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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too
much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! -- Russian in America http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/bc5...-pilot-episode |
#2
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith
wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Same troll. Must be bored... -- Rich Webb Norfolk, VA |
#3
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith
wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Get a Metcal. No screw at all. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Mini. Citroën. Vauxhall. Volvo. Rolls. Porsche. Fiat. http://philip.greenspun.com/images/p...evaux-20.4.jpg John |
#4
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 20 Apr 21:36, Rich Webb wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Same troll. Must be bored... Hello Rich, I'm the OP. I'm sorry to hear you think I'm a troll. I don't know what you mean by "same" becuase I have only posted here recently and I hope there isn't another post which could be misconstrued as a troll. Perhaps you just don't like my point of view? |
#5
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Get a Metcal. No screw at all. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Mini. Citroën. Vauxhall. Volvo. Rolls. Porsche. Fiat. http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3815/ dublin-deux-chevaux-20.4.jpg John Yup, you're right! Which is why I wrote: "you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too ..... but there's a lot less of it than in the US". One distinctive feature of US car design is a look I call: "I've just rammed a wall" Mercifully, it is almost never found on west European cars and hopefully never will be. It is illustrated below. There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg for every US car that looks like this: http://www.carforums.net/reviews/mak...Chrysler11.jpg and that one is still very angular. -- inc car group |
#6
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote:
On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. |
#7
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
"John-Del" wrote in message ... On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. That's the thing about being a troll ... no accountability ... they just blather, and waste bandwidth and time. PLONK him! |
#8
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
John Larkin wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Get a Metcal. No screw at all. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Mini. Citroën. Vauxhall. Volvo. Rolls. Porsche. Fiat. http://philip.greenspun.com/images/p...evaux-20.4.jpg Now, now, don't diss that car. I had one for years. IMHO one of the most clever car designs ever. It boasted features that none of the other cars even came close to, regardless of which part of the planet they came from. The epiphany happened on a German autobahn. Hardcore traffic jam, nothing moved and it didn't look good for the next couple hours or so. Within less than 60 seconds I had both front seats and the rear bench sitting on the tarmac, so we could hold a proper poker game. No help, all by myself. The guy who later joined us for the card game stood there with his mouth wide open. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#9
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN
(Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. |
#10
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 21 Apr 00:01, John-Del wrote:
On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. I should hope so too! :-) However I didn't say that. I said: "There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling [Chrysler 300] for every US car that looks like this [Chrysler ME] and that one is still very angular." Of course that Chrysler ME 4-12 is a concept car and not for sale. |
#11
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
William Sommerwerck wrote:
I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. .... and wherever in the world I happened to be, there were always those Weller stations. Antex? Never seen it, never heard of it. Strange, ain't it? -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#12
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
On 21 Apr 00:01, John-Del wrote: On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. I should hope so too! :-) However I didn't say that. I said: "There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling [Chrysler 300] for every US car that looks like this [Chrysler ME] and that one is still very angular." Of course that Chrysler ME 4-12 is a concept car and not for sale. This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/ Same he http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/viper/ -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#13
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 20 Apr 21:08, Allus Smith wrote:
On 21 Apr 01:08, William Sommerwerck wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. EDSYN are lovely irons but none of them list for under $100 and I believe they all have temperature regulation. Apologies if I wasn't clear but EDSYN wasn't what I had in mind when I said "An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature". I mean the cheaper end of the market but not as cheap the rock-bottom $5 irons! http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=SolderingStations |
#14
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
