs / BGAs), but the cheapest available hot air station will do just fine.
Likes itDoesn’t say they own it
> soldering iron and supplies While I don't own one, the TS100 [0] is supposed to be an amazing soldering iron. [1] As a plus, the hardware and software are open source. [2] > "helping hands" Realacc six arm third hand. [3] It's fantastic for the price. > misc parts/supplies like wire, breadboards, switches, LEDs etc. AliExpress? YMMV for quality though > batteries, USB chargers, couple of PC power supplies for power supply Can't recommend batteries or USB chargers from China, too much counterfeit junk. For PC power supplies, Seasonic is a well priced, quality brand. There are a bunch of ATX power switches available (e.g. AntMiner) on eBay for a few dollars. [0] https://www.banggood.com/MINI-TS100-Digital-OLED-Programable... [1] http://hackaday.com/2017/07/24/review-ts100-soldering-iron/ [2] https://github.com/Ralim/ts100 [3] https://www.banggood.com/Realacc-Strange-Third-Hand-Six-Arm-...