Tutorial. TS-101 Smart Soldering Iron

Overview

Alejandro Alonso Puig demonstrates the Miniware DS-101 smart soldering iron. Although the video title calls it the TS-101, the presentation focuses on the iron’s setup, controls, and temperature-management features.

Design and Power

The iron includes a soldering tip, a protective cap that doubles as a stand, and a silicone USB-C cable. The cap helps protect fingers from the hot tip and keeps it from resting directly on a surface. Eight additional tip types are available separately.

Power options include:

• Barrel input: 9–24 V, up to 65 W
• USB-C PD: 9–20 V, up to 45 W

The presenter says the iron can heat from 30°C to 300°C in about 95 seconds at 9 W or 9 seconds at 60 W.

Controls and Display

Two buttons control the iron:

• Button A starts heating and cycles through temperature presets.
• Button B opens the settings menu.

The display shows the actual and target temperatures, as well as power use. A movement sensor detects when the iron is handled.

Settings and Customization

The three default temperature presets—300°C, 330°C, and 350°C—can be edited, as can the temperature adjustment step. Other settings include:

• Resting temperature and idle timer
• A further timeout that returns the iron to standby
• Display brightness and orientation
• Celsius or Fahrenheit
• Boost temperature
• Power-source settings and USB-C PD power limits
• Sensor sensitivity and temperature calibration
• Factory reset

A long press of Button B saves settings. Settings can also be edited through a configuration file over USB-C.

Temperature Management and Safety

When left unused, the iron can lower to a preset resting temperature to reduce wear on the tip. After a longer timeout, it stops heating and cools toward room temperature.

A long press of Button A activates boost mode, temporarily raising the temperature. In the demonstration, boost is set to 380°C for tasks that need extra heat, such as soldering to a ground plane.

The presenter notes that a grounding screw can be used to connect the tip to ground if needed. The tip remains hot during standby and cooldown, so care is still required.

Practical Use

The iron is presented as a portable option for field work and small workspaces. The presenter prefers this version over an older model, citing its improvements and temperature-management features.

Guide Topics

1. Connecting power and fitting the tip and protective cap
2. Navigating and saving settings
3. Selecting and changing temperature presets
4. Using boost, resting-temperature, and standby modes
5. Configuring the iron via USB-C