On 20 Apr 21:08, Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 01:08, William Sommerwerck wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. EDSYN are lovely irons but none of them list for under $100 and I believe they all have temperature regulation. Ahm, what? See below. Apologies if I wasn't clear but EDSYN wasn't what I had in mind when I said "An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature". I mean the cheaper end of the market but not as cheap the rock-bottom $5 irons! http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=SolderingStations Tell me, where's that ugly side-screw on this one? http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=CL1481 Regarding your comment above, last time I checked $54.86 was still less than $100 ... Oh, and no temperature regulation :-) -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#15
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote:
Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. Lol, idiot yank doesn't realise that "Made in the USA" really means assembled in the USA by illegal immigrant workers. Welcome to the third work, Yank. |
#16
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
terryc wrote: On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. Lol, idiot yank doesn't realise that "Made in the USA" really means assembled in the USA by illegal immigrant workers. Didn't you hear? A lot of them are out of work and driving overloaded old pieces of junk back to mexico, loaded down with everything they can haul. Welcome to the third work, Yank. You should talk. You Aussies bred and raised Phil Allison. -- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense! |
#17
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:56:34 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote: You should talk. You Aussies INbred and MISraised Phil Allison. IFYPFY, idiot. |
#18
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 21:08, Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 01:08, William Sommerwerck wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. EDSYN are lovely irons but none of them list for under $100 and I believe they all have temperature regulation. Apologies if I wasn't clear but EDSYN wasn't what I had in mind when I said "An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature". I mean the cheaper end of the market but not as cheap the rock-bottom $5 irons! How about the Weller irons like the SP23? I have owned one or more at a time from the early '70s. The tip is threaded into the heating element and it retails for under $20. I bought a new one last year after the threads finally corroded out of the element after 35 years of use. I only use the non regulated irons to make cables, or for antique electronics. For modern ESD sensitive equipment I used the Edsyn Loner series and had three irons on my bench, one with a .015" tip in a reducing collet. I also have the 175 watt version that does use a set screw to hold the tip. 25 watt: http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103169228 175 watt: http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/CF_Files/model_detail.cfm?upc=037103474674 -- You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense! |
#19
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
Don't start me on the looks of cars! OK geoff |
#20
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 21 Apr 01:45, Joerg wrote:
Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 21:08, Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 01:08, William Sommerwerck wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. EDSYN are lovely irons but none of them list for under $100 and I believe they all have temperature regulation. Ahm, what? See below. Apologies if I wasn't clear but EDSYN wasn't what I had in mind when I said "An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature". I mean the cheaper end of the market but not as cheap the rock-bottom $5 irons! http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=SolderingStations Tell me, where's that ugly side-screw on this one? http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=CL1481 Regarding your comment above, last time I checked $54.86 was still less than $100 ... Oh, and no temperature regulation :-) Good point Joerg. I missed that one in the online catalogue. You may be misunderstanding me if you think I said ALL basic American soldering irons look Russian. I meant to say there was a lot more of this sort of poor design in the US than in western Europe. A single item doesn't really prove or disprove it. However. as you kindly drew my attention to EDSYN then I show illustrate the Antexes I mentioned. http://www.antex.co.uk/prodtype.asp?CAT_ID=180 &strPageHistory=category Consumer goods are cheaper in the US, so the usual $1 = £1 is probably a good indicator of the sort of price level these irons are at. It's the sub $20 market (including tax). |
#21
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On 21 Apr 01:39, Joerg wrote:
Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 00:01, John-Del wrote: On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/20050616-C2006_ 300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. I should hope so too! :-) However I didn't say that. I said: "There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling [Chrysler 300] for every US car that looks like this [Chrysler ME] and that one is still very angular." Of course that Chrysler ME 4-12 is a concept car and not for sale. This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/ Same he http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/viper/ The Corvette and Viper are lovely cars. They're not exactly typical of American design. That's what I meant when I said there are probably 200 cars which have that "hit a brick wall" look for every one which looks sleek and smooth. |
