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Reviews For: Cold Heat Cordless Soldering Tool

Category: Tools & Test Equipment for the amateur radio work bench

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Review Summary For : Cold Heat Cordless Soldering Tool
Reviews: 49MSRP: 19.99
Description:
Use this Cordless Soldering Tool for safer and quicker soldering virtually anywhere. By using patented Cold Heat™ technology, the tip, and only the tip, heats up instantly, saving you valuable time. And, as soon as you're finished applying the solder, the tip almost immediately cools off, helping to reduce the risk of burns. Catalog #: 64-2102
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00491.1
WA4DOU Rating: 2004-12-27
Indeed ,its a joke! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
A complete waste of time and money. Its another TV generation product designed to separate a fool and his money. Because you can't see the tip when you look into the blister pack, you don't realize that the tip is electrically split so as to cause current flow from the internal 6 v. AA cells in series, into the external circuit. Its the current flow in the external circuit that causes the heating. Another product that will inhabit toolboxes until thrown away with no or little practical use.
KC2JBB Rating: 2004-12-27
OK for what it is Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The reviews thusfar have been a little self serving. This is not a true soldering iron so don't judge it as such. It is, however, a handy way to solder some contacts directly on your shack table which are not too delicate. Perfect for wires to my paddles, etc. It certainly does not take the place of a standard iron, but it does have a place on your radio table.
K8LEA Rating: 2004-12-12
Good for a laugh Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
First time I saw an ad for these things, I was impressed. Then I decided that something didn't quite feel right, so I checked their web site.

Nice description of how it works.

I'm sure that somebody, once in a while, can use this thing, but practically anything up to the stuff you're supposed to heat with a match, ought to be better.

There's not a lot of danger due to the 6V across the workpiece unless you manage to bridge a couple of pins at the wrong time....

Wahl makes a half-decent C-cell powered cordless (it's kinda big). Lots more expensive as I recall, but between it and a butane iron, I'm covered.
KC0W Rating: 2004-12-12
Hot Junk Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
What a joke this thing is!!!

As stated by others, the "tip" is way too wide, & the center slot too narrow. It's also hard to position in your hands for the correct angle to get a proper solder.

In the amount of time it takes for Hot Junk to solder one or two wires, you could have warmed up your gun and made the connections the right way.

The tip does not get warm........This could be the tool for you if you can't remember if you unpluged your gun the last time you used it.



Tom kcØw
K7SUB Rating: 2004-11-22
Handy in some instances Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is basicly a device that passes a current between two electrodes, thru the object to be soldered. A similar device has been used to solder spacecraft connector pins for the past 20 years.
Although limited in usefulness, it can be handy at times, especially when your up on the roof in high wind and your butane torch keeps blowing out.
As far as being detrimental to solid state devices, if your soldering one lead it would be almost impossible to get it into a situation where it would injure a device. The current passes between the 2 electrodes and thru the lead to be soldered, it's 6V DC and it dosen't go anywhere aside from the lead being soldered.
All in all, it's a somewhat useful, unique tool..Probably not worth the price unless you have a specific need or like to have all options available.
Bob K7SUB
MINTY Rating: 2004-11-22
Don't think it's not useful Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I really like the Cold Heat, unless you are doing strictly PCB work, this is a great tool (now, I don't do ANY PCB work, so I'm biased). You aren't supposed to put pressure on the tip. Just touch the solder to the tip or touch the tip to the thing you are soldering and add solder. I get along great with it.
XANADU Rating: 2004-11-05
Not a "soldering iron" Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Overall Cold Heat has a unique type of an undeveloped new way to solder. I will not award points for novelty. It's novel to me because it's dirt cheap for a soldering iron not to mention the fact that it's cordless. Don't be so quick to replace your butane with Cold Heat. First off Cold Heat made me wish I had three hands, you can't stick a bead of solder to tip and then apply it. You have to push the Cold Heat tip against the surface much harder than any soldering iron. The tip remains cold until low resistance between the two edges of the tip bridge an electrical gap. The tip is split directly in the center, like the tip of a calligraphy pen. So while pushing the iron with one hand you use the other to apply solder. Your work must be in a fixed position and sustain the pressure from pushing on it enough to get the iron to heat up. So forget about soldering the ends of two wires in your hands, unless maybe you have three hands. When it Cold Heats up, there's sparks and electrical discharge which looks cool while cooking your work up to 800 degrees f. It's got a pretty cool bright LED on the front of it. It's mounted under the tip so if you don't want the tip to cast a shadow on your work you have to hold it upside down. Either way you hold it its fun to use if the situation doesn't require the fundamental elements of conventional soldering. I will support Cold Heat's further products in hopes that they continue developing the new innovative approach to soldering without cords.
AA4PB Rating: 2004-10-12
Potential Disaster! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Don't forget that these things work by passing electric current thru the conductors to be soldered. It could mean disaster for any solid state devices that you have connected so be sure to use it only on wires and connectors that are not connected to anything.
KC9AXZ Rating: 2004-10-11
Waste of time Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The only reason I give this item a 1 instead of a 0 is because amazingly it melted solder. It's odd to handle. It is hard to make the connection needed to heat the tip up. The instructions advise it really isn't made for small jobs. The tip cools fairly quickly. I'm going to return it, and stick with my butane iron for "remote" work.

Jon KC9AXZ
www.kc9axz.com