[sdiy] OT: gas powered soldering irons?

[Derek Holzer]

Hi Amos,

OK, I see now. I think we might be on the same wavelength here. Good 
thinking to work out the amp hours and go backwards from there to find 
the power supply.

If you're into solar, I started a thread on the DIY Electro-Music forum 
you might want to check out:

http://electro-music.com/forum/viewtopic.php?highlight=solar&t=34764

If you have any finished solar stuff I'd love to see it!

Best from Berlin,
Derek



Amos wrote:
> was not considering a car battery; that would be impractical.  I have
> done a lot of looking into batteries recently though, because I am
> into outdoor/festival-friendly electronic gadgets... there have been
> amazing strides lately in terms of packing many amp-hours of juice
> into small portable packages... think laptop and cell phone
> batteries... or more specifically to this discussion, high-performance
> RC car and plane power packs.
> 
> For example here's a JVC camcorder battery that crams 3300 mAh (3.3
> amps for an hour) into a tiny package...
> http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sku.jsp?skuId=21473013&cm_mmc=GBase-_-Technology-_-Batteries-_-Camcorder_Batteries&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=21473013
> 
> you can use multiple cells in series and parallel as long as you know
> what you're doing, and build some very sophisticated and (relatively)
> lightweight power sources.
> 
> On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 9:49 AM, Derek Holzer<derek at umatic.nl> wrote:
>> Hi Amos,
>>
>> thanks for the suggestion... I was definitely thinking portable, so no plans
>> to lug a car battery along on a two day hike or anything. I had a look at
>> TSA and Euro regulations, anything butane is definitely prohibited. Might be
>> better to buy the butane iron locally each time. Not really an ecological
>> approach, is it?
>>
>> best!
>> Derek
>>
>> Amos wrote:
>>> just a wild idea, but perhaps one could rig a good 12V power block
>>> (bank of Li-Ion cells?) and DC/AC inverter, and use your regular iron
>>> off the grid?  Definitely would be bulkier and heavier than a butane
>>> torch, but no problems flying with it other than weight... You'd have
>>> to do some calculations to figure how many amp-hours you'd need to get
>>> good service life... but again on the positive side, you'd have
>>> temperature regulation and all the benefits of a good iron.  This
>>> might be worth considering for some applications (burning man, maybe)
>>> but perhaps not the best for backpacking from one workshop to another.
>>>  Anyway, just thought I'd throw it out there.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Amos
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 8:52 AM, Derek Holzer<derek at umatic.nl> wrote:
>>>> Hi Dave,
>>>>
>>>> Those butane things are exactly the kind of stuff you can't fly with
>>>> right?
>>>> This is important for me since I'm flying to places to do
>>>> workshops/performances at least once a month.... Think you can put them
>>>> in
>>>> checked luggage?
>>>>
>>>> D.
>>>>
>>>> Dave Magnuson wrote:
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Derek Holzer" <derek at umatic.nl>
>>>>> To: "'sdiy DIY'" <synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 8:38 AM
>>>>> Subject: [sdiy] OT: gas powered soldering irons?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Slightly OT, but maybe not... Interested to do some stuff outdoors "off
>>>>>> the grid" soldering small circuits. Are these small, gas-powered
>>>>>> soldering
>>>>>> irons any good for electronics? Can anyone recommend a decent one?
>>>>> Hi Derek,
>>>>> I have the Radioshack butane soldering iron.    It works fairly well,
>>>>> but
>>>>> I'm sure there are better models out there.     It tends to run a bit
>>>>> hot,
>>>>> even on the lowest setting.     Definitely useful when power isn't
>>>>> available, but not nearly as nice as using a regulated electric iron.
>>>>>
>>>>> Dave Magnuson


-- 
::: derek holzer ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista ::: 
http://www.vimeo.com/macumbista :::
---Oblique Strategy # 88:
"Imagine the music as a set of disconnected events"