#22
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
On 21 Apr 01:39, Joerg wrote: Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 00:01, John-Del wrote: On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/20050616-C2006_ 300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. I should hope so too! :-) However I didn't say that. I said: "There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling [Chrysler 300] for every US car that looks like this [Chrysler ME] and that one is still very angular." Of course that Chrysler ME 4-12 is a concept car and not for sale. This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/ Same he http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/viper/ The Corvette and Viper are lovely cars. They're not exactly typical of American design. They are as American as it gets ;-) That's what I meant when I said there are probably 200 cars which have that "hit a brick wall" look for every one which looks sleek and smooth. Well, I am not a great fan of US passenger cars. Not because of the looks (where I could care less because that doesn't matter to me as a buyer) but because of reliability. US trucks, however, are real work horses and they don't really have any EU equivalent. AFAIK only two foreign companies, Toyota and Nissan, make such trucks. Then, the little Jeep looks quite cool. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#23
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,uk.rec.cars.modifications
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:41:56 +0100, Allus Smith
wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Get a Metcal. No screw at all. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Mini. Citroën. Vauxhall. Volvo. Rolls. Porsche. Fiat. http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3815/ dublin-deux-chevaux-20.4.jpg John Yup, you're right! Which is why I wrote: "you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too ..... but there's a lot less of it than in the US". One distinctive feature of US car design is a look I call: "I've just rammed a wall" If you want to stuff a huge V8 with 200 tons of air conditioning and power-everything under the hood, you need a lot of hood. But Cadillac and most things Chrysler are admittedly over the top. They corner the ugly-car-lover market. John |
#24
Posted to alt.engineering.electrical,sci.electronics.repair,sci.electronics.design,aus.electronics
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
On 21 Apr 01:45, Joerg wrote: Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 21:08, Allus Smith wrote: On 21 Apr 01:08, William Sommerwerck wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! I don't know which brands you're referring to, but I've owned EDSYN (Engineering Dedicated To Suit Your Needs!) irons for 20+ years, and they don't look anything like that. EDSYN are lovely irons but none of them list for under $100 and I believe they all have temperature regulation. Ahm, what? See below. Apologies if I wasn't clear but EDSYN wasn't what I had in mind when I said "An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature". I mean the cheaper end of the market but not as cheap the rock-bottom $5 irons! http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=SolderingStations Tell me, where's that ugly side-screw on this one? http://www.edsyn.com/index.php?Mode=piw&pn=CL1481 Regarding your comment above, last time I checked $54.86 was still less than $100 ... Oh, and no temperature regulation :-) Good point Joerg. I missed that one in the online catalogue. You may be misunderstanding me if you think I said ALL basic American soldering irons look Russian. I meant to say there was a lot more of this sort of poor design in the US than in western Europe. A single item doesn't really prove or disprove it. Well, there are tons of them that look sleek and modern. Visit a good hardware store over here and see for yourself. Or any major Radio Shack. However. as you kindly drew my attention to EDSYN then I show illustrate the Antexes I mentioned. http://www.antex.co.uk/prodtype.asp?CAT_ID=180 &strPageHistory=category Consumer goods are cheaper in the US, so the usual $1 = £1 is probably a good indicator of the sort of price level these irons are at. It's the sub $20 market (including tax). Antex may be good but they seem to have the same problem as Ersa (I loved their irons while in Europe): International marketing may be lacking. Well, check this one out, under $10, no side screw, the tip is threaded and that screws in as a whole from the front (IIRC): http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062737 If I'd need a simple iron I'd got for a good name brand, like this one for $40: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3348440 -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:51:20 -0700, John Larkin
wrote: If you want to stuff a huge V8 with 200 tons of air conditioning and power-everything under the hood, you need a lot of hood. But Cadillac and most things Chrysler are admittedly over the top. They corner the ugly-car-lover market. John For good reason. In 1978, the congress critters passed the gas guzzlers tax: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/guzzler/index.htm http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/info.shtml#guzzler The typical land yacht, with about 15mpg, pays about $4,000 in gas guzzlers tax. The idea was to discourage big ugly oversized non-commercial vehicles. However, they exempted anything over 6000 lbs GVW. So, in accordance to the law of unintended consequences, the industry simply delivered monstrous vehicles that officially weighted 6001 lbs and save a bundle on the taxes. Of course, the government derives substantial revenue from taxing what are now economy and mid size cars, so don't expect the situation to change in the foreseeable future. -- # Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060 # 831-336-2558 # http://802.11junk.com # http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS |
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:48:58 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:51:20 -0700, John Larkin wrote: If you want to stuff a huge V8 with 200 tons of air conditioning and power-everything under the hood, you need a lot of hood. But Cadillac and most things Chrysler are admittedly over the top. They corner the ugly-car-lover market. John For good reason. In 1978, the congress critters passed the gas guzzlers tax: http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/guzzler/index.htm http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/info.shtml#guzzler The typical land yacht, with about 15mpg, pays about $4,000 in gas guzzlers tax. The idea was to discourage big ugly oversized non-commercial vehicles. However, they exempted anything over 6000 lbs GVW. So, in accordance to the law of unintended consequences, the industry simply delivered monstrous vehicles that officially weighted 6001 lbs and save a bundle on the taxes. Of course, the government derives substantial revenue from taxing what are now economy and mid size cars, so don't expect the situation to change in the foreseeable future. If the politicoes had any guts+sense, they'd just up the taxes on gasoline, and let the market take care of the rest. John |
#27
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
"Joerg" wrote in message ... This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/ Same he http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/viper/ Ahhh - seppos in attendance! Neither of the above match the fuel economy of my proper sized passenger car. -- And remember kids, RAID is safe and the UPS never fails, and Cisco routers never develop intermittent faults, and external hard drives never fail with only a month's use, and the DNS is reliable and resilient, and the mailserver is protected from all forms of attack, and the replacement UPS will be reliable as the first one was an unusual failure. |
#28
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Well, i have seen what might be called a variant, where the tip screws into the heating section (from RatShop!). |
#29
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
John-Del wrote:
On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. To be fair, they did try to make it look like a Bentley! |
#30
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
On 20 Apr 22:23, John Larkin wrote: On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Get a Metcal. No screw at all. Don't start me on the looks of cars! Mini. Citroën. Vauxhall. Volvo. Rolls. Porsche. Fiat. http://philip.greenspun.com/images/pcd3815/ dublin-deux-chevaux-20.4.jpg John Yup, you're right! Which is why I wrote: "you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too ..... but there's a lot less of it than in the US". One distinctive feature of US car design is a look I call: "I've just rammed a wall" Mercifully, it is almost never found on west European cars and hopefully never will be. It is illustrated below. There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg for every US car that looks like this: http://www.carforums.net/reviews/mak...Chrysler11.jpg and that one is still very angular. That last one looks more like a racing car than something for everyday use. |
#31
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Apr 20, 7:30*pm, Allus Smith wrote:
On 21 Apr *00:01, John-Del wrote: On Apr 20, 5:41 pm, Allus Smith wrote: On 20 Apr *22:23, John Larkin wrote: There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: * *http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg You are wrong. *Despite the recession, Chrysler has sold considerably more than 200 of that model. I should hope so too! *:-) *However I didn't say that. I said: "There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling [Chrysler 300] for every US car that looks like this [Chrysler ME] and that one is still very angular." Of course that Chrysler ME 4-12 is a concept car and not for sale. Is the Chrysler ME anything like Windows ME? |
#32
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Joerg wrote:
the little Jeep looks quite cool. Jeep reliability and build quality is, however, a bad joke. I've had the opportunity to compare ten year old Jeeps (Cherokee and Grand Cherokee) with my ten year old Ford - the Jeeps have all been in poor condition at lower mileage. I've also found the Dodge/GMC trucks to be better built than Jeeps, which seems odd. I conly guess that the old AMC spirit of building rubbish that falls apart still prevails at Jeep. |
#33
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote:
There are probably 200 US cars with this sort of styling: http://www.swiftweblog.com/media/1/2...2006_300_2.jpg for every US car that looks like this: http://www.carforums.net/reviews/mak...Chrysler11.jpg and that one is still very angular. What's wrong with the 300C? Put a mesh grille on it and most people think it's a Bentley. I don't mind kicking the septics for their dreadful taste in car design, but the 300C or Merc E-class as we call it here, is a relatively successful design. It's just a shame that the powertrain and suspension engineering isn't as good as the chassis. |
#34
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Allus Smith wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Model C ? I had one of those in my hobby days. Lovely for miniature work ( 15W ). I also had a SOLON 25W. Another classic. The copper bit was held in place with a split pin. Of course I've had a Weller TCP for decades now. Love 'em. Graham |
#35
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Tim S Kemp wrote:
"Joerg" wrote in message ... This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/ Same he http://www.dodge.com/en/2008/viper/ Ahhh - seppos in attendance! Neither of the above match the fuel economy of my proper sized passenger car. Have you ever driven a Corvette? What was the gas mileage? -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM. |
#36
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Joerg gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying: This is not a concept car and you can actually buy one for a reasonable price. I lately had the pleasure and that thing sure corners well. Best of all, on the freeway it doesn't use more gas than a compact passenger car: Neither of the above match the fuel economy of my proper sized passenger car. Have you ever driven a Corvette? What was the gas mileage? I've never driven one. Nobody this side of the pond feels they need to compensate quite that badly for such a tiny penis. But, fortunately, we can refer to the official figures. That'll be www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk, btw. The extra-urban number for the 'vette is 31.4mpg. Quite impressive, I'll agree, given the type of vehicle. But not exactly comparable with the official extra-urban figure for a "compact passenger car" - let's say a 1.6TDCi Focus. 74.3mpg. If you look at the much more representative combined figure, the Focus achieves 62.8mpg vs 21.2 for the 'vette. That's the "economical" 6.2 'vette - the 7.0 Z06 and supercharged ZR1 are worse, of course. As for the Viper... The official figures for the SRT10 roadster (only Viper we get through official channels, so the only official figures) are 21.4 extra-urban and 13.4 combined. |
#37
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
Steve Firth wrote:
Joerg wrote: the little Jeep looks quite cool. Jeep reliability and build quality is, however, a bad joke. I've had the opportunity to compare ten year old Jeeps (Cherokee and Grand Cherokee) with my ten year old Ford - the Jeeps have all been in poor condition at lower mileage. I've also found the Dodge/GMC trucks to be better built than Jeeps, which seems odd. I conly guess that the old AMC spirit of building rubbish that falls apart still prevails at Jeep. The Excursion is holding up spectacularly well. 125k mainly urban miles and nothing serious has fallen off or broken in close to seven years. Trim doesn't squeak or rattle (but is resolutely 'hard touch'), leather is as new, engine is still near-silent and incredibly smooth, gearbox is obscenely smooth shifting and responsive. I'm amazed how good it's been. It's needed a couple of wheel bearings (understandable at 5 tons, up from 3 ton 'standard' weight), an alternator (again understandable with extra electrical loads) and the AC radiator changing (once again, extra load compared to factory spec). Only things that have broken that you could reasonably blame Ford for are a coil pack went down at 110k miles (£27) and the fuel tank sender has packed in, but only to the gauge - the computer still knows how much fuel is in there. -- Pete M - OMF#9 Range Rover V8 Turbo Volvo 850 T5 CD Estate "Wait! We can't stop here, this is Bat Country" |
#38
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith
wrote: All this talk about soldering irons makes me think how crummy too much American industrial design is. Some US industrial design looks great but some looks downright, well, Russian. Sure you can see crap-looking design in western Europe too but there's a lot less of it than in the US. Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. By comparison, my 30 year old British-made basic Antex is a sleek looking baby and those Antexes are not particularly expensive. Don't start me on the looks of cars! If you expect something from a $10 hardware store soldering iron that's made in China, you shouldn't be in electronics. The only people who use those are kids starting out in tronics and people who don't know anything about electronics. If you want a good iron, get a Metcal (now OK). Metcal has soldering irons for under $200 which work very well for SMT and thruhole. My only gripe about the cheap Metcals is the tip temperature only goes up to 750 deg F. Gotta use my 20+ year old Weller iron for melting isulation off of magnet wire. If you really want to see a classic soldering iron, get your hands on an American Beauty! You'll drop your shorts when you get your hands on that one. |
#39
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote:
Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. I have one of these, and a desoldering iron like that; but I also have a Radio Shack "Princess" iron that uses tips that thread into the element. Cheers! Rich |
#40
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Soldering irons: made in America but designed in Russia?
On Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:05:29 +0000, Rich Grise wrote:
On Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:32 +0100, Allus Smith wrote: Take soldering irons for example. An ordinary soldering iron in the US with unregulated temperature still has great big mofo screws holding the tip. I have one of these, and a desoldering iron like that; but I also have a Radio Shack "Princess" iron that uses tips that thread into the element. http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062737 but mine has a pastel blue handle, and uses much smaller, cuter tips. Cheers! Rich |
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